UMKC has a new provost.
Barbara A. Bichelmeyer, Ph.D., a Kansas City native, will begin duties as executive vice chancellor and provost in mid-September. She says she looks forward to both opportunities and challenges at the university.
“I’m really excited about the possibilities for the future of UMKC. The university has both unique strengths and unique challenges,” Bichelmeyer said in a statement. “This is a well-educated community that understands and appreciates higher education, which is a wonderful and vital asset as higher education undergoes a profound transformation. I look forward to collaborating with the entire campus community to assure that UMKC will thrive, and help Kansas City thrive, far into the future.”
Bichelmeyer holds a Ph.D. in Educational Communications and Technology from the University of Kansas, according to UMKC. She also has worked in private industry in the Kansas City area for Intertec Publishing, the Johnson County Daily News, and Sprint. Bichelmeyer was also a teacher and girls basketball coach at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, and was an athletics official in softball and volleyball in Kansas and Missouri. She has provided educational consulting services to clients including Microsoft, Allied Signal Aerospace, the NCAA, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Bichelmeyer most recently has served as Executive Associate Vice President for University Academic Affairs and Senior Director of the Office of Online Education at Indiana University in Bloomington. She also spent a year as interim chancellor of Indiana University Southeast in Louisville.
Chancellor Leo E. Morton said the campus had four outstanding finalists to choose from, but Dr. Bichelmeyer stood out. “She is the person best positioned to help UMKC maintain and advance academic excellence and fulfill our mission of research, education and service,” Morton said. “We are proud to welcome her back home to Kansas City, and to Kansas City’s university.”
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