Facutly and staff hires, personnel changes announced

The following list contains information about new faculty and staff along with personnel updates announced at the general meeting on Friday, Jan. 11.

College of Education and Human Services

Patricia VanCleave joined the Regional Professional Development Center in September serving as a project assistant for CharacterPlus. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwest and retired last year after

33 years as a teacher in public schools VanCleave serves as the CharacterPlus state facilitator for the northwest region. She also serves as the coordinator for the regional Partners Achieving Character Excellence (PACE) project.

Phil Kenkel was appointed TRIO Director on Sept. 1, 2007. Kenkel has worked with TRIO Programs for more than 20 years at Northwest, serving previously as the director of the Student Support Services grant.

Brenda Johnson was named as the academic coordinator for Upward Bound in September. In December, she assumed the position of assistant director/coordinator of counseling services for Upward Bound. Johnson completed her master’s degree in teacher leadership from Northwest in 2007.

In December, Scott Ellis was employed as the academic coordinator for Upward Bound. Ellis has served in a number of positions with Upward Bound over the past several years. He completed his master’s degree in teacher leadership in December.

Dr. Dave Colt, Dr. Jan Glenn and Dr. Julia Schmitz have completed doctoral degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia through the Northwest/MU cooperative doctoral program. Colt has been at Northwest since 1981 and serves as HPERD athletic trainer. Glenn has served for the past two years in the Department of Educational Leadership and formerly worked as a school district superintendent. Schmitz has been with Northwest since 1997 and serves as the regional technical assistant coach with the Regional Professional Development Center.

Professional and Support Staff

Appointments to the President’s Cabinet

Jackie Elliott, newly appointed vice president for student affairs, joined the Office of Student Affairs staff in June 2006 when she was hired as dean of students and later promoted to associate vice president. She replaces Dr. Jerry Wilmes, who has decided to return full-time to his position as director of health services.

Becky Mullins has assumed the new position of University architect and sustainability coordinator. Mullins has worked closely with Northwest since 1995 in the areas of master planning, design and construction. Projects over which Mullins exercised programming and construction/renovation oversight include the Garrett-Strong Science Building renovation, proposed renovation of the Fine Arts Building, three major student housing projects, the University Wellness Center expansion, the J.W. Jones Student Union renovation and construction of the Fire Arts Building.

Admissions

Gina Smith joined the Office of Admissions in October as associate director of admissions in charge of recruiting in St. Louis and Kansas City. She holds a degree in English from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and worked in the statistics and broadcast divisions of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for 18 years.

Campus Activities

Angel McAdams Prescott has been promoted to director of campus activities having previously served as Northwest’s coordinator of Greek life and leadership development. Before coming to Northwest, McAdams Prescott was director of student programs and activities at the University of Arkansas-Monticello and coordinator of campus activities at Pittsburg State University. She graduated from Northwest in July 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in child and family studies and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in organizational leadership.

Financial Assistance

Marie Bias joined the Office of Financial Assistance in July as an award process specialist. She came to Northwest from Michigan, where she worked in the medical field.

B.D. Owens Library

Kathy Howell joined the B.D. Owens Library staff on Sept. 1 as library generalist for reserves and evening library supervisor. She was formerly director of religious education for St. Gregory Barbarigo Parish in Maryville.

Northwest Outreach

Dr. Melody Hubbard has been named assistant director of outreach in charge of the Northwest Kansas City Center in Liberty. Dr. Hubbard completed her undergraduate degree in journalism at Union College in Lincoln, Neb., and holds a Ph.D. in communication studies from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She was previously an assistant professor in Northwest’ Department of Communication, Theatre and Languages.

Julia Hart was hired in September to serve as office manager for Northwest’s academic center in St. Joseph. Hart holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Missouri Western State University and an MBA from Colorado Technical University. She was formerly employed as a bookkeeper for Palace Industries Inc. in St. Joseph.

Talent Development Center

Dr. Leslie Galbreath, director of Northwest’s Talent Development Center recently completed a doctorate in educational leadership and policy analysis.

University Advancement

Neil Elliott began work Oct. 1 as Northwest’s athletics development officer in the Office of University Advancement. He manages a pool of donors who support Northwest’s 16 intercollegiate athletics teams. Elliott received a bachelor’s degree from McPherson (Kan.) College and a master’s degree in athletic administration from Oklahoma State University. He is a former area director for Mid-America Youth Basketball and previously held positions as an athletic director, men’s basketball coach, admissions counselor, sports information director and college instructor.

Lori Steiner joined the University Sept. 3 as the Northwest Foundation financial officer. She is responsible for all financial reporting aspects of the Northwest Foundation and the Office of University Advancement. A certified public accountant and Northwest alumna, Steiner previously worked as a tax preparer in Maryville and for the accounting firm of Curry, Lenhardt & Co. in St. Louis.

University Relations

Kim Ziegler joins the Office of University Relations as a publications assistant. She holds a bachelor’s degree in graphic arts from Missouri Southern State University and previously worked as an art director for a printing company in Chillicothe.

Wellness Center

Kim Heard, L.P.N., was hired in fall 2007 as a nurse in the University Wellness Center. She previously worked in the surgery department at St.Francis Hospital & Health Services in Maryville.

Jodi Loucks, R.N., serves as a nurse in the University Wellness Center. She previously worked at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City and the North Kansas City School District and holds a nursing degree from Park University.

Rhonda Rund, M.A., a licensed professional counselor, received a master’s degree in counseling from Adams State College in Colorado and has more than 10 years’ experience as a personal development/wellness professional. Her specialties include stress management/biofeedback, Gottman method relationship counseling, transpersonal psychology, physical illness, depression and anxiety.

Environmental Services

Cindy Chesnut works as a full-time custodian in Franken and Dieterich halls.

Bobbi Derrickson works as a full-time custodian at Bearcat Stadium and the airport.

Andrea Motsinger works as a full-time custodian in the J.W. Jones Student Union.

Tammy Schatzberg works as a full-time custodian in the Administration Building, McKemy Center and the University Wellness Center.

Karen Kepka works as a full-time custodian in the J.W. Jones Student Union.

For more information, please contact:

Anthony Brown,
News Bureau Manager
E-Mail: abrown@nwmissouri.edu
Phone: 660.562.1704
Fax: 660.562.1900

Northwest Missouri State University
219 Administration Building,
800 University Drive
Maryville, MO 64468

Return to Previous Page