UMKC Chancellor Search Committee Bios

Linda E. Mitchell is the Martha Jane Phillips Starr Missouri Distinguished Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies and Professor of History at UMKC. She currently serves as chair of the UMKC Faculty Senate. Dr. Mitchell received her Ph.D. in Medieval History at Indiana University, Bloomington in 1991 and was professor of history at Alfred University from 1991 to 2008, when she came to UMKC. Her scholarship focuses on issues of gender, family networks, and the development of the political community in the medieval British Isles. The author of numerous books and articles, she published most recently Joan de Valence: The Life and Influence of a Thirteenth-Century Noblewoman (Palgrave, 2016) and Voices of Medieval England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (Greenwood, 2016).

Terry Dunn joined JE Dunn in 1974 as Contract Officer and was made Vice President and Treasurer in 1978. He was promoted to Senior Vice President in 1979, Executive Vice President in 1980, President in 1986, and Chief Executive Officer from 1989 to 2005. He is currently President and Chief Executive Officer of JE Dunn and JE Dunn Construction Group, Inc., the holding company for JE Dunn Construction Company and other affiliates across the nation. He participates in all facets of the business with extensive experience in construction operations. Dunn received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Rockhurst University in 1971, followed by his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Missouri at Kansas City in 1973.

Dunn has remained extremely active in the Kansas City community through numerous involvements in his 37 years at JE Dunn Construction. He previously was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Chairman of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the Builder's Association Education Committee, President of the American Cancer Society Central Kansas City Unit, and Vice Chairman of the Economic Development Corporation. Currently, Dunn is active in many civic and community organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America National Executive Committee (Board Member and Vice President), Civic Council of Greater Kansas City (Board Member and former Chairman), Kansas City Southern (Board Member), Kansas University of Medicine and Biosciences (Chairman and Trustee), Midwest Research Institute (Board of Trustees), UMKC Bloch School (Board Member), UMB Financial (Board Member and Lead Director).

Dr. Cindy Amyot, Ed.D., serves as Associate Dean and Professor of Instructional Technology and Faculty Development, the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), School of Dentistry.  Dr. Amyot has been a full-time faculty member at UMKC since 1993 serving two years as Interim Vice Provost of Online Education.  She served three years as Director of Graduate and Degree Completion Studies and five years as Director of the Division of Dental Hygiene.  She teaches at all levels of the curriculum; doctoral, predoctoral, graduate and undergraduate.  Dr. Amyot has received numerous distinguished teaching awards from the School of Dentistry and is a recipient of the university wide Elmer Pierson Outstanding Teaching Award.  Her research interests include:  educational methodologies, distance and online education, portfolio assessment of student competency, and access to care.

Dean Pyle states that Dr. Amyot is a tenured full professor at the School of Dentistry.  She is an excellent, perceptive leader who takes a broad perspective when faced with important issues to consider.  She is organized, one of the most productive leaders at the School and has excellent interpersonal skills.  She would represent the School and campus well in service on this committee.

• (Retired) Regional Director of U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights

Notes:

• Volunteer of the Year Award from Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), 2011
  • This award is presented to a volunteer with a distinguished record of service to higher education.  Ms. Bennett’s service spans presidencies of both the UMKC Alumni Association and the UMKC Women’s Council to service on the KCUR Advisory Board and the UMKC Law Alumni Association.

UMKC Affiliations and Service: 

• Chair, UMKC African American Leaders Council
• UMKC Trustee
• Past president, UMKC Alumni Association Governing Board
• Past president, UMKC Women’s Council
• Member, UMKC 80^th anniversary planning committee
• Bill French Alumni Service Award, 2007
• Established the Elister Hall Dewberry Award with the Women’s Council Graduate Assistance Fund

Degrees:

• Juris Doctor, School of Law, 1977
• BA in Political Science, College of Arts & Sciences, 1974
• BA in Radio, Television, and Film, College of Arts & Sciences, 1974

