Missouri State University President Clif Smart has been selected to lead the state’s Council on Public Higher Education.
Smart’s election as president came during the council’s June 2 meeting in Springfield.
He is joined by newly elected officers Thomas F. George, chancellor of UMSL, vice chair, and Troy D. Paino, president of Truman, treasurer. Smart recently completed a two-year term as vice chair.
The Council on Public Higher Education in Missouri (COPHE) is a nonprofit association that includes the presidents and chancellors of Missouri’s 13 public four-year universities, and the president of the University of Missouri system. It’s tasked with supporting and advancing the mission of Missouri’s public four-year universities, and increasing the understanding and appreciation of public higher education by state leaders and the public at-large.
“Tom, Troy and I are humbled that the other presidents elected us to serve as officers of COPHE,” Smart said in a news release. “It is important that we coordinate our advocacy efforts and provide as much assistance as we can in charting the course for higher education in Missouri. We look forward to partnering with our community colleges, the legislature, the Governor and others as we continue to move education at all levels forward in Missouri.”