By Melissa Dunson

mdunson@joplinglobe.com

New Missouri Southern State University president Bruce Speck is calling the school’s staff and the public to an economic summit Tuesday to discuss the state of the university’s finances, how the school got there, and what needs to be done to improve the situation.

“It’s not simply that I’m going to fix things,” Speck said. “It’s important we work together as a team.”

Speck has been studying the university’s finances since he arrived at his post early this year. Some of his first orders of business were a series of meetings with the finance department to discuss why the school was spending more than it was making. Through those meetings, Speck said he realized the Board of Governors did not have a clear understanding of all the issues affecting the university’s bottom line.

Speck said the board has been responsive to his suggestions for cutting costs. Among those are looking at alternative ways to fund scholarships and changing the way they are given and halting cost-of-living raises for faculty this year. He said thermostats have been raised to 75 degrees this summer and lights and computers are being turned off after hours.

“Those aren’t the things that are going to save us the millions, but every time we do that, we chip away at (the problem),” Speck said. “This is a major shift in how we do business. It’s about behavioral changes and people coming up with their own ways on how we can save money.”

Besides informing staff of new fiscal policies, Speck also hopes the economic summit shows the surrounding community his commitment to transparency, and allays fears of staff cuts.

The meeting on Tuesday will include a question-and-answer portion and an open mic for people with questions or concerns. Speck said he does not plan to cut positions as part of this shift in fiscal policy, but may not fill some vacant positions, which, he said, would affect the workload.

Speck’s ultimate goal is for the college to have $10 million in reserve funds. He also wants the entire organization to make sure the money is available before spending it, and to increase enrollment. He estimates it could take two years of belt-tightening to bring the school to that point, but he expects to see big results by next year.

“People need to understand that there are better days ahead, but we have to change the way we do things,” Speck said. “It’s not a quick fix.”

During his previous stint at Austin Peay State University, Speck said he helped the administration deal with a 20 percent reduction in revenue over two years.

“I sat around a conference table and made difficult decisions, but Austin Peay came out of that with a tremendous growth spurt,” Speck said. “I know what it takes to get through this. It’s not pleasant, but it’s what we’ve got to do. There’s no question about it.”