• Former CEO, H&R Bloch
• Co-Founder, University Academy
• Member of the UMKC Board of Trustees for 10+ years, served on Executive Committee
• Trustees’ Scholars sponsor
• UMKC Trustees Governance Committee
• President of the UMKC Foundation
• Major donor to the university
• Sits on the Bloch Endowment Board

• University of Missouri Kansas City School of Nursing and Health Studies - Class of 2018
• Student Government Association - SCoNHS Senator
• Hospital Hill Student Leadership Committee Liaison 
• Student Counsel of Nursing and Health Studies (SCoNHS)- Representative
• Student Nurses Association - Fundraising Co-Chair

Starting his 27^th year at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Curt Crespino has served alumni, donors and friends through UMKC’s Advancement Division in a variety of roles.  In each of his positions, from Director of Alumni and Development for the School of Pharmacy to Vice Chancellor for University Advancement, he has provided strategic direction and cultivated key relationships with the community that have enriched UMKC. As Vice Chancellor for Advancement at UMKC, Curt leads a division of more than 30 employees, all of whom are focused on building and sustaining lifelong relationships with alumni, donors and friends. Curt is accountable for the oversight and management of the University’s alumni and constituent relations initiatives including UMKC’s more than 60 officially chartered constituent organizations and the 2,800 volunteers they engage on an annual basis. Curt and his team provide support, strategic direction and guidance to these volunteer advocates, who are key to UMKC’s momentum and growth.

Steven D. Davis is a lauded, versatile, and cosmopolitan conductor who has inspired ensembles around the world. In constant demand as a guest conductor, he has conducted across four continents, working with ensembles in cities such as Bangkok, Beijing, Lisbon, Sydney, and regularly conducts in his favorite city, Kansas City.  Davis has worked to break down barriers as a conductor by leading performances across many genres. He has been celebrated as a conductor of wind ensembles, orchestras, opera, ballet, and cutting-edge new music ensembles. In addition to conducting symphonic repertoire of historically significant composers, such as Beethoven, Berg, Brahms, Bruckner, Mahler, Schoenberg, and Stravinsky, Davis is fervently committed to performing new repertoire. This commitment has been praised by prominent contemporary composers including Robert Beaser, Chen Yi, John Corigliano, Michael Daugherty, Osvaldo Golijov, Stephen Hartke, James Mobberley, Narong Prangcharoen, Bernard Rands, Paul Rudy, Steven Stucky, Frank Ticheli, and Zhou Long. 

Davis currently serves as professor of conducting, and conductor of the Conservatory Wind Symphony at the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Conservatory of Music and Dance. As conductor of the UMKC Conservatory Wind Symphony, he has initiated countless collaborations with other artists and genres, including dance, theater, visual art, and film. Numerous world premieres have been dedicated to the ensemble during his tenure as artistic director.  Davis is a proud advocate for artistic music education and has been a guest lecturer, conductor, and clinician at numerous music and music education conferences across the world.  Most notably, he has performed at five Midwest Clinics in Chicago, and has led a myriad of All-State ensembles across the United States. His most recent guest conducting and teaching engagements include the Eastman Wind Ensemble, Beijing Modern Music Festival, and the Texas All-State Symphonic Band.  Davis has, for many years, served on the Orchestra and Wind Ensemble conducting faculty of the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp.  Davis is now in his ninth season as the conductor of the Youth Symphony of Kansas City’s Symphony Orchestra. Under his direction, the Symphony Orchestra has performed at the Kansas and Missouri Music Educators Conferences, the Midwest Clinic, and in June 2016, he will lead the ensemble on a tour of Ireland. Davis is also the resident conductor of newEar, Kansas City’s premier new music ensemble. As a respected conducting pedagogue, annually, he hosts the Kansas City Conducting Symposium at UMKC, one of the largest conducting symposiums in the country.  He has received many awards and honorary memberships in professional organizations.

