Throughout its 102-year history, Missouri Western has never lost sight of its mission of preparing students for careers and providing work-ready employees for businesses and organizations.
A News-Press/Gazette article about the St. Joseph Junior College noted that many people returned to college in the 1930s during the Great Depression, seeking higher education as a key to occupational success. And a look at notes from the 1950s and 1960s reveals that many courses and programs were added at the Junior College so that graduates could quickly obtain a job once they graduated.
Today, the University’s current mission statement continues to reflect that focus, said Dr. Jeanne Daffron, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs:
“Missouri Western State University is a learning community focused on students as individuals and as members of society. Missouri Western offers students at all stages of life the opportunity to achieve excellence in the classroom and beyond, as they prepare to be leaders in their work and in their communities. As a leader itself, Missouri Western is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the people and the region that it serves.
“As a four-year regional university, workforce development is an important focus for us,” Dr. Daffron said. “It has always been a core mission to be responsive to workforce needs.”
Dr. Daffron sees Missouri Western’s mission statement in action every day, as the University partners with the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce, the school district, businesses and organizations on workforce development issues. She noted that additionally, several academic departments have advisory councils that are made up of business leaders in the region and are consistently asking for feedback on curriculum. All those partnerships, she said, help Missouri Western prepare students for graduation.
“We are continually thinking of the future. We want to know that what we are teaching is in tune with what employers are going to need,” she said. “Our interactions with businesses are critical.”
Academic departments also meet with students who are completing internships at area businesses to make sure what they are learning is lining up with what they need to know in the workplace, Dr. Daffron said. Additionally, graduate programs and new degree concentrations have been developed in response to area employers’ input and regional workforce needs. A new MBA program in the Craig School of Business that started this fall is the most recent example.
Dr. Gary Clapp, coordinator of workforce development and grants procurement at Missouri Western, said a critical part of his job is meeting with businesses and industries across the region to discuss their needs.
“It’s our responsibility to make sure we are listening to employers and employees,” he said. “We want to match employee talent with employer needs.”
Dr. Clapp is a member of the Northwest Workforce Development Board, which serves 18 counties in northwest Missouri, and the Heartland Foundation’s e2 Pathways to Prosperity Action Team. During the 2015-16 school year, he taught the inaugural class for the Manufacturing Technician Level 1 certificate at Hillyard Technical Center to prepare students to work in manufacturing plants, and he is still involved in that certification program.
Missouri Western is also a member of the St. Joseph Workforce Development Alliance with the school district, Hillyard Technical Center, the United Way of Greater St. Joseph, local businesses and the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce.
Kristie Arthur, director of workforce development for the Chamber, said the purpose of the alliance is to coordinate local training and educational initiatives to support a prepared and engaged workforce, which will in turn lead to successful local businesses. She says the creation of her position at the Chamber when she was hired in November 2015 speaks to the importance of workforce development to the region.
Arthur said that technological advances in manufacturing now require employees to have a higher skill level, and there is currently a shortage of employees with those skills. Recent Chamber initiatives to close the gap have included setting up tours of area manufacturing facilities for high school students to learn about what such jobs entail, and coordinating a Manufacturing Day for 300 high school students in October 2016. They also hold the My Success Event each year, an opportunity for high school sophomores to learn about the educational and technical skills necessary to pursue their career interests in the local economy.
In response to the employee shortage in the manufacturing fields, Missouri Western began offering two new concentrations in the Associate of Applied Science in Manufacturing Engineering Technology program this fall – precision machining, and instrumentation and automation.
“These programs meet an identified need for mid-level technicians in the region’s growing advanced manufacturing economy,” said Dr. Jinwen Zhu, professor and chair of engineering technology. “Working with regional employers, Missouri Western has designed curriculum plans that would prepare graduates for these positions.”
Additionally, a concentration in supply chain management for the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration began last fall in the Craig School of Business.
Supply chain management is the study of the movement of materials, information and finances as they flow from supplier to manufacturer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer, explained Dr. Michael Lane, dean of the Craig School of Business. He added that supply chain management is one of the highest paid areas for professional positions both in the United States and globally.
The program was developed, Dr. Lane said, in response to requests from local and regional employers.
Dr. Daffron said that although most people think of manufacturing jobs when they hear “workforce development,” for Missouri Western, the term really encompasses a broad array of career fields, such as health care, law enforcement, entrepreneurism and social services; and the University partners with businesses and organizations in those fields, as well.
“We need all our students to be prepared to succeed as employees and we want to do what helps the region be successful,” Dr. Daffron said.