Greenwood Asher & Associates Seeking 19th President for Southeast Missouri State University

January 21, 2025 – Miramar Beach, FL-based executive recruitment firm Greenwood Asher & Associates was recently retained by Southeast Missouri State University to lead in its search for its 19th president. Leading the assignment are Julie Schrodt, senior executive search consultant, and Jim Johnsen, vice president of executive search. The school seeks a dynamic leader who will provide strategic leadership to continue to advance the university’s identity as a comprehensive institution, recognized for excellence in education, research, engagement, and creativity.
The president reports to the board of governors and serves as the chief executive officer of the university, embracing the core values of integrity, collegiality, leadership development, support of scholarship and enthusiasm that are exemplified across the institution. The president is responsible for all operations of the university, including overall leadership and management of the institution, its academic enterprise, a Division 1 athletics program, fundraising and mobilization of all constituents including faculty, alumni, staff, students, community, corporate, foundation and local, state, and federal government leaders to meet the institutional and regional goals.
Key priorities for the president will be to work with external constituencies to generate the resources Southeast Missouri State University needs to deliver on and expand its operations and enhance its profile. In building these external relationships, the president will also demonstrate considerable skill and experience as a communicator and negotiator, and will possess the diplomatic dexterity, political savvy, courage of convictions, self-awareness and discerning judgment necessary for superb leadership.
The ideal candidate will have expertise in leadership, financial management, strategic planning, and legislative relations. Those applying should have experience managing and establishing priorities for complex budgets and a demonstrated ability to introduce and implement innovative funding initiatives. They must have a strong commitment to student success and innovative teaching practices involving students of every inter-sectional cultural background. Greenwood Asher is looking for candidates with a strong commitment to student success and innovative teaching practices involving students of every inter-sectional cultural background.
The firm is seeking a visionary leader with the ability to articulate a compelling long-term vision for the university into tangible, measurable outcomes that drive institutional success and align institutional goals with emerging trends and stakeholder needs. An inclusive approach to management and leadership, a leader who values participating in a campus community that honors tradition, embraces intelligent and strategic growth, and reflects the collegiality, respect, mutual support and warmth of a family is desired.
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Founded in 1873, Southeast Missouri State University has five colleges offering more than 200 academic programs in the form of bachelor’s, master’s and specialist’s degrees and 20 certificate programs. The University’s annual budget is more than $150 million, with more than 1,000 faculty and staff members and 9,600 students. Southeast offers a 20:1 student-faculty ratio, and the average class size is 20.
Higher Education Veterans
Greenwood Asher & Associates is an executive search firm with a diverse consulting team and extensive experience in executive search, consulting, and training for education markets including elementary, secondary, higher education, university systems, campuses and non-profit organizations including associations, service, and cultural institutions. The firm was acquired in 2020 by Kelly Education, a global leader in workforce management solutions offering staffing services to top companies.
Greenwood Asher & Associates Assists the University of Arkansas System with President Search
Greenwood Asher & Associates has helped to recruit retired United States Air Force lieutenant general Jay B. Silveria as the next president of the University of Arkansas System. Julie Holley and Marion Frenche led the assignment for the search firm. Current UA system president Donald R. Bobbitt announced plans last summer to retire after more than 13 years at the helm of the state’s largest higher education system. The board of trustees engaged in a national search, led by trustee Scott Ford, in August that culminated in a series of specially called meetings to consider candidates for the position.
Ms. Schrodt’s responsibilities include coordinating the development of the search, recruiting candidates, referencing, and presenting a qualified candidate pool of candidates to the search committee. Previously she was executive director of strategic communications at Northwest Florida State College.
Mr. Johnsen serves Greenwood Asher & Associates and its clients by developing partnerships informed by his background in, and passion for, leadership in higher education, business, and government. Prior to joining the firm, he served as a senior fellow at the National Association of System Heads (NASH), lecturer in the School of Management at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, commissioner for the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education, and Alaska representative to the State Higher Education Executive Officers.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media