Leadership

Explore the roles and responsibilities of the Office of the Provost leadership team.

Jennifer Lundgren
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor

As the chief academic officer since 2020, Provost Lundgren oversees the planning and implementation of academic initiatives aligned with the institution's mission and vision, providing exemplary education for students while supporting faculty research, scholarship and creative endeavors. She is supported by an outstanding leadership team of vice provosts, deans and directors.

Kristi Holsinger
Senior Vice Provost for Student Success

Senior Vice Provost for Student Success Dr. Kristi Holsinger leads UMKC in providing an exceptional experience for our students in their recruitment, enrollment, initial onboarding and learning. As senior vice provost, she helps ensure that UMKC achieves its goals for retention, persistence and timely degree completion in alignment with its mission as a public urban research university. Dr. Holsinger reports to the provost and executive vice chancellor, with a dotted reporting line to the chancellor. As an integral part of the provost's senior leadership team, she must work effectively across administrative and academic units within the university to accomplish organizational goals and objectives.

The units, programs and services that report to this position include Enrollment Management (Office of Admissions, Office of the Registrar, Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, UMKC Central and UMKC Connect), Undergraduate Academic Advising, Academic Support and Mentoring, Career Services, the Professional Career Escalators program, the KC Scholars program and the Bloch Scholars program.

Michele D. Smith
Vice Provost for Student Affairs and Dean of Students

The Division of Student Affairs is dedicated to offering a wide range of programs and services that enhance the student experience. Led by passionate professionals, the focus is on promoting student engagement and delivering services that nurture their personal and intellectual growth. Dr. Smith, as the vice provost for student affairs and dean of students, works collaboratively and hand-in-hand with the provost, guiding student affairs staff in their mission to bolster university-level activities and academic initiatives. Their efforts aim to cultivate an environment marked by a deep sense of care and belonging that propels student learning, paves the way for academic achievement and champions the holistic development of every student.

The division's portfolio includes Residential Life, Student Auxiliaries featuring Dining Services, the Bookstore, and the Student Union; the Office of Student Conduct and Civility; Student Engagement; Campus Recreation; the Counseling Center; Student Health and Wellness; Student Accessibility Services; Multicultural Student Affairs; Veteran Student Services; the Women’s Center; and Student Involvement Services, including Basic Needs, Kangaroo Pantry, Greek Life, LGBTQIA+ programs, New Student and Family and Parent programs, and over 300 student organizations, including the Student Government Association.

Kim McNeley
Vice Provost of Curriculum and Assessment and HLC Accreditation Liaison Officer

Vice Provost for Curriculum and Assessment Dr. Kim McNeley facilitates assessment and academic quality assurance for all levels of academic programming (undergraduate, graduate and professional), and serves as the Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO) for the Higher Learning Commission. She supports key, university-wide efforts through the work of the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee (UCC), University Assessment Committee (UAC), Academic Review Committee (academic amnesty and retroactive withdrawal), Academic Policy Task Force, and Academic Innovation Committee (AIC).

The units and programs that report to this position include University College, General Education (UMKC Essentials and the MDHE Core 42), Undergraduate Research, Peer Academic Leadership (PALS), Honors program and high school pipeline programs (High School College Partnerships and Early College Academy). Additional administrative responsibilities include domestic articulation agreements coordination and tracking, UMKC Connect user-support and the adjudication of student academic misconduct and grade appeals.

Diane Filion
Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Professor

Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs Dr. Diane Filion provides leadership and support in faculty-related processes and procedures, including the campus-wide promotion and tenure processes, faculty evaluations, faculty awards, faculty hiring, and new faculty orientation, in addition to ensuring compliance with faculty-related policies, including the Standards of Faculty Conduct and the Academic Grievance Procedure. Additionally, this position facilitates faculty support and development initiatives provided through the Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE).

Andrew Goodenow
Chief Information Officer

As chief information officer, Mr. Goodenow oversees Information Services (IS), which is responsible for supporting the academic, research and service missions of the university. UMKC IS provides campus technology support for hardware, software, server, and desktop support, call center support and web-based academic and administrative systems. The Information Services team also provides information technology security, networking, programming, application development, classroom AV services, an enterprise data center, phone and internet services, and project management.