Missouri State University has named a new interim provost. John Jasinski, the current president of Northwest Missouri State University, will take over on July 1.
Jasinski served as president of NMSU for 13 years before accepting the interim position in Springfield, and MSU President Clif Smart touted Jasinski’s efforts in increasing enrollment by 20.5 percent over the past five years. Jasinski will take over for Frank Einhellig, the current provost and vice president. Next month, Zora Mulligan will join MSU as its executive vice president.
After Einhellig announced his retirement, the initial plan was to fill his position with one person. While Smart said at the time of Mulligan’s hiring that he was ready to hire her to take on both vice president and provost roles, he took into consideration concerns from some faculty that she did not have experience as a professor, a common trait among provosts. In response to those concerns, Smart said MSU would bring on an interim provost.
“This both meets our immediate needs and, as an interim solution funded with one-time funds, it does not involve a permanent expansion of administrative positions,” Smart said last month.
Jasinski’s appointment is for one year, and his term can be extended another year if needed, according to a news release about his hiring.
Prior to his 13 years as president of Northwest Missouri State University, Jasinski has also worked as a chief academic officer, associate provost, department chair and faculty member whose teaching and research focused on mass media. He earned a Ph.D. in educational leadership and higher education administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
“I couldn’t be more excited about adding John to the leadership team,” Smart said in a news release. “John will work with me and Zora Mulligan, our new executive vice president. We’ll get feedback from the campus community to restructure our academic and business units and operations. This will enable us to redesign the university in a way that best meets modern post-secondary needs.”
Jasinski will manage academic program review and approval, accreditations and faculty affairs, according to the news release, and he will also lead an MSU effort to reduce expenses in academic affairs.
