MSU names new ‘inclusive engagement’ leader to replace the retired Wes Pratt

After a national search, Missouri State has decided to promote its interim chief diversity officer into a permanent but slightly retooled leadership role.

Algerian Hart has accepted an offer to serve as assistant to the president for inclusive engagement, an appointment that will start July 1 pending final approval this week by the MSU Board of Governors.

Hart, hired by the university in 2019, has filled the role temporarily since the retirement of Wes Pratt.

“It is really nice to try a guy out. He has fit in really well with our leadership team and I have seen him do good work, putting on for example the Collaborative Diversity Conference this year in a different way, off-site with different connections. His tone and focus on the inclusive excellence piece is good,” said MSU President Clif Smart.

“He has earned the position and we agreed he’d take it on permanently.”

Hart, who grew up on the West Coast, has worked as a professor and associate dean of the graduate college at MSU. He has a doctorate in educational administration and leadership from Washington State University.

A former student athlete and coach with expertise in kinesiology, he previously worked at Western Illinois University, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Seattle Pacific University and the Game Time Foundation.

Pratt, who grew up in Springfield and attended Missouri State, retired in August. He had been chief diversity officer since 2016.

Smart said Hart, who has an academic background, has worked closely with Pratt during the interim period to make more community connections.

“He’s worked in universities as a faculty member with a (doctorate). When he works with college diversity councils in terms of recruiting students or faculty or retention programs, he speaks from an experience level that is significantly greater,” Smart said.

Hart’s role is two-fold. His job is internally to make the campus a welcoming place for all and to collaborate with others to make Springfield a more welcoming place for students, faculty and staff.

“There is unfinished business. We were really able to make some great strides. A lot of it was a template set by Wes Pratt, which we certainly appreciate. We want to take things to that next level,” Hart said.

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Hart said anyone paying close attention to politicians in Missouri and the U.S. knows there are challenges in getting people to understand what diversity, equity and inclusion work is and what it is not.

“It was a lot of noise where folks were not collectively getting together to come up with shared ideas and thoughts to come to consensus,” he said.

In the interim role, Hart said he learned how much people on both sides of the political aisle love Missouri and when they work together on issues, progress is possible.

The retooled title that Hart has been giving does not include the words diversity or equity. Across the U.S., colleges, universities and K-12 districts have renamed or revamped their efforts in this area amid a fractured and politically-charged atmosphere.

Hart said the new title is a more accurate representation of the role.

“The ‘engagement’ really covers a larger swath of what we are really trying to do,” Hart said. “It doesn’t mean that the DEI-specific space was limiting, it just means that similar to many of our counterparts across the country (MSU) began to reframe and rename to better specify who they were serving and the mission of those areas were trying to achieve.”

Asked how much the divisive landscape influenced the title change, Smart acknowledged it was a factor.

“It is, in part, because of the political climate in which we live and I wanted it to be clear, if people questioned ‘Why are you doing this,’ so in the appointment letter we spell out that this is not an ideology job. This is not anything to do with systemic racism or oppression or privilege or anything else,” Smart said.

“This is a focus on making sure we are continuing to make progress on having an inclusive culture that everyone, all across the political spectrum from the most liberal to the most conservative can be a part of Missouri State and be successful while they are here. We are going to continue to work with our community partners to do the same thing for the city of Springfield.”

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This year, Hart’s salary was $120,619. His new pay will be $173,250.

In the May 31 offer letter, Smart said Hart will be responsible for “protecting and continuing to build upon the good work we have put in place over the last decade plus.”

His job will be to “celebrate and uphold diversity” including individual and differences.

Hart will work with administrators in different parts of campus on initiatives, programs and efforts to cultivate an inclusive environment.

Hart is married. He and his wife have two sons, a 2022 graduate of Central High School and a junior at Central.

Claudette Riley covers education for the News-Leader. Email tips and story ideas to criley@news-leader.com.