JOPLIN, Mo. —
A.J. Anglin will step away from his administrative position at Missouri Southern State University in June and take a teaching role.
Anglin has been vice president for academic affairs for two years. He will serve as a faculty member in the department of chemical and physical sciences beginning June 1.
Anglin has been in the spotlight, being in charge this year of making decisions about which faculty members would be cut because of reductions in state funding. Three faculty members with one-year contracts were told that their contracts would not be renewed.
When he came on board in June 2010, MSSU President Bruce Speck’s relationship with the faculty was at a low point. Faculty members expressed hope that Anglin could help repair the relationships.
Speck said that from his standpoint, Anglin succeeded. He said Anglin has represented the faculty well in his meetings with the President’s Council and with the Board of Governors.
“I think he has been very serious in his role as a faculty advocate,” Speck said.
He said Anglin also has been instrumental in instituting shared governance and in developing a strategic plan.
Anglin said he thinks he was successful in helping to repair the damaged relationships.
“I love to work with faculty,” Anglin said. “These are difficult times in terms of budget reductions, but I think I have a good rapport with the typical faculty member.”
He said he acknowledged that not all faculty members would agree.
Demanding position
Anglin said the administrative role is wearing on him.
“This is a demanding position,” he said. “That’s just the nature of administration. That is part of being an administrator. Higher education is changing so fast. State support of education is diminishing. You take what is already demanding and make it more demanding.
“I’m older. We all have to face that. My energy level has substantially changed from last summer to now. I’m at a point in my life where I’m probably going to be able to write one last chapter, and that is teaching.”
Anglin is 69 and has retired twice before.
When he was hired, Anglin said increasing enrollment would be a priority. Enrollment increased slightly in the fall 2010 semester, which saw the largest increase in first-time freshmen since 2006. After the tornado last May, enrollment decreased slightly in the fall of 2011, though not as much as many had predicted.
“I feel the quality of our academic programs is the biggest attraction for students,” Anglin said. “We definitely are moving in the right direction. When there’s a natural catastrophe like the one that happened in Joplin, I think we’ve done well to keep the enrollment decrease as small as it has been.”
Anglin’s transition brings other transitions with it.
Pat Lipira, head of the kinesiology department and interim dean of the School of Education, will move to the position of interim vice president for academic affairs for two years. After that, university officials will conduct a nationwide search.
Crystal Lemmons, head of the department of biology and environmental health, has been named interim assistant vice president for academic affairs and will continue to teach.
Al Cade, head of the department of teacher education and interim associate dean for the School of Education, will now serve as interim dean for the School of Education.
Tenure
A.J. ANGLIN has been an education administrator for 30 years.
Local News
MSSU official to return to teaching
- Local News
-
-
Joplin sends team to help Moore
A team of public safety workers from Joplin were deployed Monday night to assist in Moore, Okla.
-
Two plead guilty to post-tornado wire theft
Two defendants pleaded guilty Monday to stealing copper wire from utility poles in the wake of the May 22, 2011, tornado that struck Joplin. Timothy M. Silveria, 45, of Joplin, and Nycoa K. Kracht, 32, of Laurel, Ind., entered open pleas of guilty in Jasper County Circuit Court to felony counts of theft from a public utility.
-
Vandals cause $37,000 in damage at Joplin business
A Joplin business owner was the victim of a weekend vandalism spree that resulted in an estimated $37,000 in damages and theft, in addition to putting the company out of service for at least two days.
-
Mike Pound: My wife hid the clutter so well, I may be missing
OK, now I’m worried. Late Sunday afternoon, my wife announced that she was going to clean up our kitchen and our family room. When she made that announcement, our 15-year-old daughter, Emma, and I laughed because, at the time, our kitchen and family room were sort of cluttered.
-
Joplin council meeting canceled due to storm forecast
Storm forecasts have caused the Joplin City Council to cancel its meeting tonight.
-
Carthage School Board meeting is postponed
The Carthage School Board meeting set for today has been postponed for due to threats of severe weather.
-
Storms cause damage throughout the Four States
Four-State Area residents hunkered down twice Monday to ride out tornadoes and powerful spring storms, then went to work cleaning up. The worst damage from Monday night’s storm was being reported in Ottawa County, Okla., near Wyandotte. That followed a report of an EF-1 tornado early Monday morning near Carthage.
-
Alan Marble, Crowder College president, to retire
After 27 years with Crowder College, President Alan Marble has announced his plans to retire on June 30, the formal end of the academic year. “It’s just the right time,” Marble, 58, said in a telephone interview Monday morning. “I’ve enjoyed, I think, every minute of these 27 years, but it’s time to move on to the next challenge.”
-
EF1 tornado hit Carthage early Monday morning
Clean-up was underway in Carthage after winds estimated at 90 to 100 miles an hour damaged buildings and toppled trees and power lines in the Carthage area just after midnight early Monday.
-
Federal agency proposes adding two Missouri mussels to endangered species list
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will host a public meeting in Joplin Tuesday and another meeting later in the week in Southeast Missouri to provide details and answer questions about adding two freshwater mussels to the endangered species list.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Joplin sends team to help Moore
