WEST PLAINS, Mo.– Matt Morris, director of business and support services at Missouri State University-West Plains, joined a select group of public administrators when he received his Certified Public Manager® (CPM) professional designation on Dec. 15 from Missouri State University’s Management Development Institute in Springfield.

The CPM designation is nationally recognized as the premiere designation for public sector managers.  Individuals who achieve a CPM designation do so by completing a comprehensive course of study that better prepares them to handle the leadership challenges facing today’s mid- and upper-level managers, center officials said.

Missouri’s CPM program, offered through the state Division of Personnel’s Center for Management and Professional Development, is a nationally recognized professional development program governed by the National CPM Consortium.  In 2011, approximately 42 CPM programs, including Washington, D.C., and the federal government, were operating in the United States.  Since its beginning in 1979, over 9,000 individuals have obtained their CPM designation.

Missouri’s CPM program is designed to help refine and improve the management skills of both emerging leaders and existing supervisors and managers so they can confidently provide the highest possible service to Missouri citizens in today’s dynamic public management environment.

For more information about Missouri’s CPM program, contact Scot Scobee at Missouri State University’s Management Development Institute at 417-836-5667 or visit the website at http://mdi.missouristate.edu/.