Dr. Jay Johnson
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Missouri Western State University
1:30 p.m. Monday, Aug 17, Kemper Recital Hall, Sprat Hall room 101
Dr. Jay Johnson has been the provost and vice president for academic affairs at Missouri Western State University, where he also is a tenured associate professor in the Craig School of Business, since January 2025. In addition to his service at MoWest, Dr. Johnson has served in several roles during his 22-year career that includes being an associate provost at Northwest Missouri State, a business dean at Fontbonne University, business management department chair at North Central Missouri College, MBA program director at both Benedictine College and Friends University, and a variety of other faculty roles. Prior to joining higher education, Dr. Johnson was a farmer in Gallatin, Missouri on his family farm, which is still in operation. Dr. Johnson holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Missouri-Columbia, an MBA from William Woods University, and a BA in Business/Marketing from Truman State University.
Dr. Lenny Klaver
President, North Central Missouri College
1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug 19, Kemper Recital Hall, Sprat Hall room 101
Dr. Lenny Klaver began serving as President of North Central Missouri College (NCMC) in May of 2016. He has led the development of three consecutive comprehensive strategic plans. Under Dr. Klaver’s leadership, NCMC has expanded its academic and athletic program arrays and increased community engagement. In August 2023, the college opened a state-of-the-art satellite campus in Savannah, MO and in January of 2026, NCMC opened a new student center. Cumulative enrollment has increased 24% in the past 5 years and 17% during his tenure at the college during which time NCMC also graduated its four largest classes in history. Under his leadership and expertise, NCMC recently completed a successful capital campaign exceeding the original goal as set forth in the feasibility study. Dr. Klaver has served as a Vice President/Vice Chancellor at universities in Michigan and Wisconsin, respectively. In addition, he was a tenured faculty member at Wayne State College and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. Klaver earned his doctorate in Educational Administration from the University of Northern Colorado in 1994 where his dissertation on Transformative Leadership received the prestigious Graduate Dean’s Citation for Excellence award.