MSU Presidents Project: A timeline of leadership and where it has left MSU Texas

Editor’s note: This is part of the first installment in the MSU Presidents Project, a series examining MSU Texas from the short tenure of former President JuliAnn Mazachek that ended a year ago to the direction the university is heading under new President Stacia Haynie. The next installment will be available Wednesday.

Over a year since a sudden departure sparked upheaval at the top of MSU Texas, the hiring of university alumna Stacia Haynie has given MSU a shot at stability.

But in the time between Haynie’s hiring and former President JuliAnn Mazachek’s surprise return to Kansas-based Washburn University, the school was left with confusion among students, a slew of interim leaders and a six-figure bill for finding Mazachek’s replacement.

Figures relating to expenses, in addition to communications between officials, were obtained from the Texas Tech University System via open records requests submitted by the Times Record News.

2021: Retirement triggers change for Midwestern State University

The saga began in May 2021 when then-President Suzanne Shipley informed the MSU Board of Regents of her intention to retire Aug. 31, 2021.

The news came on the heels of the Texas Legislature voting to approve the addition of MSU to the Texas Tech University System and shortly before Gov. Greg Abbott completed the move by signing the bill June 8.

Things progressed smoothly from there. The school announced its choice for interim president, then-provost James Johnston, and Shipley retired on the agreed upon date.

Just over two weeks after Shipley’s departure, MSU and Texas Tech announced the formation of a search committee to fill the president's office on a permanent basis.

Comprised of professors and leaders from MSU, Wichita Falls community members and Tech officials, the committee launched into a nationwide search that ultimately zeroed in on an experienced administrator from the nation’s heartland.

The committee believed JuliAnn Mazachek, then at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, had the experience and skillset to be a capable leader.

Mazachek’s career appears to validate that assessment. Her 30 years at Washburn saw her rise from assistant professor up to School of Business dean and then to vice president for academic affairs, her position when MSU hired her.

2022: Leader plucked from the heartland for MSU Texas

MSU announced Mazachek as the sole finalist for president March 7, 2022, a formality required by Texas law.

Three weeks later on March 28, MSU appointed Mazachek as its next president with her time in office set to start May 23, 2022. The community welcomed Mazachek as she detailed her plans for MSU, including promises to prioritize a new football stadium for the Mustangs.

However, just over a month before Mazachek’s start date, another long-time university president announced his upcoming retirement. On April 18, Jerry Farley, Washburn president of over 25 years, set his planned retirement date as Sept. 30, 2022.

In the interim, Washburn contracted with a search firm July 15, 2022 and announced a finalized search committee July 28. By the end of September, Farley retired as planned.

A little over a month later, on Nov. 3, 2022, Mazachek had her official investiture at MSU, a ceremony welcoming a new official to an institution.

The time was ripe for MSU to begin resolving lingering concerns over enrollment declines and allow students, faculty and staff to adjust to life in the TTU System.

Among her duties, Mazachek prioritized establishing a group of leaders who provided resources for university leadership.

She said most of her focus was on enrollment.

“The biggest focus was assessing our enrollment processes and strategies, both for recruiting new students and retaining current ones,” Mazachek said in an email statement.

Additionally, she identified that the university’s strategic plan had expired and set a handful of top goals to bridge the gap toward a permanent plan.

However, as the year drew to a close, Mazachek received an offer that would upset the temporary balance MSU had found.

Mazachek said she needed to talk in a Dec. 29, 2022, email to Tedd Mitchell, TTU chancellor, Dailey Fuller, chancellor’s office chief of staff, and Steven Sosland, vice chancellor for leader and culture development.

“I am reaching out this evening to let you know I have had an unexpected opportunity come forward in these last two days that will impact plans for the future. If possible, I would like to touch base tomorrow to discuss,” Mazachek wrote in the email.

More: MSU Presidents Project: What is the cost of finding a new university president?

More: Presidential renovations, celebrations and search came at high cost to MSU

2023: Churn at the top again, leader with local roots takes MSU reins

Just two months and eight days after the investiture, shortly before the spring semester was set to begin, Washburn University announced that it had found its presidential candidate.

By Jan. 11, 2023, JuliAnn Mazachek was home in Topeka, leaving MSU vacant at the top again.

The same day, Keith Lamb, vice president for enrollment management and student affairs, stepped into the role of interim president.

Lamb has over 20 years of experience at MSU and has spent much of that time working with students to address their concerns.

Lamb said when Mazachek left, he hoped morale would not be affected.

“My immediate concern was for the people of Midwestern. How would they react to this, right? How would people feel knowing that we had a president for, I think it was seven months?” Lamb said in an interview.

“I fully understood after visiting with Dr. Mazachek her reasons, and reasons to want to go home, but my concern again was for the people here, the psyche of the institution,” he added.

He took on the task of bringing stability to a university experiencing a high degree of turnover in top positions although the interim tag meant some positions would need to be filled by a permanent hire.

“This community means a lot to me and my family, so it was a tremendous honor to get to step into that role and provide stability to the institution at a time when it needed stability,” Lamb said.

Johnston, the choice for interim president when Shipley retired, had departed to take on the role of president at Eastern New Mexico University and chancellor of the ENMU System.

The provost position at MSU was filled in an interim capacity by Margaret Brown Marsden, who the university recently announced will fill the position on a permanent basis.

At the same time Brown Marsden was settling in, three of MSU’s seven colleges — Fain College of Fine Arts, McCoy College of Science, Mathematics and Engineering and the McAda Graduate School — were operating under interim deans.

Of the three interim deans, Fain’s Leah Gose has been announced as the pick to permanently fill the position.

Lamb said the upheaval among leadership is not indicative of an otherwise strong workforce at Midwestern.

“The turnover at the top belies, frankly, the stability at Midwestern,” Lamb said.

Over a month after Mazachek’s surprise departure left the university scrambling, Texas Tech contracted with a search firm to find her replacement on Feb. 28, 2023.

By March 1 of that year, Tech announced a search committee that would work for the rest of the spring semester and into the summer to identify a leader for Midwestern.

On June 20, the committee named Stacia Haynie, Louisiana State University professor and former provost, as the sole finalist for president.

On Aug. 1, with students soon set to return for the fall semester, Haynie took office, offering the university a chance to calm the waters and plan for the future.

Cecil Witherspoon is a freelance writer and former intern for the Times Record News. He is a student at Midwestern State University.

This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: MSU Presidents Project: timeline of leadership at Midwestern State