Editor's note: Second of three profiles of candidates for president of Missouri State University. Richard “Biff” Williams was profiled Feb. 11. A profile of the final candidate, Roger Thompson, will be published prior to his campus visit Feb. 28-29. Follow all of our coverage of the search here.
It was in April 2022 that John Jasinski publicly revealed the Northwest Missouri State University Board of Regents was not going to extend his contract beyond June of that year.
Why did they let him go? One colleague, Robert Vartabedian, former president of Missouri Western State University, in nearby St. Joseph, told the Hauxeda that Jasinski likely got caught in the “crossfire” of Republican politics.
Weeks after it became known Jasinski would be leaving Maryville, longtime Northwest communications professor Fred Lamer took the opportunity to praise Jasinski's legacy. It was at a gathering for retiring faculty, including Lamer.
Jasinski, who had once worked in the same department, would depart Northwest June 30, 2022, after 13 years as president. His contract was not renewed.
“His accomplishments, his achievements over his duration here are nothing short of remarkable,” Lamer said. “We're talking about a person who pulled us back from the brink of financial disaster through tireless effort. Who worked himself to exhaustion, who took no credit for it.
“Here's the person who managed to maintain enrollment when all others were in decline. To maintain an advantage (in) retention rates. To lead a building campaign that built new structures. Marvelous things. Incredible accomplishments.”
“Is he without fault?” Lamer asked his audience, pausing for comic effect. “Of course not. For one, President John Jasinski, Dr. J — he stole that name.” The original Dr. J is Julius Erving, an iconic basketball player. Jasinski, 61, has a doctoral degree.
John Jasinski has been MSU's provost since 2022
Jasinski is one of three finalists to become the next president of MSU. The other finalists are Roger Thompson and Richard “Biff” Williams.
All three finalists initially agreed to be interviewed by the Hauxeda, but were then discouraged from doing so by MSU and canceled.
Clif Smart, MSU president since 2011, will step down at the end of the semester.
Thompson, 57, is vice president for student services and enrollment management at the University of Oregon. Prior to that, he served in administrative posts at Indiana University and the University of Alabama.
Meet the candidate
John Jasinski will be involved in public sessions:
- On the MSU West Plains campus on Feb. 26 for an open forum from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the Fowler Lecture Hall in Looney Hall, followed by a reception in the parlor of Kellett Hall 2:45-3:45 p.m.
- On Feb. 27 at the Plaster Student Union Theater on the Springfield campus from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Williams, 52, in January resigned his presidency at Utah Tech University in St. George after nearly 10 years. Williams also is one of five finalists to become the next president of New Mexico State University. Williams did his public visits Feb. 14-15.
Once he left Northwest Missouri State, Jasinski quickly was hired by Missouri State, first as interim provost and then as full-time provost. Smart was glad to get him. He told the Springfield News-Leader in a Dec. 11, 2023 story:
“I knew he would fit here because his style is similar to mine,” Smart said. “He is very open. He is very honest. He is a consensus-builder while not being afraid to make decisions. He engages with everyone. People like him. He never raises his voice. He is always thoughtful.”
Northwest's board never fully explained why
Jasinski's employment contract had been renewed several times at Northwest. The school's board of regents let it expire June 2022. Two regents proposed it be extended five years. Their motion was defeated on a 4-2 vote.
What's known about Jasinski's departure from Northwest Missouri State is that John Moore, then board of regents chairman, has said that with one year left on Jasinski's contract it was voided and extended two more years, until June 30, 2022.
Moore also said publicly that at the time of the extension, he told Jasinski there would be no more extensions after that.
related story
Ten things to know from the resume of John Jasinski
Here are 10 accomplishments the Hauxeda gleaned from the 24-page curriculum vitae (resume) of John Jasinski, provost of Missouri State University.
In 2021, Jasinski was a finalist to be the next president of Minnesota State University in Mankato. He interviewed for the post, but then withdrew from consideration.
Moore and others on the Northwest Missouri State Board of Regents have said the decision to not renew Jasinski had nothing to do with his job performance.
On the other hand, the board never fully explained its decision, which confounded Jasinski's supporters in Maryville.
