Open Letter to the Northwest Board of Regents Regarding President John Jasinski

To: John Moore	Roxanna Swaney
Stephen Coppinger	Shanda Durbin
Jason Klindt	Deborah Roach
Mel Tjeerdsma	Connor Thompson

Re:        President John Jasinski

Dear Members of the Northwest Missouri State University Board of Regents:

Since I first wrote to you one week ago, members of the Bearcat family have continued to reach out to me to express their dissatisfaction with your decision to discard President Jasinski. While I am disappointed that no members of the Board reached out to me to discuss our concerns since you received my letter on April 5, I do appreciate your decision to allow public comment during the Board meeting scheduled for this afternoon [April 12th]. Barring unforeseen circumstances, I will be taking advantage of that opportunity. In advance of the meeting, I wanted to update the April 5 letter in order to add more than 30 more names to the list of additional signatories. The text of the original letter follows: 

My name is Tracey Steele.  I am a 1993 graduate of Northwest and a native of northwest Missouri.  I am writing today, and am joined by the additional signatories listed below, to express grave concern with the recent news that President John Jasinski is being forced out of office.  While some Northwest faculty and staff knew this was coming, the news came as a massive surprise to many of us in the broader Northwest community.

I am calling on you to provide transparency into the decision-making process and explain why the Board is not fighting to keep a leader as popular and successful as President Jasinski, rather than informing him two years ago that his contract would not be renewed.  As of this writing, the list of additional signatories below contains more than 100 names (and counting; additional names will continue to be added) and includes alumni, students, retired faculty and staff, and other members of the Bearcat family.  We all have a vested interest in seeing Northwest continue to thrive.

I trust that you are far better informed than I when it comes to the state of affairs at Northwest, but for the sake of illustration, let me list a few of the University’s accolades:  

• Growing Enrollment:  Enrollment in the fall 2021 semester reached 7,870, an all-time record for Northwest, at a time when many 4-year schools are seeing dwindling numbers
• Affordability:  In an era of skyrocketing student loan debt, Northwest remains an “affordable institution”, as determined by the National College Attainment Network
• Satisfied Students:  82% of Northwest students would choose Northwest again if they had a chance to go back – compared to the national average of 75%
• Prepared for Work:  Northwest is ranked as the #1 school in Missouri when it comes to finding a job after graduation

With all of that in mind, why on Earth would you want to lose the person who has led Northwest so successfully?  That is the question on my mind and on the minds of so many other members of the Bearcat family (including, but certainly not limited to, the additional signatories listed below) since hearing the news.

I use the term “Bearcat family” because I want to emphasize just how vital Northwest is to the region of northwest Missouri, touching the lives of far more people than just the faculty, staff, students and alumni.  Everyone who lives in northwest Missouri should be considered a stakeholder and deserves to know why the appointed Board of Regents is making this controversial choice, especially since it has apparently been made without a vote.

The Board of Regents’ web page states that “[t]he Board holds the Northwest vision in highest regard.”  I want to believe that is true, but I’m a Missourian, so I was born skeptical – they call this the Show-Me State for a reason.  The decision to force out President Jasinski is causing me to lose confidence in the direction of the Board of Regents.  It is incumbent on the members of the Board to explain its decision at the next meeting of the Board of Regents.  I intend to attend the meeting on May 4 and I urge you to seek the input of the University’s stakeholders at that time.  

Thank you for your consideration of our concerns and requests.  

Sincerely, Tracey Steele (’93)

cc:       Gov. Mike Parson 

Sen. Dan Hegeman 

Rep. Allen Andrews 

Pres. John Jasinski 

Melissa Evans 

Additional Signatories

Bob Stalder Richard Smith Sheila Wogomon Shari Griffin John Richmond Randy Sharp Steve Tappmeyer Tammi Boldt Pierce Ken Peek Michelle Rogers-Trussell Jenny James Hayward Marge Wolfer Sue Dorrel Chandra Hopkins Judy Swisher Katherine Cox Kate Jackson Katie Frutiger Wendy Mayer Kelly Cofer Linda Ray-McKenna Troy Apostol Ann Henry Stough Bertoldie Matt Darrah Caleb R. Holder Sue Calegan Amy Duggan Castillo Debra Parsons James Ben Throm Rob Carson Kindra Mooney Lori Starr Jerry Cook Matthew Borgard Tiffany Carroll-Kirkland Cassie Runde Eric C. Reeves Matt Brownsberger Charles Izard Linda Girard Amanda Sutton Joan Jackson Tonya Reser Layman Joe Smith Vicki Salsbury Amanda Swanson Art Miller Mary Stevenson-Cook Paul Read T.R. Hoefle	Molly Rossiter Steve Rhodes Lindsay Helle Mindi DiStefano Doug Sellers Chase Michael Young Brendan Kelemen Scott Jenson Kevin Fullerton Teresa Hobbs Tye Janessa Butterfield Donna Heckman Marty Small Tom DiStefano Mike Cox Patti Quaas Candy Clark Montgomery Lisa Renze Jesse Murphy Aaron Luke Diana Acton-Anderson Eric Thomeczek Jennifer Meyer Salvo Holly Murphy-Barstow Katie Harrison Ted DeVore Amanda Swanson Lori Huber Margaret Nelson Art Miller Michael French Doug Seipel Mary Stevenson-Cook Christy Heldenbrand Prather Cindy Ott Wells Anne Larson Hughes Paul Read Kim Caniglia Ken Scribner T.R. Hoefle Kandyce Schoephoerster Watson Lucinda Brown Nancy Smith Dave Gilland Lori Huber Michael French Christy Heldenbrand Kim Caniglia Kandyce Schoephoerster Watson	David L. McLaughlin Laura Dennison Basye Linda Allen Tracy Lykins Dulle Laura Cline Oliva John Kelly Heather Jackson Carl Heck Laura Widmer Laurel Adams Gifford Lee Butterfield Angela Tackett Verhulst Andrea McIrvin Kathy Steiner Scott Cofer Scott Albright Kevin Fuller Alan Hainkel Kurt Clark Tim Wilkinson Tracey Booth Wasinger Susan Gladstone Tucker Jill Murdock Stringer Tracy Ann Banks Bruce Barstow Robert Calegan Kirk Henry Dani Allen Jerry Mills Jeff Greunke Teresa Gumm Gina Kutilek Monica Pennington Tim McGinnis Laura Girard-Munroe Christina Miller Myrna Read Christy Leahy Hogan Darryl Johnson Sue Fetters Marilou Joyner Jeffrey A. Cook Brendan Kelly Terri Salsbury Ted DeVore Margaret Nelson Doug Seipel Prather Cindy Ott Wells Ken Scribner Lucinda Brown

Editor's Note -- On April 7th, Board member Debbie Roach made a motion to extend Jasinski's contract by five years, and board member Roxanna Swaney seconded. The motion failed on a 4-2 vote. Board members John Moore, Stephen Coppinger, Jason Klindt, and Mel Tjeerdsma voted against the extension. On April 10th, Roach wrote a statement to the Northwest Missourian, the student paper, speaking for herself and not any of the other board members, expressing support for Jasinski.