Mr. Warren K. Erdman has been an Executive Vice President of Administration and Corporate Affairs at The Kansas City Southern Railway Company since April 1, 2010. Mr. Erdman served as an Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs of Kansas City Southern since October 2007. He served as Senior Vice President for Corporate Affairs of Kansas City Southern from January 19, 2006 to October 2007 and its subsidiary The Kansas City Southern Railway Company since January 1, 2006. He served as Vice President of Corporate Affairs of Kansas City Southern from April 15, 1997 to December 31, 2005 and as Vice President of Corporate Affairs of The Kansas City Southern Railway Company May 1997 to December 31, 2005.

Prior to joining KCS in 1997, Erdman served as the Chief of staff to the United States Senator Christopher S. Bond of Missouri for 10 years. He also served Missouri Governor John Ashcroft in 1985 and Missouri Governor Bond from 1981 to 1984. Prior to joining KCS, he served as the Chief of Staff to United States Senator Kit Bond of Missouri from 1987 to 1997. He served as the Chairman of the Board at Economic Development Corp. (Greater Colorado Springs) and serves as its Director. He served as the Chairman of Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City. He served as the Chairman of Board of Curators at University of Missouri System. He is a member of the University of Missouri-Kansas City Trustees. He has been a Director of Greater Kansas City Chamber Of Commerce since 2013. He serves as a Director of The Kansas City Southern Railway Company and Kansas City Southern de México S.A. de C.V.

Erdman serves on the board of directors of Dickinson Financial and Bank Midwest, N.A. of Kansas City. He has been a Member of National Advisory Council of Federal National Mortgage Association since March 30, 2004. He served on the Board of Directors for the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, The Greater Downtown Development Authority of Kansas City, the Downtown Council and the Downtown Community Improvement District. He is a Member of the Board of Curators of University of Missouri System. He is also a Member of the board of the Downtown Council of Kansas City. Mr. Erdman is a Graduate of Westminster College.

Marsha Fischer serves as interim chief human resources officer and associate vice president for human resources. Marsha previously served as counsel in the UM System General Counsel’s office. She joined the UM System in May 2014 and has primarily advised on employment matters, Title IX and equity related issues, and academic affairs.

Before joining the General Counsel’s office, Fischer was in private practice for almost 16 years with Walther, Antel, Stamper & Fischer, P.C. in Columbia, Missouri. Her focus was employment law and litigation.  Prior to joining the firm, Fischer served as a judicial law clerk for the Hon. Scott O. Wright, U.S. District Judge. While clerking for Judge Wright, she developed an interest in employment law matters.

Bryan Fox is a doctoral student in the Experimental Health Psychology PhD program under the mentoring of Dr. Diane Filion. Bryan has two bachelor’s degrees (Psychology, Communications), a College Teaching Certificate, and a masters degree in Psychology--all from UMKC. At present, his research in cognitive psychophysiology involves studying fatigue, sensorimotor gating and automatic stimulus filtering, and he has been able to present his research both domestically and internationally at the annual meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research (SPR), of which he is a member. Additionally, Bryan is a member of the Executive Board of the Graduate Student Council, the current President of the Graduate Psychology Activities Committee (GPAC), and an alumnus of both UMKC’s Graduate Student Leadership Development Program and the Preparing Future Faculty Fellowship Program. Following graduation, Bryan plans on a career in academia, and he has been fortunate to have had the opportunity to simultaneously develop his teaching portfolio while completing his studies and presenting research. Bryan feels extremely supported by peers, colleagues, and the faculty of the Department of Psychology in his present responsibilities, and he looks forward to contributing and serving this institution to which he owes so much.

College of Arts & Sciences, B.A. (‘89)

Employment

• Assistant City Manager, Kansas City, Mo.
• Former Deputy Regional Dir, Office of Sen Claire McCaskill
• Former Community Relations Dir, Swope Community Builders

UMKC Connections:

• Vice President for Events, UMKC Alumni Association Governing Board, 2017-present
• Director at-large, UMKC Alumni Association Governing Board, 2015-16
• Member, UMKC Women’s Center Advisory Board, 2015-present
• Director, UMKC College of Arts & Sciences Alumni Board, 2004-present
• Alumni Awards Committee, 2003
• Minority Recruitment Committee, 2003-04
• Tulips on Troost/UMKC project volunteer
• A&S Graduation with Distinction luncheon chair/emcee

