Zora Mulligan to assume leadership role on July 1, 2025.

Missouri State University has appointed Zora Mulligan as its next chancellor for the MSU-West Plains campus.

Mulligan, who currently serves as the executive vice president of Missouri State, will begin the new role on July 1. 

“Zora has an impressive record of advancing higher education initiatives throughout Missouri,” said Missouri State President Dr. Richard B. Williams.  

“As our current executive vice president, she brings exceptional leadership skills to this important position. Zora’s experience in enrollment management and strategic planning, along with her West Plains roots, makes her uniquely qualified to guide MSU-West Plains into the future.” 

Mulligan, who is originally from West Plains, has served as executive vice president since 2022. She previously served as commissioner of higher education for the state of Missouri from 2016-22. 

“Throughout my career, my motto has been, ‘Education changes lives.’ That belief began in Howell County, where I witnessed firsthand MSU-West Plains’ transformational impact,” said Mulligan. “I’m delighted to come home to serve this exceptional campus and continue its tradition of providing quality education for rural Missouri.” 

Aligning with campus priorities 

The selection process included listening sessions with West Plains campus stakeholders, who identified several key priorities for the new chancellor. Mulligan’s background closely aligns with these community-identified needs: 

• Leadership experience: As executive vice president at Missouri State and former commissioner of higher education, Mulligan has demonstrated progressive leadership in higher education, including experience with two-year colleges and system-level operations. 
• Strategic vision: Mulligan has co-chaired strategic planning initiatives and led enrollment management efforts resulting in record increases in freshman enrollment and overall student population. 
• Relationship building: With experience in external relations, legislative advocacy and building partnerships across educational institutions, Mulligan has established connections throughout Missouri. She has demonstrated the ability to unite diverse stakeholders around shared goals. 
• Student focus: Mulligan has advanced initiatives to improve student access and success, including the development of programs to support adult learners and implementation of best practices in education. 
• Community engagement: Through work with regional chambers of commerce and economic development initiatives, Mulligan brings experience in community outreach and partnership development critical to the West Plains campus’s seven-county service region.  

More about Mulligan 

Mulligan has served in progressively responsible roles in higher education for more than two decades. In her current role, she oversees enrollment management, leading to record increases in freshman enrollment and overall student population. 

As commissioner of higher education, she championed record investments in higher education and developed statewide initiatives to improve student success and workforce development. She has also served as chief of staff for the University of Missouri System from 2014-16, executive director of the Missouri Community College Association from 2010-14 and assistant commissioner and general counsel for the Missouri Department of Higher Education from 2007-10. 

Mulligan holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Kansas, a master’s degree in education from the University of Kansas and a bachelor’s degree in political science and psychology from Drury University. 

She will succeed Dr. Dennis Lancaster, who recently announced his plan to retire on July 1.