CON V ERGING CA MPUS & COMMU NIT Y
NORTHWEST MISSOURIAN
THURSDAY, AUGUST 28, 2025
MARYVILLE, MISSOURI
NWMISSOURINEWS.COM
VOL. 114, NO. 1
@THEMISSOURIAN
University to lose funds as a result of recent state budget pass DAKOTA OSWALT Managing Editor | @doswalt_NWMSRN
As the fall semester kicks off, Northwest faces the loss of over half a million dollars as a result of Missouri’s latest budget passage. Missouri’s $50.8 billion state operating budget for Fiscal Year 2026 was signed into law by Gov. Mike Kehoe June 30. In passing this, Kehoe vetoed nearly $14 million in funds for fouryear universities. In January, Northwest President Lance Tatum said he, along with other university presidents across the state, was asked to go to Jefferson City to meet with Kehoe regarding his recommended state budget for the year. At this meeting, Tatum said he and his colleagues hoped Kehoe would recommend a 3% increase in core state appropriations to the Consumer Price Index, which is an estimated cost of living for students based on economic inflation over time, tuition and other school fees. Core funding, Tatum said, makes up the primary contributions to Northwest’s budget. The 3% increase, as requested by the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development, totaled $13,964,931. The governor informed them he would ultimately stick with the original 1.5% CPI increase, as noted in the Fiscal Year 2026 Veto Summary. “I will commend Governor Kehoe,” Tatum said. “He was really honest…He listened very intently. He was very gracious about it, but at the end of the meeting, he said, ‘I’m going to stick with the 1.5%.’” Due to this, Tatum said the Council on Public Higher Education, which Northwest is a part of, came together to brainstorm ways to advocate for an additional 1.5% to be added to the budget. The group compiled data points to take to the state legislature. Independent of COPHE, Northwest also had lobbyists ask for those funds to be raised to 3%. After the initial legislative process, Tatum said the Senate evaluated the budget and decided to include the total 3% back into the budget. This caused university leaders like Tatum and Northwest’s Vice President of Finance & Administration Stacy Carrick to feel hope.
SEE BUDGET | A4
STRUCTURAL
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Northwest Provost Jamie Hooyman speaks at the Board of Regents meeting March 21, 2024. Hooyman, who is retiring after spending over nine years at Northwest, expressed that she is going to miss the people at the University the most.
Provost Jamie Hooyman to retire after nine years at Northwest; Tatum talks finding replacement by next semester ANNA BAILEY News Editor | @ AmBailey16
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fter 34 years of working in higher education, Northwest’s Provost Jamie Hooyman is retiring in December. Hooyman was hired as the University’s provost in 2017. Prior to this job, she worked at North Central Missouri College for 10 years, serving as vice president of the university for her final two years there. Thinking back to her first days at Northwest, Hooyman said she was excited to be here. “Probably the other thing was a very quick realization that this campus and this University had something very special,” Hooyman said Hooyman said working as a provost is a unique job that can have many challenges. Regardless of the work, she said she has greatly enjoyed her experience. “We have some of the best faculty and staff. I would put us up against anywhere in the nation. And when you get to work with good people and you love what you’re doing, and you know that the common goal is to help students, I can’t think of many jobs better than that,” Hooyman said.
She said once she leaves Northwest, the people are what she will miss the most. During the academic affairs meeting Aug. 20, Hooyman shared various memories of different faculty and staff members throughout her time at Northwest. The first of which was from her first day at Northwest, sitting by Ernest Kramer, a former Northwest music professor. She said Kramer was the first person to introduce themself to her. “I will tell you, writing my letter of retirement, writing this, has truly been something more difficult than I anticipated,” Hooyman said through tears. “I love what I do…when I thought about what to say, what words I was going to leave you with for fall of ’25, I realized there were so many things I could talk about, but really what it boils down to is the people.” Hooyman said she will continue to remember all the accomplishments and challenges she has seen during her time at Northwest. Deciding how to continue the student learning process during COVID-19 is something she said she will never forget. During the academic affairs meeting, Hooyman said while brainstorming with other staff members the plan for 2020 they talked about the different learning environments
students’ homes might provide, rather than being on campus. “But what I do remember is, right after we decided we’re going to have to call it off for the semester, a small group of us was in Garrett Strong trying to plan what to do and how to do it, all these things,” Hooyman said. Tatum said Hooyman will be leaving the University with a strong legacy. He said one project she will be remembered for is her dedicated work during the academic restructure. “I think the greatest legacy that Jamie (Hooyman) leaves is just how she is as a person,” Tatum said. “She is a delight to be around. She is a workhorse, and I mean that in the kind of sense (that) she does a tremendous amount of work. She is the kind of person that has a work ethic that you never have to be worried with.” Tatum said the process to find a new provost has already begun. “We decided that given the amount of time that (has) been given to us before Jamie retires, we need to do the very best that we can at attracting the most robust pool of applicants that we can find,” Tatum said.
SEE HOOYMAN | A4
Campus construction begins next phase ANNA BAILEY News Editor | @AmBailey16
ALLI DUARTE COPY EDITOR
Construction worker Matt Prettyman signals to his co-worker that he is pouring dirt in the right area Aug. 25. There are eight buildings on campus undergoing construction along with roads and sidewalks.
AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1914.
It is likely anyone who has been on campus during the first week of classes or earlier has seen the construction happening throughout. There are multiple projects in progress, but the majority of the construction people see is a part of the second phase of Northwest’s Energy Infrastructure Modernization project. The other large project is the expansion and remodel of Martindale Hall.
During the University Staff Meeting Aug. 20, University President Lance Tatum said the Energy Infrastructure Modernization project will elevate the student experience and secure a strong, sustainable future for Northwest. “That commitment is especially evident in the Energy (Infrastructure) Modernization project that you have all been experiencing for the last year and a half,” Tatum said. “This multi-phase effort…is critical to our future.”
SEE PROJECT | A4
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