Other Volunteer Roles/Community Connections:

• ASPA Public Administrator of the Year in local government, 2017
• Completed Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program, June 2017
• CORE4 Planning Committee
• Downtown Dazzle Founder's Board
• Kansas City Homesteading Authority
• Inspiring Women in Public Administration Conference
• League of Women in Government

Dea Marx is currently the Coordinator of Field Experiences in the School of Education for the University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC).  She serves as Chair for UMKC Staff Council, a committee member of the Chancellor’s Administrative Council, University Budget Committee, Chancellor’s Diversity Council, and is the founder of the KC Collaborative Advisory partnership (KC-CAPs). She has been an elementary teacher, K-8 school administrator for both charter and public schools, and worked in higher education for the past seven years.  Dea earned her Bachelors of Science from the University of Missouri – Columbia, Masters of Arts in Multicultural Education from Northern Arizona University, and is a Doctoral Candidate in Higher Education Administration at the University of Missouri – Kansas City. Dea’s research and interests focus on culturally sustaining mentorship for Cooperating/Mentor Teachers, Student Teachers, and Latinx undergraduates across diverse urban settings.

Russell B. Melchert, Ph.D. is the Dean of the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) School of Pharmacy.  Russ completed a B.S. in pharmacy and Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center College of Pharmacy, and he maintains active licensure in two states.  Following graduate school, he joined the Division of Pharmacology & Toxicology at the University of Texas College of Pharmacy as an NIEHS post-doctoral trainee.  Russ received his first faculty appointment in 1995 at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Pharmacy and served as Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences from 2004-2010.  Russ joined UMKC as Dean and Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology in 2010.  Russ remains active teaching in the pharmacy curriculum and has been the recipient of over 20 awards from students for his instructional efforts in pharmacology.  He has published over 45 scholarly works in pharmacology, toxicology, and pharmacy education, and his research work has been funded by the Department of Defense and National Institutes of Health. 

After teaching high school social studies for four years, Gail worked at UMKC for 35 years—first in the School of Pharmacy and the final 27 years in the School of Education. Hired as a secretary to the Associate  Dean of the School of Pharmacy in 1980, she moved into a variety of roles in student services.   She joined the School of Education in 1989 as Manager of Student Services and transitioned to Certification and Data Manager for the School of Education.  She received a B.S. in Secondary Education and a Master of Arts in History from Northwest Missouri State University and an Educational Specialist in Education Administration from UMKC.  Gail has been a UMKCRA board member since her retirement in 2015 and is president-elect for 2018. 

Brent Never (Ph.D., Indiana University) is an Associate Professor of Nonprofit Leadership at the Henry W. Bloch School of Management. His research considers the spatial and geographic implications of a decentralized human service system. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial regression methods, he has worked to identify communities underserved by human services. He has also worked to highlight clusters of financially distressed nonprofit organizations, those most likely to go out of business in the near future raising the question as to who is served by financially 'sick' human service providers.Brent has served as Visiting Professor in the School of Community Resources & Development at Arizona State University where he conducted research on the continued devolution of human services from government provision to private-sector provision through contracts, vouchers, and grants. He has published in Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Nonprofit Management & Leadership, Voluntas, Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership & Governance, and Nonprofit Policy Forum.  In addition, Never regularly writes for the practitioner audience in the Nonprofit Quarterly.  Never enjoys serving the regional nonprofit community as a Senior Fellow at the Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership. His work includes executive board training, strategic planning, and program evaluation services. He has also served the City of Kansas City as a member of the Citizens' Commission on Municipal Revenue and Mayor Sly James' Challenge Cabinet.Brent has also served as campus representative to the Total Rewards Advisory Committee (TRAC) and was involved in the creation and communication of the new retiree health insurance program to campus stakeholders.  He has served on the search committees for Bloch Dean (2014) and UMKC Provost (2016).

