Contact: Jennifer Hollingshead
Office: (573) 882-0601
E-mail: hollingsheadj@umsystem.edu
Dr. Gordon H. Lamb, a veteran educator and former college president, has been appointed interim president of the University of Missouri. Dr. Lamb officially begins his new duties on Monday, April 9, 2007. 
The University of Missouri Board of Curators voted unanimously during executive session on Wednesday, April 4, to hire Dr. Lamb, who served from February 1999 to March 2000 as interim chancellor of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Since 2000, Dr. Lamb has served as senior vice president of EFL and Associates, an educational consulting firm. He resides in Columbia, Mo.
“We considered various candidates for the interim presidency, and it was unanimously decided that Dr. Gordon Lamb would be the best person to serve the University of Missouri System during this time of change,” said Don Walsworth of Marceline, chairman of the Board of Curators. “Gordon has a tremendous academic and administrative background. He knows Missouri and he knows the University of Missouri, as he was once part of our UM family. I’m pleased to welcome him back to the family to develop our blueprint for transition to the next president.”
Dr. Lamb said: “I appreciate the confidence of the Board of Curators and the opportunity to serve the University of Missouri System during a transition period. I’m looking forward to working with the chancellors and the staff of the University of Missouri System during the coming months.”
Dr. Lamb, who resides in Columbia, will be paid at the rate of $382,000 annually, approximately the same salary paid to departing President Elson S. Floyd. Dr. Lamb is not a candidate for the permanent presidency. The Board of Curators continues to work with executive search consultant Jerry Baker to identify candidates for the permanent presidency.
Dr. Lamb received his Bachelors Degree in Music Education from Simpson College in 1956; he received his Masters Degree in Music from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1962; and he received his Doctoral Degree in Philosophy from the University of Iowa in 1973.
Prior to coming to Missouri, Dr. Lamb served as a Vice President and Professor in the University of Texas System; as President of Northeastern Illinois University; as an Interim Chancellor and a Professor in the University of Wisconsin System; and he taught in the public schools of Iowa.
Dr. Floyd, who was appointed UM president in 2002, is departing to assume the presidency of Washington State University. When Dr. Lamb assumes the UM presidency, Dr. Floyd will serve as a consultant for the University of Missouri through April 30.
Dr. Lamb’s appointment was formally announced on Friday, April 6, during a news conference at the conclusion of the Board of Curators’ regular meeting on the campus of the University of Missouri-Rolla.
To access a high resolution photograph of Dr. Lamb, please go to the following website:
Download the press conference (5.6 MB)
Reviewed 2010-06-15