Initiatives

The initiatives below are ongoing MU projects that are housed (either fully or in collaboration with another unit) in the Provost’s Office.

Faculty Salary Equity Study 2022-2023

The University engaged an external partner, Robert K. Toutkoushian from the University of Georgia, to complete a faculty salary equity study for the 2022-2023 academic year. This was a follow-up from a 2014-2015 study completed by the same external consultant, who is an expert in the area. MU Faculty Council and the Status of Women Committee asked former Provost Latha Ramchand to commission the survey. The analysis included salary data for more than 1,200 faculty, both tenure-eligible and non-tenure-eligible.

Across the university, evidence of overall salary compression between junior and senior faculty was not found. Likewise, overall, the assessment did not show evidence of a statistically significant unexplained pay gap by gender or race for tenure-eligible faculty or non-tenure-eligible faculty.

View the full report.

Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) Survey

The Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education (COACHE) is an ongoing study of faculty job satisfaction coordinated and administered by Harvard University. COACHE strives to place actionable information in the hands of participating colleges and universities to improve work life for faculty. COACHE administers an annual survey and provides each participating institution with a formal Provost’s Report containing both internal and external comparative analyses highlighting each institution’s strengths and opportunities for improvement. The University of Missouri Office of Institutional Research and Quality Improvement has used this data to create reports specific to each school and college.

MU’s most recent COACHE survey was administered in Spring 2022. Provost Ramchand convened the COACHE Survey Faculty Job Satisfaction Committee to analyze data from the survey and issue a report. Go to the COACHE page to see the past COACHE results and information.

Exit Interviews

Beginning in 2021, the Provost’s Office will be doing optional exit interviews with all tenure-line faculty who decide to leave the University. The purpose of this initiative is to better understand why faculty are leaving MU and what we can be doing better to retain them. Please contact Candace Kuby, Associate Provost for Faculty Success (kubyc@missouri.edu) for more information.

Faculty Success Council

The Office of the Provost has established a Faculty Success Council to bring colleges and schools together in a collective, campus wide effort to discuss and make changes for better faculty success on campus.  The Faculty Success Council’s purpose is to support faculty members holistically, not only for research and/or teaching but also for service, leadership, engagement and outreach, and wellbeing.  The Council meets regularly during the academic year, engages in discussions with their unit’s leadership team and faculty members, and helps facilitate programming, initiatives, and/or supports in their unit related to faculty success.  The Dean from each unit appoints a representative to serve on the Council.  Questions about the Faculty Success Council – contact Associate Provost for Faculty Success, Candace Kuby, kubyc@missouri.edu

Mizzou Allocation Process

Please see the Division of Finance for historical information about the budget process.

Strategic Plan

As a comprehensive research university, we are privileged to extend our research, learning, engagement and economic development beyond our campus. Our mission starts here but our impact is global. Our plan embodies our commitment to our students, faculty, staff, alumni and the larger community. In this commitment is our recognition that while we are the University of Missouri, we are really the University for Missouri. To see the details of the Strategic Plan, click here.

Student Success

In September 2022, the Office of the Provost hosted a Student Success Retreat that brought together faculty, staff, and administrators from all colleges. The topics proposed for actions coming out of this retreat include:

  • Summer Programs
    • Summer Bridge Working Group
    • Mizzou Welcome/Onboarding
  • Freshmen Experiences
    • First Year Seminar
    • Other Freshman Academic Experiences: FIGs, Undergraduate Research, Community Service/Service Learning, Study Abroad.
  • First Generation Experiences
  • Support for Students in Crisis
  • Support for Students with Disabilities
  • Early Alert systems
  • Financial aid – Past Due Holds – Emergency Aid
  • Academic Actions and Process Improvements (Addressing barriers and bottlenecks to academic policies/processes including transition to new majors)
  •  On-campus Work & Paid Internships

Working with Faculty Council, we are organizing subcommittees to address each of these crucial areas. These subcommittees, which will include faculty and staff, will be led by a steering committee comprised of chairs of each subcommittee.