By MATT PIKE
After six years at Missouri Western State University, President Elizabeth Kennedy has announced her retirement, Missouri Western Board of Governors Chair Bill Grimwood says.
Kennedy was named Missouri Western State University’s sixth president on February 25th, 2021 after serving six months as Interim President. Under President Kennedy’s tenure at Missouri Western, the MoWest Nursing program has risen to be the best in Missouri. The university has also claimed #1 in Social Mobility among Missouri public universities, recognized by US News & World Report’s 2026 Best Colleges report.
“I want to be the first to thank Dr. Kennedy for her service to the university, to our community and to the region. Let us acknowledge we are in a better place because of Elizabeth and her leadership,” Grimwood says in a letter released by the university
Among other accomplishments during her tenure, Kennedy helped to develop the future of workforce development through the building of the Houlne Center for Convergent Technology. The Houlne Center attracted $20 million in funding from both the public and private sectors, including one of the University’s largest outright financial gifts to date.
Kennedy also helped to launch new programs to meet student-demand and employer need, such as Respiratory Therapy, Allied Health Management, Cybersecurity, Public Planning & Administration, Master of Social Work and Master of Education. She also spearheaded a Direct Admit program making it easier for high school students to apply at MoWest. Under her leadership, the University’s strategic plan, Building a Premier Regional Public University 2026-2030 was developed and launched in January of this year.
Additionally, Kennedy secured $2.5 million in funding to modernize the MoWest Library in the Hearnes Center and leveraged $1.2 million in donor funding to attract a nearly 1:1 match from the State’s MoExcels program for nearly $2.4 million total in renovations to Potter Hall.
Most recently, the University launched a Corporate Education Program which provides its partners with a discount on tuition for employees, their spouses, and dependents. Triumph Foods, our first Corporate Education Program partner, is now joined by the St. Joseph School District, The City of St. Joseph, Elanco Animal Health, Altec, Missouri National Guard Association, St. Joseph Catholic Academy, Summit Truck Bodies and Mosaic Life Care.
Kennedy was appointed to the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development Commissioner’s Advisory Group in 2022 and was elected as the vice-chair of the Council on Public Higher Education in Missouri in 2022 and chair in 2024. She serves on several boards of directors, including the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce, the St. Joseph Community Alliance, Innovation Stockyard, the Hillyard Technical Center Advisory Council Executive Board, Mosaic Life Care, and Mosaic Life Care Foundation, as well as the Imagine St. Joseph 2040 Implementation Review Team, the MIAA CEO Council and was co-chair of the MIAA Constitution Task Force.
With nearly 30 years in higher education, Kennedy began her career as an Assistant Professor, rising through the ranks to Professor, and then transitioning into upper administrative roles before arriving at MoWest as a Vice Provost in January 2020. President Kennedy will end service to the University on June 30, 2026. The Board will immediately begin the search for an interim president.
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