MoWest selects NCMC president as next university president

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- The Missouri Western State University Board of Governors has selected North Central Missouri College's president to be the next university president.

In a release Wednesday morning, university officials announced the hiring of Lenny Klaver to be MoWest's seventh president.

"Dr. Lenny Klaver is an outstanding higher education leader who is very familiar with MoWest and our region, and we're thrilled to welcome him to the Griffon family," said Bill Grimwood, chair of the Board of Governors and the presidential search committee. "We are confident that under his leadership, MoWest will rise to new heights of excellence."

Klaver succeeds Dr. Elizabeth Kennedy, who retired earlier this year.

"I'm humbled and honored that the Board of Governors has placed their confidence in me," Klaver said. "I believe there's a great deal of potential in Missouri Western State University, and I look forward to working with the Board, faculty, staff, students, alumni and the community to realize that potential."

Klaver was introduced on campus at a press conference on Wednesday and spoke on what he wants to do as soon as he starts.

"I know a lot of people here and I want to get to know them much better," said Klaver. "I want to meet and understand the people that I don't know and not just at the university, but in the community as well."

Klaver, during his public forum before the selection and during his press conference, talked about increasing enrollment at MoWest. He views that as being vital for success at the university.

"A major success is turning enrollment around," said Klaver. "When I moved to North Central with their declining enrollment, I took admissions and advising under my wing so we turned that around there as well."

Klaver has served as NCMC's president since May 2016. He led the creation of three comprehensive strategic plans at NCMC.

During his tenure, NCMC expanded its academic and athletic programs while increasing community engagement. NCMC opened a state-of-the-art satellite campus in Savannah, Mo., in August 2023 and a new student center on its Trenton campus in January 2026.

The seventh MoWest president will be introduced to the campus and community during a formal announcement and press conference at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 26. The event is open to the public.