Finalists announced for Northwest president opening

St. Joseph News-Press, Mo.
·2 min read

Jan. 26—Northwest Missouri State University's Board of Regents has announced the four finalists to become the university's 11th president.

They are Dr. Michael Godard, provost at Southeast Missouri State University; Dr. David P. Jones, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management at Minnesota State University, Mankato; Dr. Kent Porterfield, vice provost of student affairs at Gonzaga University; and Dr. Lance Tatum, senior vice chancellor for academic affairs and chief academic officer at Troy University, Northwest officials announced Thursday.

"The search committee was delighted with the quality of the candidates who interviewed last week, and we are enthusiastic about introducing each finalist to the Northwest community as they make campus visits over the next few weeks," said John Moore, who is the chair of Northwest's Presidential Search Committee and serves as chair of the Board of Regents.

Each of the finalists will visit the Northwest campus in Maryville to meet with stakeholders in addition to town hall-style meetings that are open to all students, employees, alumni and community members. The public forums also will be available via Zoom.

The visits scheduled are:

— Kent Porterfield, Thursday, Feb. 2: 2 p.m. in Room 210 of the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse; all stakeholders: 3:15 p.m. in the Mary Linn Auditorium at the Ron Houston Center for the Performing Arts.

— David P. Jones, Tuesday, Feb. 7: Students: 2 p.m. in Room 210 of the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse; all stakeholders: 3:15 p.m. in the Mary Linn Auditorium at the Ron Houston Center for the Performing Arts.

— Michael Godard, Thursday, Feb. 9: Students: 2 p.m. in Room 210 of the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse; all stakeholders: 3:15 p.m. in the Mary Linn Auditorium at the Ron Houston Center for the Performing Arts.

— Lance Tatum, Thursday, Feb. 16: Students: 2 p.m. in Room 210 of the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse; all stakeholders: 3:15 p.m. in the Mary Linn Auditorium at the Ron Houston Center for the Performing Arts.

The presidential search process began last summer and included a series of input sessions involving Northwest students, employees, alumni and community members.

Northwest is partnering with Anthem Executive, a Houston-based search firm, to recruit its next president. A Presidential Search Committee, consisting of 15 people representing varied Northwest stakeholder groups, reviewed applicants and identified the finalists after a series of interviews with candidates earlier this month.

People can submit questions for finalists to answer during the public forums and learn more about Northwest's presidential search by visiting www.nwmissouri.edu/presidentsearch/.