“Changes in the President’s administrative team are a normal part of the transition progress, and it was important for Dr. McCarthy to stay on and work with me during this first year as I learned the campus culture,” said Missouri State President James E. Cofer Sr. “I have known for some time Belinda’s desire to return to the classroom when the right opportunity arose, and working with the Student Affairs in Higher Education program provides an excellent opportunity for her to use her experiences over the last three decades in the classroom.”
In the coming days, Cofer will consult with faculty leadership before appointing an interim provost. He plans to make that appointment sometime in the next 30-45 days so the person can begin by Aug. 1. Then, a national search for a new provost will begin as soon as possible, probably early this fall.
McCarthy was hired as the first full-time provost when it was reestablished at Missouri State in 2005. She also holds the title of vice president for academic affairs and she is chancellor of the Mountain Grove campus.
As provost, she developed academic, personnel and fiscal policies and procedures as the university moved to the cost center model and implemented recommendations of the Higher Learning Commission. Under her leadership, academic programs began a period of benchmarking and external review of programs; institutional research was expanded and reoriented to support the needs of decision-makers to assess and enhance quality and efficiency.
She reorganized enrollment management services and integrated academic and student affairs initiatives to support student learning and retention, establishing a wide array of student success programs, including living learning communities and the Bear Claw, the university’s new 10,000 square foot Learning Commons.
A Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning was developed, which now provides extensive pedagogical support for online and technology enhanced instruction. Working with internal and external constituencies, she has fostered the maturing of the university’s public affairs mission, with particular focus on diversity and international initiatives.
As chancellor of the Mountain Grove campus, she oversaw the renovation of student housing and historic buildings as well as the development of a bottling facility and retail site for the distribution of Mountain Grove wines. She worked closely with the Mountain Grove advisory council to make the Mountain Grove campus a resource and asset to the community of Mountain Grove.
In her new role, she will be working in three broad areas in the Master of Student Affairs in Higher Education program:
§ Research curriculum and pedagogy in the MS in Student Affairs. She will be responsible for curriculum development and instruction in the areas of assessment, research and program evaluation, integrating newly identified competencies for student affairs professionals (adopted in July 2010 by American College Personnel Association (ACPA) and NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education) into the curriculum
§ Online course and support services development – she will develop online courses in the areas of assessment, research and program evaluation, and then work with other faculty in the program to develop a three-year online course sequence for working professionals.
