Dr. Richard “Biff” Williams has been named the 12th president of Missouri State University. In an interview with Ozarks Public Radio, he said he’s excited to come to Springfield, and he’s truly honored to be chosen.
Williams said he’s most looking forward to getting involved with faculty, staff, students and the community, "getting out listening, learning, seeing how I can be of help, how my experience can contribute to already they things that they're doing that are really fantastic but just getting to know people, listening and seeing where we're at and how I can contribute."
His first priority, he said, will be to introduce himself to as many people as possible and to listen to what they have to say. He said collaboration is important to him, "this being our school and our strategic plan and our efforts and our successes."
He said his leadership style is based on collaboration, communication and consistency. Communication, according to Williams, is the key to all success.
"You will see a very communicative president," he said. "I like to make sure that the community knows exactly what we're doing, the campus knows what we're doing."
He said one way he’s listened in the past is through listening lunches. When he arrives on campus in early summer, Williams said he plans to identify the best ways to communicate. And he said he’ll make sure collaboration continues as the university works to realize the goals laid out in MSU’s strategic plan.
KSMU asked him, "how important is it for you to be available and accessible to students?"
"Very important. I think students are the reason why we exist," he said, "and so, I really believe that the student is the focal point and that we need to listen to them. When I came to Utah Tech University, I think that was one of the smartest pieces of advice that I received was really listen to the students, and so I have made it a practice to always listen to the students. My wife and I host a number of dinners at the first eight, nine weeks of school. We have anywhere from — COVID year was 600 to our maximum year was 1800 student in our home eating dinner telling us a little bit about what they, what their experiences at the university and then how we can make it better. Also, I think in the strategic planning process, the student voice is key."
Williiams said he and his wife will be very active with MSU students – from having them to their home, to having town halls with them, to meeting them where they are at games and in the student union.
"I find that, with students, the informal, where you show up at the commons, and you have lunch with them and just start talking, they'll tell you everything you need to know about the university, and that will be a good start," he said.
As far as the broader region, KSMU asked Williams how he views a university’s role in its community.
"We're there to educate the populace there. We're there to help with economic development. We're there to serve, to educate, to collaborate with businesses," he said. I think it's important for us to know what the greater community expects from us. I think Missouri State already does an excellent job at that with their community engagement...I think that is front and center. I think that keeping that communication open with the community constantly and consistently will be important. Are we meeting the workforce demands? Are we serving the community? Are we providing the access to the students that want to go to Missouri State University? Are we providing higher education opportunities for those that already have a degree and maybe need to re-tool or reset or get an added certificate? So, I think it's very important for Missouri State to continue to serve the community as a whole."
Dr. Richard “Biff” Williams will start his job as the 12th president of Missouri State University on July 1.
