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Q&A: MSU President Bob Davies Talks Strategic Plan and Board Governance

murraystate.edu

Murray State University's 13th President Dr. Bob Davies visits the WKMS studios for the first of a series of monthly conversations on the state of the university. 

Davies spoke with Chad Lampe on his impressions of MSU after the first month in office, his initial discussions with the Board of Regents, his administration's big picture plans for improving the academic process as well as how changes to The Clery Act will affect faculty and students. 

Davies has said that one of his most significant actions during the first six months of his presidency will be assembling a strategic plan for improving the university. He says that he's already begun to formulate that plan drawing inspirations from the three stars on MSU's shield. 

"Dr. Rainey Wells set up the institution with three pillars of thought and those were Achievement, Endeavor and Hope," said Davies. "Those are the pillars that Murray State has had for 92 years and we need to translate those into our thoughts and actions as we move forward." 

Davies says there are four key questions that he says needed to be addressed in the strategic planning process. 

"We are an academic institution, so first we need to be thinking about how do we maintain our premier academic culture and reputation of quality?," said Davies. "At that same time, student success: how do we make sure that when we admit a student to Murray State University we provide them a pathway to succeed? Be it at graduation, higher learning and knowledge, whatever goals that they have both curricular and co-curricular, we provide them that pathway to succeed.

"Also, it's important that we further the depth and breadth of knowledge through our research, scholarship and creative activities that builds into student success and academic quality. But we need to be thinking about how do we infuse student research with faculty research? How do we ensure that we continue to have creative pursuits that advance our cultural and civic missions as well?

"And finally, how do we continue to intertwine ourselves with the community that we serve? We are a regional university; we are here to partner with the region on many different fronts: economically, civically, culturally, educationally. How do we ensure that we are always intertwined with those efforts?" 

Davies says he wants to establish a task force in the coming months made up of university leadership, faculty, students and community members to ensure that the strategic plan is carried out with discussion and input given on a periodic basis. 

Chad Lampe, a Poplar Bluff, Missouri native, was raised on radio. He credits his father, a broadcast engineer, for his technical knowledge, and his mother for the gift of gab. At ten years old he broke all bonds of the FCC and built his own one watt pirate radio station. His childhood afternoons were spent playing music and interviewing classmates for all his friends to hear. At fourteen he began working for the local radio stations, until he graduated high school. He earned an undergraduate degree in Psychology at Murray State, and a Masters Degree in Mass Communication. In November, 2011, Chad was named Station Manager in 2016.
Rob Canning is a native of Murray, KY, a 2015 TV Production grad of Murray State. At MSU, he served as team captain of the Murray State Rowing Club. Rob's goal is to become a screenwriter, film director or producer and looks to the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie for inspiration. He appreciates good music, mainly favoring British rock n' roll, and approves of anything with Jack White's name on it. When not studying, rowing or writing, Rob enjoys spending his free time with a book or guitar.
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