Jen Salvo-Eaton joined the UMKC University Libraries faculty in 2013. She has served on UMKC Faculty Senate since 2016. As the Head of Resource Sharing and Graduate Student Services, she has significantly transformed the university’s interlibrary loan service, which fulfills over 18,000 student and faculty requests annually. In 2016, she was named Outstanding New Librarian by the Missouri Library Association and she served as principal investigator for the Amigos Library Services Opportunity Award, a grant to create a digital and physical display of library resources to support student writing. She helped established the UMKC Graduate Writing Initiative, a campus-wide effort to improve and maintain the quality of graduate student writing by providing workshops, online research, and personalized help. In addition, she conducts research on library user behavior, interlibrary loan use, and resource sharing practices.

Adrienne Walker Hoard is a Professor of Fine Art and Black Studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Hoard previously served as Professor of Art and Art Education, and affiliate professor in the Black Studies Department, at the University of Missouri-Columbia.  Since 1998, Hoard has served as artist, arts educator, arts executive and entrepreneur for her own creative arts company, Homegirl, Inc. Dr. Hoard was a New York State Arts Council, CAPS grantee (Creative Artists for Public Service) and her paintings and photography have been exhibited in over 900 national and international solo and group exhibitions. Three of her paintings were featured in “IndiVisible,” a seven-year traveling exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of the American Indian from 2009-2016. Her photograph, “Maria as a Mother of Sons” was a 2015 Julia Margaret Cameron Award finalist and featured in the 2016 Berlin Foto Biennale, in Berlin, Germany. 

Hoard has served as Professor in Black Studies and Fine Arts at The Ohio State University, has received recognition as a visiting Professor at two South Korean and two South African universities, and has served as Director of Art Education for the Louisiana State University School of Art. She is a former Fulbright Scholar and a Ford Foundation Post-doctoral Fellow, and UMSAEP (University of Missouri South African Exchange Program) Exchange Professor teaching at the University of Western Cape and at the University of South Africa.

Susan B. Wilson PhD MBA is a licensed clinical psychologist with a multifaceted career in healthcare administration, consulting, clinical and media work. Wilson currently serves as the Vice Chancellor of the Division of Diversity and Inclusion. In this chief diversity officer role, she oversees diversity and inclusion policies and programs for students, faculty, and staff and community.  Wilson attended the University of Pittsburgh, where she earned a B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in clinical psychology. She earned an M.B.A. from the Bloch School of Business at UMKC. Wilson has held leadership positions in several notable health and behavioral healthcare organizations in the Kansas City area, including Swope Health Services and St. Luke’s Health System. She has also served as a consulting psychologist to the National Football League and the Kansas City Chiefs and a host and contributor for KCUR 89.3 FM, the Kansas City affiliate of NPR.  Wilson has contributed her time and skills to numerous civic and community endeavors, including Jackson County COMBAT Commission, Missouri Department of Mental Health Cultural Competency Committee, and the Statewide African American Mental Health Taskforce. She is a former member of the Healthcare Foundation of Greater Kansas City and is Chair-elect of the Prime Health Board. Wilson is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the Links, Inc., both public service organizations.

Gerald J. Wyckoff came to UMKC in 2002 after a Ph.D. and Postdoc at the University of Chicago in Genetics, and a BS in Biology at Cornell University. Professor Wyckoff’s educational background is as a molecular evolutionary geneticist, finding faint signatures of positive selection in a sea of genomic noise. This led him to become involved with large scale genomic, and later proteomic, projects. At UMKC he has have developed collaborations with structural biology faculty, in part to extend his knowledge of how to apply large-scale screening techniques to structure-based problems. He has helped develop software applications for Mass Spec analysis relating to analysis of divergent peptides as well as cross-linking analysis. In addition he has helped create databases for large scale synthesis of chemical and biological data in species as diverse as fish and humans. All of these problems have as a common theme the development of tools to make sense out of large scale data where noise is high and signal is low. His recent work has led to the development of software that is being commercialized, and he continues to try and find ways to apply his evolutionary knowledge to the problems inherent in big data drug discovery.