This week’s podcast features the board of curators press conference from the Oct. 22-23 meeting.

The University of Missouri System is embarking on an innovative new way of keeping constituents informed of news from the next board of curators meeting using the popular Web service Twitter. The next meeting’s open session, to be held Friday, Oct. 23, will be live “tweeted” with updates on board actions and discussions posted to a new board of curators Twitter timeline at www.twitter.com/umcurators. Debbie Johnson finds out more from Jennifer Hollingshead, assistant director of UM system’s Office of Strategic Communications, and Michael P. Hill, Web coordinator for the system.

To follow the board of curators meeting Twitter updates, visit www.twitter.com and sign up for a free account. Then navigate to www.twitter.com/umcurators and click the “Follow” button. All you’ll need to then is log in to your Twitter account starting Friday, Oct. 23 at 9 a.m. to receive real-time updates throughout the day.

For details about the meeting, see the full agenda here.

The University of Missouri has requested about $528 million dollars for capital projects on the four campuses. A top priority for UM system is funding for the Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative.  Jennifer Hollingshead spent time chatting with Nikki Krawitz, vice president of finance and administration for the University of Missouri System.

Production and editing by Debbie Johnson.

Why do 7,000 students a year choose MU High School? Well, the convenience of enrolling year-round, the flexibility to choose classes that meet your schedule, and the ability to take classes not offered at your local high school are just a few reasons that MU High School is a useful alternative for many students. Jennifer Hollingshead spends a few minutes chatting with Kristi Smalley, principal for MU High.

Production and editing by Debbie Johnson

The Institute for Urban Education at the University of Missouri-Kansas City is a four-year program designed to prepare students for teaching in urban schools.  This innovative program helps break the cycle of first-year teachers starting at urban schools only to leave a couple of years later. Jennifer Hollingshead talked with Ed Underwood, the institute’s executive director about this teaching program that helps nurture new teachers.

Production and editing by Debbie Johnson.

Missouri’s economic growth, now more than ever, depends on having a well trained and prepared workforce. While colleges and universities are well adept at preparing students for professional careers, today’s job markets change and flow at a rapid rate.  If academic institutions are going to keep up with this pace, they will need working relationships with major public and private employers in the state. Outside In, a University of Missouri System task force, is taking a close look at how to develop this synergy between academia and industry. Today, Jennifer Hollingshead talks about Outside In with the co-chairs of the task force, Esther Thorson and Cindy Pemberton.

Production and editing by Debbie Johnson.

According to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, Missouri has only earned a C+ in preparing students for college, and only gets a C for the number of Missourians enrolled in college by age 19. Knowing that personal and professional success can greatly depend on education and training past high school, the University of Missouri System is looking at ways to better prepare students for college. Jennifer Hollingshead’s guests today are Dan Lowry, co-director of the MU Partnership for Educational Renewal, and Jay Goff, vice provost and dean of enrollment management at Missouri University of Science and Technology. Both gentlemen are co-chairing President Gary D. Forsee’s P-20 Task Force.

Production and editing by Debbie Johnson.

To meet the educational needs of Missouri students and citizens, the University of Missouri must have funds to operate.  But, how are those funds obtained and used?  Jennifer Hollingshead visited with Nikki Krawitz, vice president for finance and administration for the University of Missouri System, to discuss the university’s operating budget.

In an effort to keep private data secure, the university has begun work on the SSN Remediation Project, which will protect social security numbers that are used for university business. When the project is complete, social security numbers will be removed from all individual databases and stored in an encrypted, highly secure vault.

For more information on the university’s SSN Remediation Project, click here.

During these tough economic times, you may question whether this is a good time for the University of Missouri System to issue $332 million in debt financing. However, with the university’s strong credit rating, historically low interest rates and a federal stimulus package, now is the best time to invest in facilities on all four campuses. Jennifer Hollingshead discussed UM financing with Nikki Krawtz, vice president for finance and administration for the University of Missouri System. Also available on YouTube.