About the President

Dr. John Jasinski is the 10th president of Northwest Missouri State University – where student success, profession-based learning and strategic partnerships serve as the foundation for all things. Dr. J and his wife of 35-plus years, Denise, have four children – Matt, Joe, Leah and Lucas – along with the family’s dogs, Ruby and Daisy.

Northwest’s core competencies include being safe, trusted, invested and resourceful, or STIR. Northwest enjoys peer-leading metrics across measures such as retention, graduation, placement, student satisfaction, student engagement and composite financial index as part of a proud history of performance excellence. According to a report released by the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development in January 2021, Northwest is the most efficient among state universities for state appropriations per degree and certificate granted. Further, Northwest receives the second-lowest level of funding per full-time equivalent, all while experiencing enrollment increases and the aforementioned peer-leading metrics. Northwest achieved record overall enrollment in fall 2020 and record graduate student enrollment in spring 2021.

Northwest is one of five institutions nationally selected to join the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ (AASCU) pilot cohort focused on student success strategies, a grant-funded program through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The University has conducted extensive work to create an equitable Northwest. Forever Green, the campaign for Northwest has exceeded its $45 million goal. Northwest’s economic impact is $617.5 million of added regional income and has garnered numerous national and state distinctions.

Dr. J, as he is known on campus, began his Northwest presidency in 2009. He returned to the University after serving the institution from 1986 to 2001 as a faculty member, department chair and associate provost and receiving awards such as the University Service Award and National Broadcast Adviser of the Year. He served Northwood University in Michigan from 2007 to 2009 as executive vice president and chief academic and operating officer. From 2001 to 2009, he provided consulting and training on leadership, organizational assessment and process improvement issues for a variety of organizations, including two- and four-year public and private colleges and universities, public K-12 education systems, health care, non-profit and business organizations.

In addition to his work at Northwest, Jasinski’s service includes the following.

• He is active with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), a Washington, D.C.-based higher education association of nearly 400 public colleges, universities, and systems that hold students and community at the heart of its mission. He is an elected member of AASCU’s Board of Directors, a member of AASCU’s Committee on Student Success, and a leadership mentor for two individuals in AASCU’s Millennium Leadership Initiative and AASCU’s Executive Leadership Academy. His past service includes membership on the State Council of Representatives and chairing the Professional Development Committee as well as representing the association for national Title IX-based sessions.
• He is a member of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program’s Board of Overseers, joining 11 other distinguished leaders who represent all sectors of the U.S. economy and organizations eligible for the Baldrige Award, the nation’s highest honor for organizational innovation and performance excellence. Jasinski’s Baldrige service spans from 1994 and across numerous roles.
• He is a member of the Council on Public Higher Education (COPHE) CEO Council, which comprises presidents and chancellors of the Missouri’s public higher education institutions. His past COPHE service includes roles as chair (2013-2015 and 2019-2020) and co-chair (2011–2013 and 2018-2019).
• He is a member of the CEO Council of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA), one of the nation’s oldest collegiate athletic conferences with 14 member schools and of which Northwest is a charter member. His past service includes chair of the MIAA Risk Management Task Force.
• He has served on the Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC) Board of Directors and on the advisory team of the commissioner for the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development.
• He hosted “All Things Northwest,” a monthly, hour-long program on Northwest’s National Public Radio affiliate, KXCV-KRNW, from 2013 to 2019.

Born and raised in Flint, Michigan, Jasinski has completed 11 marathons, flown with the Blue Angels, is an alumnus of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Joint Civilian Orientation Conference and was named a 2019 Icon of Education by Ingram’s business magazine. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as well as master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Central Michigan University. His life motto comes from the late Pittsburgh Pirates great Roberto Clemente, who said, paraphrased, a day that goes by without helping someone is a day wasted. He also champions the words of the late civil rights icon and congressman John Lewis, “We must be headlights, not taillights.”

To connect with President Jasinski, email president@nwmissouri.edu.