Beverly Miller Keltner ’73 first came to Missouri State as a nontraditional student from Lebanon, Missouri.

“I got married right out of high school to my first husband, Jack Miller, who has since passed away. We were high school sweethearts,” Miller Keltner said. “We attended Missouri State together.”

She earned her bachelor’s degree in education with summa cum laude honors. She then taught for three years in Kansas City before moving back to Springfield, where she taught high school for 17 years. During that time, she also taught classes for MO State.

After retiring from education, Miller Keltner volunteered at the American Red Cross. She was deployed to 39 national disasters.

She has been an important figure on campus for decades: She served on the Board of Governors for 10 years, and has been on the foundation’s Board of Trustees since 2022. In 2026, she will begin a two-year term as its chair.

She lives in Springfield with husband Mike Keltner, a fellow Bear. She has two children, both lawyers, and three grandchildren.

What other connections do you have to Missouri State?
(Husband) Mike went to school here at the same time I did and played on Missouri State’s basketball team. We didn’t realize we were on campus at the same time until we were introduced in 2017.

He later taught in Missouri State’s kinesiology department. For the last 20 years or so he has been a radio color commentator for the men’s basketball team.

Mike’s son, Connor, is also a Bear and is now a university director of development.

Jack served as chairman on the Board of Governors. He and I are probably the only husband and wife team that have both been on the board at different times!

The Board of Governors governs all of MSU. How did you become part of that?
A few years after Jack served on the Board of Governors, I was nominated. I chose a three-year term. During that time, Jack passed away unexpectedly. I loved the board, and it gave me a lot of

purpose in my life. I felt like the board was making important decisions, and I wanted to be part of that.

Those were some of the best years. I met people with diverse viewpoints, yet they all were working toward the goal of making Missouri State the best it could be for the students.

How did you join the Missouri State University Foundation’s Board of Trustees?
I was liaison between the Board of Governors and the Board of Trustees for several years. I learned a lot about the foundation.

A lot of people don’t realize that nearly all money they raise goes back to the students in some way or another.

The foundation board nominated me, and I was elected. From there, I got involved in as much as I could and chaired the development committee.

What are some fundraising initiatives that are especially important to you?

• We started and supported the BearsWIN (Women’s Impact Network) program. I’m on the BearsWIN committee now. That all came out of our long-range plan to get more people involved. Now, we have a whole group of women who are totally engaged.
• The development committee realized that many trustees are older, and we needed some young people to share ideas. Now we have five associate trustees who are all younger than 40. They serve on the board with most of the same requirements, duties and privileges. They have already been a big help.
• Scholarships are always huge. One of the most important events we do is the Gratitude Gatherings, when we recognize scholarships that have been awarded to students. The stories students share about how our scholarships and programs have affected their lives are really the most important thing.

What will be some focus areas when you are chair of the Board of Trustees?
A big one is getting people engaged with the university — not just faculty, staff or students, but people in the community.

There are also student organizations and other groups on campus that aren’t quite as aware of everything the foundation does. I want to see us get our message out and tell those stories.

We want to share our story with our community and university partners.