Before he left Northwest Missouri State, Jasinski rather cryptically wrote: “Look critically at the Board of Regents. Understand the inner workings and ties to others, discern the intended direction, ascertain support or lack thereof for critical issues and weigh in on the institution's future.”
A record of enrollment, financial successes
Jasinski's presidential tenure at Northwest Missouri State is marked by consistent success.
He led the university's ambitious Forever Green fundraising campaign (green is a university official color). The initial goal was $45 million. It closed June 30, 2021, at $55 million. The school set enrollment records in the fall of 2021 and the spring of 2022.
Northwest won eight national athletic championships in NCAA Division II during Jasinski's tenure as president. It is one of only two institutions to win a football and men's basketball championship in the same year — 2016–17. The other school is the University of Florida.
For those who might not know, success in intercollegiate athletics can be a boon to enrollment. Some call it the “Flutie Effect.”
Boston College's greatest marketing campaign lasted six seconds. In a 1984 football game against the University of Miami, Boston College quarterback Doug Flutie threw a last-second “Hail Mary” pass 48 yards for a game-winning touchdown. It is considered one of the most exciting college football finishes ever.
Two years later, applications were up 30 percent at Boston College.
Revered football coach says it wasn't about a statue, but won't say what it was about
Mel Tjeerdsma is a hallowed figure in Maryville. He was Northwest Missouri State's football coach 1994 to 2010. He is in the college football hall of fame. His Bearcat teams won three Division II national championships. The Northwest Missouri State football field is named after him.
He retired, moved to Texas for a time, and returned to Maryville in 2013 when he was named athletic director for the Bearcats. He retired from that position in 2019 and that year was appointed to the Northwest Missouri State Board of Regents.
Tjeerdsma (pronounced “Church-muh”) cast one of the four votes to not renew Jasinski's contract.
According to news reports, one Northwest alumnus, who was upset that Jasinski was not being retained, said that a point of friction was that Jasinski had pushed back on the idea that a statue of Tjeerdsma be placed on campus.
Tjeerdsma denied that in an interview with the Hauxeda. He said the statue was of no importance to him.
“I appreciate you asking that,” he said. “Because there was some discussion about it at one time. I knew nothing about it. It didn't happen. So it was no big deal to me, and that's about as far as it goes. I didn't even know anything about it until it was long past.”
Tjeerdsma was asked why he voted to not renew Jasinski's contract.
“I really don't want to get into that,” Tjeerdsma said. “I don't think that's fair to him. I don't think that's fair to Northwest Missouri State. I think we made a decision based on what we felt at the time was the best for Northwest Missouri State, and we've moved on.”
Many, including newspaper, wanted to know: Why?
An April 2022 editorial ran in the St. Joseph News-Press that expressed the same puzzlement and surprise felt by many in the Maryville and Northwest Missouri State communities. It said, in part:
“The Northwest Missouri State University Board of Regents runs the risk of losing public trust following its decision not to renew the contract of Dr. John Jasinski, the university president. Not for the decision — boards have the authority to do things like this — but because the public is left with so many more questions than answers.
“The move certainly comes as a surprise given some of the successes in the Jasinski era, including two consecutive years of record enrollment and a capital campaign that raised $55 million.”
Debbie Roach, a member of Northwest's board of regents since 2019, wanted Jasinski to stay. She described him as a person of high character.
“I think he was exceptional,” said Roach. Since 1998, she has been mayor of Grant City, 34 miles from Maryville.
“He was an excellent leader,” Roach said. “You could walk across campus with him and he pretty much knew the names of every student on campus. I mean, the kids, the students loved him.
“He brought the university out of the hole as far as finance is concerned. In the 13 years that he was here it became one of the — how can I say this without sounding conceited? — best universities in the state.”
Back in 2022, Roach was one of many rallying in support of Jasinski. She submitted a public statement that said, in part:
“I attended my first meeting in June of 2019 and it was apparent there was an underlying agenda at that time being set up by certain members of the board. After the second and third meetings, it became apparent what that agenda was and how it was going to be accomplished. ... It is political or personal, in my opinion very much so.”
A regent who some think was playing politics
Jason Klindt was appointed to the Northwest board by Gov. Eric Greitens in 2018. His six-year term expired Jan. 1, 2023.
