We kicked off the provost search in October and the committee, led by Dr. Marjorie Shavers and Vice President Brad Bodenhausen, have been very busy. We had nearly 80 applicants and the committee has narrowed it down to five finalists following semifinalist interviews in early January. Thank you to the search committee for doing the hard work that has got us to this point.
The provost and vice president for academic affairs (“provost”) is the chief academic officer of Missouri State University and provides primary administrative leadership, direction and evaluation for academic affairs. The provost oversees centers, offices and operations as assigned by the president.
About the finalists
Two of our finalists are currently employed at Missouri State and one of our finalists worked here previously as a department head. One finalist has spent a fair amount of time working at Mizzou. Another finalist was educated in the Midwest, but has worked in Maryland, Kentucky and now Texas.
Dr. Mitchell McKinney
As dean of the Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences at The University of Akron since 2021, McKinney has worked in higher education for over three decades. Before that, he was at the University of Missouri in positions that included acting deputy provost (2016-20), department of communication chair (2013-16) and associate chair (2009-13), director of the Political Communication Institute (2012-21) and director of graduate studies (2010-13). A leader in political communications, McKinney served as a White House Fellow for the Office of Domestic Policy in 1993.
He has a bachelor’s in speech communication and government from Westen Kentucky University and a master’s and doctorate in communication studies from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and University of Kansas, respectively.
Dr. Clarenda Phillips
Phillips has more than 30 years of higher education experience and is the system lead for reimagining STEM equity at Texas A&M University. She previously served for six years as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, as well as the same role at Notre Dame of Maryland University from 2016-18. At Morehead State University, she was associate vice president of academic affairs (2007-12) and department chair of sociology, social work and criminology (2012-16). Since 2023, she has worked with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities as faculty for the Academy of New Provosts.
She has a bachelor’s in sociology from DePauw University, a master’s and doctorate in sociology from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary.
Dr. James Satterfield
Satterfield, dean of the College of Education at Boise State University since 2022, has over two decades of higher education experience. Before that, he led the department of educational foundations, leadership and technology at Auburn University (2020-22). He also previously served as department head of counseling, leadership and special education in the College of Education at Missouri State University (2016-20) and program coordinator for the PhD in higher education program at Clemson University (2009-11).
He holds a bachelor’s in kinesiology and master’s in gifted education from Norfolk State University and a Doctor of Education from Eastern Michigan University.
Dr. Mark Smith
Smith has 20-plus years of experience in academia. He became dean of the McQueary College of Health and Human Services at Missouri State University in 2019. Prior to that, he worked at the University of Northern Colorado from 2004-19, holding various positions, such as sport pedagogy and physical education program coordinator and associate dean of the College of Natural and Health Sciences.
He earned a bachelor’s in physical education and geography from Brunel University College, a Master of Education in physical education from Western Carolina University and a doctorate in physical education and sport instruction from the University of Georgia.
Dr. Shawn Wahl
Wahl is the founding dean of the Reynolds College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities at Missouri State University. He has 22 years of experience in higher education, with 12 of that at Missouri State, including department head of communication (2012-17) and interim dean and then dean of the College of Arts and Letters (2017-23). He has also served as a department head of communication, mass media and theatre at Angelo State University (2009-12) and was the founding director of graduate studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (2004-09). Wahl is also an experienced corporate communication consultant and executive leadership coach.
He holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees in speech communication and rhetoric from Angelo State, Texas Tech University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, respectively.
Join in the forums
The finalists will be on campus starting next week. You can find their complete CVs and schedules for public forums on the provost search site.
This is a critical hire, and your input is very important as we select our next provost. Please participate in the forums as you are able. As always, they’ll be available live via Zoom.
Thanks for checking in. It’s a great day to be a Bear!
Biff