MSU presidential finalist John Jasinski talks track record, 'growth mindset' at forum

The Michigan-born John Jasinski and his wife have lived in the Show-Me State so long they feel homegrown.

"Denise and I came here 37-38 years ago," he said. "Let me be very clear, we are Missourians. We know Missouri. We have worked to uplift the communities that we serve in Missouri and uplift the state."

The provost of Missouri State for the past 18 months, Jasinski is the sole internal candidate to succeed the retiring Clif Smart to become the 12th president of the university.

One of three finalists, Jasinski was visiting campuses Monday and Tuesday as part of the formal interview process. The most public part was a one-hour open forum in front of a packed audience of students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members.

The forums are identical for each finalist. The first half is spent answering questions from Lynn Parman, chair of the MSU Board of Governors — who started Tuesday by saying it was time to learn "more about president Jasinski" — and the second half involved taking questions from the audience.

Parman may have been referring to Jasinski's 13 years as the president of Northwest Missouri State University, a stint that ended in 2022. He worked there much of his career, serving as a faculty member, department chair and associate provost.

He has also been a leader at Northwood University, a senior consultant with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, and the owner of his own consulting company.

At the forum in the Plaster Student Union Theater, Jasinski sat on the edge of his seat and spoke directly to the crowd. He was asked why he wanted the top job at Missouri State.

"Let's face it, it's a special place — proud, proud past history and an interesting present day — but what really motivates me is to think about Missouri State University tomorrow, building the destination campus together. That's what we can do," he said. "What motivates me is who we are as an institution."

The other finalists include Richard "Biff" Williams, former president of Utah Tech University, who was on campus Feb. 14-15. Roger Thompson, vice president for student services and enrollment management at the University of Oregon, will have an open forum Feb. 29.

At the start Tuesday, Jasinski pointed out his wife of 38 years, saying family "really forms who I am as a person." He said later that marrying her was his greatest accomplishment. Their children are grown.

Jasinski said he approaches management with a "grown mindset," high expectations, and integrity. "It comes from being data-driven, team-based and collaborative."

He spoke about the financial turnaround he engineered at Northwest, the significant enrollment gains that marked his presidency, and the elevation and expansion of that institution's agricultural department — an area that is also a priority at Missouri State.

"We moved the ag department to a glistening new building, built a $10.4 million ag learning center, and it took a lot of work to do that, reset curriculum and the like," he said.

Asked by Parman and audience members about creating a welcoming and inclusive environment on campus, Jasinski said he learned at Northwest the importance of listening "to all populations" and following up on the input.

"Let me be clear, as your 12th president, I'll be committed to inclusive engagement, inclusive excellence. It's very important," he said.

He also spoke about his intention to develop "unrivaled connectedness" to the communities served by the university and to local employers.

Jasinski praised the public affairs mission, a hallmark of the university, and explained how he has exhibited ethical leadership, cultural competence and community engagement in his career.

"I served on the city council in the city of Maryville for five years. It felt like 15, in some cases, I suppose, but that was important," he said.

He also talked about his exit from Northwest.

"That departure was predicated upon acting ethically," he said. "I made some tough decisions as a president and the bottom line with that is I had to remove a Greek organization. I took a lot of heat and being a public servant ... Removing that Greek organization led to some individuals getting on the board and not renewing my contract."

He said kicking the fraternities out "was the right thing to do" and noted they were later allowed to return.

Smart asked Jasinski to take the job in Springfield. Missouri State was in a period of transition. Long-serving leaders, including provost Frank Einhellig, were retiring, triggering both internal promotions and external hires.

In interviews and social media posts, Smart has championed Jasinski's leadership and showcased the work he has done with faculty, the relationships he has built in the community, and the ways he has represented the university from Jefferson City to China.

Jasinski was tapped to spearhead a large-scale academic realignment, which meant reducing spending by millions, shifting staff and reallocating resources.

The most visible element was the merger of two existing colleges into the expanded Judith Enyeart Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities.

Several questions from the audience referenced Jasinski's time at Missouri State. For example, he was asked how he'd address staff and faculty who may have reservations about trusting him in light of job cuts and the elimination of an entire college.

"The restructure that we just went through ... we followed a process. We set down some guidelines, a lot of listening through that, and at the end of the day, we protected every filled full-time faculty members' job," he said. "We reduced administrative (staffing), in a pretty significant way, in terms of costs."

He added: "I was asked to cut $3.2 million. We cut $5 million. Why? Because my experience in higher ed says you need some R&D funding to continue to grow."

More: As Missouri State seeks new leader, provost John Jasinski builds on 'record of success'

A couple questions focused on raising staff and faculty salaries, noting that has been a priority for Smart. Jasinski said his focus will be on protecting programs and jobs but he also wants to increase employee compensation packages.

"Can I sit here and say we're going to raise salaries significantly for faculty and staff? No. I think as a leader, you have to be forthright about that," he said. "Am I going to work my tail off to focus on jobs, to focus on compensation within the realm that is possible? Unequivocally. And I have a track record of doing that."

There has been a lot of debate nationally about tenure with an effort to do away with it playing out on certain campuses. Asked his philosophy on the tenure system, Jasinski said he personally delivered promotion tenure letters to faculty after overseeing the review process.

"That should show you something about how I feel about promotion and tenure," he said.

He said after reviewing more than 60 portfolios, he was impressed by the work, research and accomplishments of the faculty.

"We need to figure out ways to shout from the mountaintop about what our faculty are doing, each and every day," he said. "Because it is flat-out exciting and it's exhilarating to think about."

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Jasinski, finalist for MSU president job, talks track record, growth