Community Leadership and Partnerships

  • Leverage partnerships to address matters impacting our community, the state, and the nation (e.g., poverty, health care, access to news and information, etc.).
  • Continue to grow the university’s economic development activities in IDEA Commons through expanded opportunities for business development and commercializing research, support for entrepreneurship and innovation, and small business consulting, mentoring, and training.
  • Develop Phase 1 of MSU Employer Partnerships initiative to meet employer talent attraction and retention needs, provide student value, and boost enrollment through academic programs, professional development training, and student work experience.
  • Expand opportunities to connect faculty, staff, and students across campus to the university’s economic development resources and community partnership work.
  • Positively impact the development of computer science/STEM education and digital workforce training in southern Missouri through the CODERS Project and Innovate SOMO initiative.
  • Lead the regional collaboration to develop programming on Ozarks’ history and heritage for the 2023 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C.