The Commissioner's Corner

Stein Farewell Letter

Stein Farewell Letter

Colleagues:

When I first came to Missouri over 23 years ago, I knew little about the state’s beautiful terrain, its rich history within the heartland of America, or the diversity of our public, independent, and proprietary institutions.

Coming to work for the CBHE in an entry level position as a research associate was a place to hang my hat.  Quite frankly, after retiring as a professor emeritus from the University of Northern Colorado in the 1980s, I wasn’t sure that I wanted to remain working in higher education.

Little did I realize that I would continually be given increased responsibilities at the MDHE, and eventually be given the privilege to serve as the state’s commissioner of higher education.

These years have been filled with excitement, challenge, passion for my work, and most of all an opportunity to grow and learn.  I have cherished my time with colleagues throughout the state working collaboratively to better serve Missouri citizens and those from other states and nations who pursue higher education at one of our fine institutions.

I consider myself fortunate to have developed many friendships and professional relationships during my time in Missouri and will carry these with me as Ellen and I pursue the next chapters in our lives.  While difficult times lie ahead, I am confident that Missouri’s higher education system will thrive due to the leadership, vision, and commitment of the CBHE members, MDHE staff, presidents/chancellors, elected officials, community leaders, and interim commissioner David Russell.

A major priority I have pursued throughout my career has been to engage in difficult dialogues bringing adversaries to the same table while seeking to find common ground and to work persistently to move forward on key state agendas.  I hope I have left strong roots for this tradition that will continue to be nurtured and grow.

I wish all of you much success as you strive for innovative solutions and creative system redesign to meet the challenges associated with limited resources and technological change.

As many of you know, Ellen and I will decide in the months ahead the priorities for our longer plan including where we will live, play, and work.  For the immediate future my contact information is:

Robert B. Stein

PO BOX 640

Lake Villa, IL 60046

Phone 573 797-9236

Email: B4Stein@hotmail.com

I hope our paths will cross often.

Wishing all of you the very best,

Stein Farewell LetterRobert

An Alternative Solution

By Robert B. Stein

The Gulf coast states will face a long-term ecological disaster from crude oil that is washing ashore on beaches and inundating fragile marshlands. The oil leaking from a production well deep beneath the Gulf of Mexico reinforces the need for energy efficiency and alternatives to fossil fuels.

Thanks to academic programs around the state that prepare students for the next generation of green energy employment, Missouri has the opportunity to position itself as a leader in deploying sustainable energy technology.

Consider this snapshot of the research and training programs on Missouri campuses that are on the cutting edge of alternative energy technology:

• Linn State Technical College has been a leader in geothermal heating and cooling for more than 20 years. The Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning program teaches the underlying principles of ground source heat pumps and their practical application in the industry. A student chapter of the Home Builders Association is learning how to make buildings more energy efficient and is retrofitting a demonstration house in Jefferson City.
• Missouri University of Science and Technology has received multiple federal grants for sustainable energy research, including a way for military bases to use fuel cells to avoid fossil fuel dependence.
• Crowder College offers an Associate of Arts degree in sustainable energy, and has been on the forefront of solar energy use through participation in the annual Solarcar competition. Crowder students have won national awards for designing and building a prototype house powered entirely by solar energy. Students at Crowder can also earn certificates as wind energy technicians.

Colleges and universities in Missouri have been quick to respond to the national priority of increased energy efficiency in part because of Missouri’s Clean Energy Initiative that requires utility companies to increase their production  of renewable energy to 15 percent by 2021.This year, the Kansas City Power & Light Company will produce up to 300 megawatts of electricity generated by wind. Ameren Corporation is exploring solar energy generation and has installed solar features at its headquarters in St. Louis.

The town of Rockport in northwest Missouri produces all of its energy from the wind. Plans are in motion to build more wind farms to generate alternative clean energy in Missouri.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development designated energy as one of its core industry clusters. Ten energy-related companies have located in Missouri, manufacturing everything from solar panels to ethanol. Mainstream companies already located here, such as Eagle-Picher in Joplin which manufactures lithium batteries, produce essential components for the alternative energy field, .

Many factors make Missouri a desirable location to develop sustainable energy technology.  We are 13th in the nation in the number of science and engineering degrees granted, awarding more than 3,300 degrees in engineering and related technical fields in 2008. Our potential for harnessing solar power, based on the amount and intensity of sunlight, exceeds that of Germany, which leads the world in deployment of sustainable energy technology. Missouri recently formed the Energy Workforce Consortium, made up of builders, educators and policy-makers, to coordinate and promote sustainable energy efforts here.

It will be many years before the U.S. recovers from the tragic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but all sectors of Missouri higher education are contributing to research and training to make alternatives to fossil fuels a practical reality for the nation.

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