Wasson explains timing of decision to resign from Missouri State's Board of Governors

Jay Wasson, who ran unsuccessfully to succeed U.S. Rep. Billy Long, has resigned from the Board of Governors at Missouri State.

He was appointed, along with two other members, to the university's governing board in January 2020 by Gov. Mike Parson.

Wasson told the News-Leader he notified MSU President Clif Smart of the decision to step down in late July.

"Clif was very cordial with me. We've had a good relationship and that is one of the reasons I stayed on as long as I did," he said.

Wasson said even though the political race was time-consuming, he did not want to step aside in the middle of the summer, when critical budget and staffing decisions are being made for the 2022-23 year.

"I wanted to get a couple new positions, that were just hired, in place before I left," he said.

He added: "The university is in a perfect spot right now. It's in a great place and so I felt real comfortable getting off and I'm sure they'll find somebody very, very capable of filling my place."

Wasson was one of eight voting members of the MSU governing board.

They are appointed by the governor —with the input and consent of the Missouri Senate — to serve six-year terms. There must be one, and no more than two, members from each state congressional district.

There is also a non-voting member, a current MSU student, who sits on the board. That seat is also vacant.

"Jay was a great board member," Smart said. "He brought a different kind of insight to the conversation because of his long involvement and experience with the legislature."

Smart said Wasson's background was valuable to the board as they were "evaluating budgets and tuition models, and government advocacy challenges and strategies and COVID issues."

"He brought a different voice, which was good to have in the room, and he was always constructive. And he was always supportive and I am going to miss him a lot."

Smart said he encouraged Wasson to stay but respected his decision.

There is an application process for anyone interested in filling the vacancies for Wasson and the student representative.

Smart noted the term for Gabriel Gore has long expired. MSU does not have a formal role in selecting board members.

"We don't get to pick our bosses. Our role is to encourage good people to apply and then encourage the governor to make a pick," he said.

"My hope is that it will be done this calendar year."

The governor's office told the News-Leader that there is no timeline for picking the new board members.

More: MSU selects interim chief diversity officer to succeed retiring Wes Pratt

Wasson looks forward to retirement, again

Wasson, well known in southwest Missouri, hails from Nixa. He served as Nixa mayor and as a member of the Nixa Area Chamber of Commerce.

He served as a state representative for the 141st District from 2002-2010 and served as a state senator for the 20th District from 2010-2018.

Wasson, who was in an eight-person race for the Republican nomination in southwest Missouri's U.S. House district, lost to Eric Burlison.

He said the campaign kept him so busy, especially during the 60 days before election day, he had not been able to devote the time he said the job deserved.

"I hadn't been able to do what I needed to do there," he said. "That's not a job you need to ignore. And, I either had to ignore it or ignore other things. And so it was just time."

Wasson, who is 65, said he was semi-retired before deciding to make the bid for political office again.

In the wake of the loss, Wasson said he and his wife are content to fully retire.

"This was God's way of saying 'You know what buddy, you're retired. It's time to retire,'" he said. "I had been that way before I made the decision to run for office and I was enjoying it and I will slide right back into that."

He added: "For me and my wife, personally, this is probably the best thing that could have happened to us because now the next 10 years of our lives, which hopefully will be pretty good years, we can do whatever we want to do."

Wasson said he has spent the past two days taking down political signs in the Ozarks. "I think I've finally gotten them all."

Claudette Riley is the education reporter for the News-Leader. Email news tips to criley@news-leader.com.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Wasson explains decision to resign from MSU Board of Governors