A smooth transition: Missouri State prepares for Biff Williams' presidency July 1

Richard "Biff" Williams will be back in Springfield for a visit in late April and soon after will move to the city.

The 12th president of Missouri State University will officially start work July 1 but the university is taking steps now to get him up to speed and ensure a smooth transition.

Williams will succeed the retiring Clif Smart and both were in a virtual meeting Wednesday of the MSU Board of Governors, which was devoted in large part to the upcoming change.

The former president of Utah Tech University said it's been fun to learn "even more" about the university from a box of items sent his way by Suzanne Shaw, vice president for marking and communication.

"I was excited to get the job but I'm even more excited to start now," he said.

Zora Mulligan, executive vice president at Missouri State, has been designated the point of contact to manage the transition. She is finishing her second year at the university but has deep ties to higher education in the state.

A goal of the transition plan is to "begin to build that trust" between the university and Williams.

"Obviously, we want to set the new president up for success and also use his first 30, 60 and 90 days on campus as an opportunity to really set the tone for his presidency. So we are excited," she said.

Mulligan said part of the plan is "intentionally scheduling" ways for him to connect with the leadership team, the campus and community.

"We are doing the same with topics that the incoming president will need briefings on, thinking about that sequencing and scheduling," she said.

She said brainstorming has started to identify the "key people and groups" that Williams needs to connect with early on.

"We are also going to be working with the incoming President Williams to prepare him for some early tasks and so that includes setting goals for his first year with the board, making sure he has the information to do that, and then making sure we're set up for a successful board retreat in early August," she said. "So there is a lot of work already underway."

Lynn Parman, chair of the MSU Board of Governors, said she wants the transition plan to be in place — ideally, by late April — before Williams is expected to engage in goal-setting with the board.

The plan is to start discussing the goals during the board's June meeting in West Plains and finalize them by the July 17 meeting.

An initial 90-minute transition meeting was scheduled Thursday with Williams for Smart to "start working through some of the major issues that we're dealing with now that are going to be involved in both presidencies, like we're preparing a budget."

"We're going to keep working to the end but it's important that Dr. Williams is aware of the major work that is going on," Smart said. "... We're not going to stop working and then 3-1/2 months from now start again but we need to have that continuity and that momentum to continue."

He added: "He needs to be involved and engaged in giving us input into things as we continue to move forward."

In the meeting, David Attis, the managing director of research at the EAB consulting firm, provided an overview of "best practices" for a presidential transition. He said one of the biggest mistakes a university can make is to wait for the new president to show up before doing anything.

Attis said one advantage for Missouri State is that Williams has experience running a university. But he will still be new to the institution and will need help understanding how it differs from where he worked in Utah.

"He's been successful because he's been able to really work within the context of that previous institution. Now he will quickly have to get up to speed, not so much on what does it look like to be a president but what does it look like to be a president at Missouri State University," Attis said.

Attis said it is critical that Williams develop a strong working relationship with the MSU board, the leadership team, the campus, and the community.

He encouraged different parts of the campus to provide, in a concise way, an analysis of "what it is that is working well, where some of the challenges are, and also where they think the president needs to focus right away."

"In those first 90 days on the job as a president, it can be overwhelming. There is so much information being taken in," Attis said.

More: What Springfield can expect from the next MSU president — and why he goes by Biff

He cautioned that students, staff, and faculty at Missouri State have grown accustomed to Smart's leadership style and that creates a calming sense of predictability.

"There is excitement but also anxiety when a new leader comes in," he said.

He said a new president, especially one that is an "outsider" to the community, can be energizing.

"A lot of stakeholders on campus are anxious, maybe pessimistic, even cynical, and so they need someone who is going to be an important cheerleader to help them feel good about their institution and where it is going," Attis said. "And this transition moment is a great time to do that."

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: A smooth transition: MSU works to prepare next president for July 1