Klindt currently is senior director of external affairs at Evergy, an electric company in Kansas City. But he also was a spokesman many years for Republican Congressman Sam Graves, of the Sixth District in northern Missouri, stretching from St. Joseph to Hannibal.
Klindt also worked for Axiom Strategies in Kansas City, a GOP political consulting firm founded by Jeff Roe and noted for its hardball, scorched-earth attack campaigns.
Klindt earned bachelor's and a master's degrees at Northwest Missouri State. Roe has a bachelor's degree from the school.
The Maryville Forum, in a May 2022 story, reported that Pat Haar, a former chairman of the Northwest Board of Regents, who left the board in 2019, spoke on behalf of Jasinski and who said Klindt was the man behind the plan to let Jasinski go. Haar said in part:
“I know from virtually day one, Jason (Klindt) spoke about a contract — your statement was, ‘He’s been here 10 years, that’s long enough, he’s gotta go,’” Haar said. “… Where do we go from there? … Because you never explained where that came from. And over the past three years, there’s been a dramatic shift on the board as far as what to do with Dr. J’s contract, because you’ve repeatedly said in public that it had nothing to do with performance.
“His evaluations were good, where the university was going was good, but never, ever have you really come forth with the reasoning behind, ‘he’s gotta go.’”
The Hauxeda reached out to Klindt, who left a voice message in response. He said:
“I'm sure you're calling about John Jasinski, Look, I just don't have any interest in commenting on the record about that. I don't think it does anybody any good. I just wanted to call you back and tell you that.”
Personal tidbits: marathoner and state champ in baseball in high school
From newspaper and other online sources, the Hauxeda learned the following about Jasinski.
He is a native of Flint, Michigan, and played on a state championship baseball team at Flint Powers Catholic High School, where he graduated in 1980.
He has run 11 marathons, including Boston, and finished them all.
He was on the Maryville City Council 2002-2007, years when he was not employed at Northwest Missouri State.
Jasinski and his wife Denise have been married 37 years and have four children, all grown, and one grandson.
He has extensive experience in radio. He taught mass communications at Northwest and later was chairman of the department. He was the National Broadcast Advisor of the Year in 1993, according to the College Media Association, and was Broadcast Student of the Year at Central Michigan University, where he earned his bachelor's degree in broadcast and cinematic arts/public communications.
Caught in ‘crossfire' of Republican politics
Robert Vartabedian was president of Western Missouri State University, in St. Joseph, 43 miles from Maryville.
Vartabedian was president 2008 until retiring July 2019. He now lives in Texas. Jasinski was president at Northwest from 2009 to June 30, 2022. They know each other.
“I think he (Jasinski) ran into some board members who did not treat him fairly, who were rather heavy handed,” Vartabedian told the Daily Citizen. “He stood up to them. And again, since I was retired, everything I had was secondhand information. But I think he showed some backbone. And I think as a result of it, he was eased out.”
Vartabedian said Jasinski put the school on firmer financial footing and oversaw record enrollment growth.
Of all the college and university presidents in Missouri, Vartabedian said, Jasinski seemed the least likely to have been in trouble with his board.
“I was shocked in that way. But I was not shocked in terms of the politics of Missouri, I'm living in Texas right now — very similar politics to what you have.
“I think you very much have some very deep pockets, oftentimes, deep right-wing pockets, wanting to control higher education,” Vartabedian said. “It's a little easier to do that at smaller universities than it is at larger universities. I think that's likely what happened at Northwest Missouri. You had some deep pockets with right-wing leanings, which tend to want to control the future of higher education. And poor John got caught in the crossfire.”
Vartabedian said he has little doubt Jaskinski would be an outstanding MSU president.
“We were in competition for many of the same students. He simply did an excellent job as far as I could tell. You know, we're only 45 miles away. Usually people who are in competition don't want to admit their competitor did an excellent job, but he did.”
Is Jasinski ready for a university much larger than Northwest Missouri State?
“I believe good administration is good administration. I don't think it makes much difference in terms of the size of the university because you basically are dealing with similar things — student affairs, financial affairs, external affairs, academic affairs.
“My experience has been if you're a good administrator at a smaller school you're very likely to be a good administrator in a larger school.”
