Piano Camp

MWSU President Testifies About Proposed Budget

President Vartabedian told state lawmakers about the potential impact on the university of further cuts in state appropriations during testimony on Feb. 1.

Testifying with other university presidents before the Missouri House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations-Education, Dr. Vartabedian said the governor's recommended cut of 12.5 percent would represent a decrease of about $2.9 million in Western's state appropriation.

''We have approximately 30 position openings, and unless the proposed reduction is significantly decreased, we may be able to fill only a very small number of those vacancies,'' Dr. Vartabedian said. ''We have already eliminated numerous positions across campus, and our use of adjunct faculty, already up 25 percent over the last three years, will continue to grow. With the cuts we've already absorbed, several programs and services that directly support our students and our community may be dramatically impacted by the governor's recommended budget.''

Dr. Vartabedian outlined several steps that have already been taken to help the university deal with dwindling state support, including increasing class sizes, freezing salaries and wages since 2008, reducing faculty compensation for summer teaching and cutting operating budgets across campus by 30 percent.

He noted that state appropriations as a percent of the university's total funding has declined from 61.7 percent in fiscal year 2000 to 41.3 percent this year. If the proposed 12.5 percent cut in fiscal year 2013 is approved, state appropriations would make up approximately 37.8 percent of Westerns budget. Western absorbed an 8.2 decrease in state funding in fiscal 2012, and a 5.2 percent cut in fiscal 2011.

''Despite continued cuts in state appropriations, Missouri Western has held its tuition and fees well below the state average,'' Dr. Vartabedian said. Western's average tuition is the third lowest among public universities in the state.

Dr. Vartabedian and his Cabinet will be holding a university forum to discuss the budget situation at 3 p.m. Friday, Feb.10 in Hearnes 102. For those unable to attend, the forum will be videotaped and posted online.

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Study Away

Among the upcoming Study Away opportunities this spring is Rome (above) May 23 through June 9 and New York (right) March 29 through April 1. Both credit classes are available to any Western student, and there are no prerequisites. For information on these two trips, contact Geo Sipp. Other trips include San Francisco March 9-13 (contact Cynthia Bartels) and Spain March 9-18 (contact Joanne Katz). You can also contact the director of Study Away, Peggy Ellis.

Western names Yordy to lead University Advancement

Dr. Jonathan Yordy will be the next vice president for university advancement at Missouri Western State University. Dr. Yordy will replace Dan Nicoson, who is retiring June 30 after eight years at Western.

''I am very happy that Dr. Yordy will be a part of the senior administrative team at Missouri Western,'' said Dr. Robert A. Vartabedian, Western's president. ''His more than two decades of experience in higher education should serve him well in this very important position.''

Dr. Yordy will oversee advancement activities of the university, including development, alumni services, public relations and marketing, and campus printing and design services. He will serve as a member of the president's cabinet and as executive director of the MWSU Foundation.

''I am delighted to be joining the Missouri Western community and the faculty, staff, students and alumni that hold this institution dear,'' Dr. Yordy said. ''I am excited by the university's leadership and direction. Missouri Western is vitally important to the region and its economy, and I very much look forward to joining the Western team and helping to increase its financial base.''

Dr. Yordy has been executive director of major gifts at Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill., since 2008. In that position, he led a successful $31 million fundraising campaign, grew the university's planned and estate giving program and oversaw a two-year increase in giving of 41 percent.

Previously, Dr. Yordy was coordinator of public relations and fundraising for the University of Missouri-St. Louis from 2003 to 2008. In that role, he oversaw all constituent events at the chancellor's residence; was responsible for the strategic selection, cultivation and solicitation of key donors and stakeholders; successfully negotiated a $1.5 million gift of 90 acres and a $2.4 million estate gift; and helped recruit a Fortune 150 company to build headquarters on the university's campus.

Dr. Yordy previously worked in university relations at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point from 1997 to 2003; was a television producer at Washington State University from 1992 to 1996; was a partner in Vivace Press, a publisher of classical music, from 1990 to 2008; and was editor of the science alumni magazine at State University of New York at Buffalo from 1989 to 1991.

Dr. Yordy has also served as a lecturer at several universities, has published scholarly articles and poetry and has written the lyrics or libretti to several musicals and operas that have been publicly performed at venues including Carnegie Hall and New York University.

Dr. Yordy graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in English Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1984, and received his Ph.D. in English from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1997.

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