Colleges and universities are used to turnover. By their very design, every year colleges welcome a new freshman class and four-year schools essentially turn over a quarter of their population. For two-year colleges, half the population is new every year.

But these institutions are not quite as used to turning over faculty and staff, especially at the top of the flow chart. However, since last May, counting new arrivals on or before July 1, eight area schools have welcomed or will welcome new presidents or chancellors.

You could add Southwest Missouri State University and the University of Missouri-Rolla from outside the region, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City, to the list as well. Southwest Missouri State will welcome Michael Nietzel, Ph.D., as president July 1 and Missouri-Rolla will welcome John Carney, Ph.D., as chancellor September 1. UMKC, who named Stephen Lehmkuhle as Interim Chancellor April 26, is scheduled to announce a new chancellor in September.

“Leadership changes do go on,” said Brady Deaton, who took over as Chancellor of the University of Missouri-Columbia last October. “Times are changing. The job is very challenging. The instability of financing has been terribly difficult. This job is not as alluring as it used to be. It’s calling out people who really want the challenge.

But Jackie Snyder, who will become the fifth chancellor in the history of the Metropolitan Community Colleges July 1, is not surprised at the number of new leaders.

“I think that’s a sign of the age group of the people in education,” she said. “It’s a trend we’ve been expecting for a long time in dealing with the retirement of leaders.”

Whether expected or not, there is a significant new group of leaders at the helm of the area’s largest colleges and universities. The challenge for all of them, whether at public or private institutions, is finding and raising the funding necessary to maintain quality education without making the pursuit of such unreachable for the average student.

Brady Deaton, Ph.D., Chancellor
University of Missouri-Columbia

Deaton joined the Missouri faculty in 1989 after spending 12 years at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, the last four as the Associate Director of International Development. He also taught at the University of Tennessee after receiving his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Kentucky, and his Master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin.

“The University of Missouri has a great history and tradition,” Deaton says. “When I was at Virginia Tech, many of my colleagues talked about what a great institution Missouri was, so I always said that it was one institution in which I would be interested. This opportunity came at a perfect time for me. I came out and took a look, and I liked it a lot.”

Deaton moved up the ladder quickly. Shortly after he arrived as a professor and chair in the Agriculture Economics deparment, he was named the leader of the Social Science unit. “That was a good experience, getting people in different disciplines to work together,” he said.

In 1993, he became Chief of Staff in the Office of the Chancel-lor, and became Dep-uty Chancellor in 1997. In 1998, he became Provost of the university, and in 2001 became Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

Deaton became the 21st chief executive officer of Missouri in October 2004, taking over for Richard Wallace. “I have absolutely enjoyed it,” he says of the first six months in his new role. “Seeing the support this institution has with its alumni has been very enjoyable. We have set a standard for excellence by working together.”

The future looks challenging and bright, he says.

“We have a whole cadre of new leadership in new educational ventures, and the high level of achievement has been recognized nationally. This is an engine of growth that benefits the community, the state and the world.”