Clif Smart named interim president of Missouri State
Clifton M. “Clif” Smart, III, general counsel at Missouri State University since December 2007, has been named interim president of the university. Smart will begin the day-to-day duties as president today (June 27). Smart was announced this morning (June 27) in a news conference on campus.
Smart replaces Missouri State’s 10th President, Dr. James E. Cofer Sr., who announced today he will return to the faculty (see related story).
When the new Board of Governors – the terms of six of the nine current members expire this year – is in place, it will determine the timetable for the search for a permanent president.
The Missouri State Board of Governors met yesterday (June 26) and both accepted Cofer’s proposed transition to the faculty and agreed to name Smart as interim president. According to the Missouri Open Meetings and Open Records Law, the university has 72 hours in which to announce personnel decisions made in closed sessions of the Board.
“We are extremely pleased that Mr. Smart has accepted the role as interim president,” said Elizabeth Bradbury, from Center and chair of the Board of Governors. “I am confident that the university will accomplish much under Mr. Smart’s leadership. While the Board sees this position as ‘interim,’ it does not see it as a ‘caretaker;’ we want to continue to make progress, especially as we implement the new long-range plan for 2011-16.”
Smart was hired as Missouri State’s general counsel on Dec. 1, 2007. He joined Missouri State after 15 years at The Strong Law Firm, P.C., in Springfield.
“I did not seek this position,” Smart said, “but I accept it with deep humility and great determination. I believe in this university, its people, its programs and its potential. We have an outstanding university already and my goal is to have us get better every day. If we work together as a team, there is very little we cannot achieve. Toward that end, I very much look forward to working with our faculty, staff and students to help achieve our shared vision for Missouri State.
“And I believe in this community and state and the important role the university plays with both. Again, working in concert, we have a bright future.
“For all of these reasons, it will be an honor to serve as interim president.”
The Board of Governors and Smart signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with key elements outlined; a more detailed agreement will be prepared in the next couple of weeks.
According to the MOU, Smart’s interim appointment will continue indefinitely, but may be ended by either the university or Smart with 30 days notice. Smart will be paid $180,000 and have the Tower Club and Hickory Hills Country Club memberships transferred to him, but he will not receive a housing allowance; he has declined to accept the courtesy car and he will give up his $6,000 car allowance as of June 30; he will not ask the university to pay for his wife to travel with him; and he will not accept free meals unless they are part of a university or Missouri State Foundation event.
As his first act, Smart announced at the news conference that Dr. Frank Einhellig, currently dean of the Graduate College, has accepted the position as interim provost. The details of that appointment will be completed in the next 7-10 days, then be presented to the Board of Governors for approval.
Over the past 3½ years at Missouri State, Smart has provided legal counsel to the Board, president, faculty, staff and administrators. He also has been involved in many campus-wide initiatives, including leading the university response to the state auditor’s report on Missouri State; serving on the JQH Arena Task Force; developing a comprehensive on-line policy library for the university; and chairing or serving on a variety of searches: vice president for diversity and inclusion, chief financial officer (twice), director of admissions, director of human resources and men’s basketball coach.
Smart joined The Strong Law Firm in 1992. He has been a shareholder in the firm since 1995 and vice president since 1998. Over the past 15 years, his practice consisted primarily of representing individuals and entities in catastrophic injury, medical malpractice and commercial cases.
Smart was selected to the panel of three applicants submitted to the Governor for the vacant Missouri Supreme Court positions in 2002 and 2004. In February 2009, he was elected for a five-year term as one of the two lawyer members of the 31st Circuit Judicial Commission.
Smart was listed in Best Lawyers in America for 2007-08 in the fields of product liability, personal injury and professional negligence.
Prior to joining The Strong Law Firm, Smart worked for two years with the firm of Wright, Lindsey & Jennings in Little Rock, Ark. From 1986-90, he was with the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. in Ft. Knox, Ky.
Smart graduated from Fayetteville High School in 1979 where he was valedictorian. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Tulane University in 1983, graduating Summa Cum Laude.
In 1986, he graduated with his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law, receiving the second highest GPA (3.95) in school history. While in law school, he received the Leflar Scholarship, was an Oxford Scholar and was on the Law Review.
Smart and his wife, Gail, have two sons: Murray, a student at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, and Jim, an incoming freshman at Hamilton College in New York.
