Judith Grimes, Ph.D
Dean of Student Services
Eder Hall 209
816-271-5991
I am currently in my tenth year at Missouri Western State University. I thoroughly enjoy working with the students, faculty and staff at Western. This is a student-centered campus, one that fosters student success. Student Services coordinates a variety of activities designed to support students as well as faculty. Our website will provide you with descriptions of these programs.
I am originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota. We have lived in a variety of locations including Texas, Illinois, Guatemala as well as Missouri. My undergraduate degree is from the University of Texas at Austin. My major was Spanish with a minor in Portuguese. While working at the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, I attended the University of Missouri-Columbia and completed an M.A. in Higher Education as well as a Ph.D. in Higher Education with additional concentrations in Linguistics (second language acquisition), reading and adult education.
I spent the four years prior to coming to Western as Director of The Applied Language Institute, a joint program of the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the Metropolitan Community Colleges. The Institute provides intensive English programs for nonnative English speakers and advanced academic English for students fully admitted to the University but who still need additional English coursework. I also had the pleasure of traveling throughout Latin America to recruit international students and I was an adjunct instructor for both UMKC and SEMSU, teaching graduate courses in the TESL program.
What I enjoy most about my present position at Western, is the opportunity to work with students on a daily basis through advisement or other activities. It is with great satisfaction that we watch the students who we first got to know as incoming freshmen, walk across the stage at graduation. I also greatly appreciate our faculty and staff and assisting them in any way possible in their efforts to support students. This is a great institution and it is a pleasure to a part of its success.
E-mail me at: grimes@missouriwestern.edu
