Entering her second year as MSU’s president, Stacia Haynie says she intends to build off the foundation her administration laid last year.

Haynie inherited a sizable budget deficit when she took office in August 2023. Haynie says a $9.8 million deficit would have rolled into the 2024-2025 fiscal year had her administration not taken action. 

“So that was an incredible effort on the part of the campus, and a remarkable one to make the hard choices, but to right that ship. So- so yes, we are in a much better place in terms of the financial stewardship of MSU,” Haynie said. 

Haynie emphasized that her administration could not have accomplished balancing the deficit without collaboration across MSU. One of the primary strategies MSU used was eliminating vacant positions around campus.

“And I do not want to minimize how difficult those choices were and how hard it was for this campus to actually make those strategic choices and investments to ensure that we’re in a really strong place now,” Haynie said. 

Beyond cutting vacant positions, Haynie addressed inaccurate enrollment and retention projections. Haynie said enrollment and retention estimates in previous years were more optimistic than achieved.

“So you create a deficit when you are not, on an annual basis, meeting your enrollment goals or your retention goals. So we were able to do that and, in fact, exceed the enrollment projections,” Haynie said. 

Last academic year, MSU also closed the Vinson Health Center, the testing center and the print shop, eliminating 10 university jobs in a cost-cutting measure. The university also consolidated and removed custodial positions in a cost-cutting measure last spring. 

During 2023’s Mustangs Roundup week, Haynie told the incoming class of 2027 that if MSU sets a new retention record between the 2023-2024 and the 2024-2025 academic years, she will jump into Bolin Fountain. While retention exceeded MSU’s expectations, Haynie said it did not meet the fountain goal.

“Maybe a toe will get dipped in. But we have work to do on retention and we know that that will be one of our major initiatives over the course of this year. To really untangle the challenges of our students in their success,” Haynie said.

Although, as of Sept. 5, it is too soon to know the exact number of incoming students, Haynie says there is a 15% increase in enrollment between academic years.

When it comes to improving retention and recruitment, one of MSU’s projects is opening a military education office on the second floor of the Bridwell Activity Center. The military education office will support service members and their dependents through their higher education. 

MSU is working with philanthropic partners and the city of Wichita Falls to create the military education office.

“The Bridwell Foundation will be providing $2 million of the $4 million to expand the second floor of the Bridwell Activity Center for this initiative, and then the city has also provided from our two local economic development boards for the other $2 million,” Haynie said. 

Haynie says the university intends to offer scholarships for active military members and families, closing the gap between military tuition assistance and MSU’s cost of attendance and 

“In addition, we have had philanthropic support from the McCoy Foundation, from the Bryan Edwards Foundation, from the Fain Foundation, and some other individual donors who have provided of $750,000 in support for scholarships,” Haynie said. 

MSU broke ground on its Flower Mound Student Learning Center in December 2016, later opening in January 2018. The SLC’s lease will expire in 2028.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Flower Mound SLC pivoted to distance learning only. Since then, the SLC has been costly for MSU. 

“We continue to educate individuals in the Flower Mound area through our online programming. That has not shifted. But occupying a building and staffing a building was not necessary for us to be able to deliver a quality education to those students who are interested in our online programs,” Haynie said. 

To dull the impact on the overall budget from the Flower Mound SLC, MSU is using a fund balance Haynie says is enough to cover the lease until 2028 without making permanent budget adjustments.

As a result of balancing the deficit, Haynie says important positions impacted by resignations through campus can be filled once again.

“If there’s a vacancy, it’s because that is a position that has been determined important for the campus, and those searches will be put in place assuming that the chair and the dean and the provost are supportive,” Haynie said.