Kim Siegenthaler has been named director of Mizzou Online, after serving as interim co-director for the last three years. Siegenthaler has held primary administrative responsibility for program coordination and marketing units in her interim position and played a major role in the merger of MU Direct, the Center for Distance and Independent Study and Extension Marketing to create Mizzou Online in 2011.
"It is an exciting time to work in distance education and at Mizzou," Siegenthaler said. "I feel privileged to lead Mizzou Online as we continue to enhance the support we provide distance programs and students."
In the past three years, Siegenthaler coordinated a collaborative effort to establish new policies and procedures for identifying, tracking and enrolling distance students; assessing tuition and fees; and reporting on distance students and programs to internal and external audiences. She also formed the Mizzou Online Recruit, Engage and Retain Team to focus on distance students.
"Distance education at Mizzou has come a long way in recent years," Siegenthaler said. "Numerous offices around campus have supported efforts to mainstream distance education into the University and many academic units have launched new distance programs. I look forward to continuing the momentum we are experiencing."
Prior to her stint as interim co-director, Siegenthaler spent one year as assistant director of MU Direct.
"We are excited to have Kim lead Mizzou Online," said Jim Spain, vice provost for undergraduate studies and e-Learning. "She has been a valuable contributor as we have transformed distance education at MU. We are appreciative for the leadership she has already provided and anticipate great things ahead for Mizzou Online."
Offering more than 90 University of Missouri graduate and undergraduate degrees and certificate options, Mizzou Online has seen significant growth in enrollment, along with an increase in degree programs offerings in the past three years. Recently, Mizzou Online was recognized with the Strategic Innovation in Online Education Award from the University Professional and Continuing Education Association.
"The search committee screened more than 30 great candidates from private and public institutions all across the nation," said Leona Rubin, associate vice chancellor for graduate studies and co-chair of the search committee. "Ultimately, we selected five outstanding candidates to interview on campus and meet with campus stakeholders. After very thorough evaluation and feedback from all stakeholders, the committee overwhelmingly felt that Kim was the best fit for Mizzou and the best candidate for the task of leading Mizzou Online into the future."
Before coming to MU, Siegenthaler spent seven years as the director of continuing education and alumni relations at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, where she directed the development, delivery and evaluation of a variety of online and on-site continuing education offerings.
Prior to that, Siegenthaler was a faculty member at Appalachian State University for eight years and at Texas State University for four years. She served as academic program director for three years at both Appalachian State and Texas State, with additional responsibilities related to curriculum development, program development, recruitment and program accreditation.
Siegenthaler holds a bachelor's degree from Baylor University, a master's degree from the University of Oklahoma and a doctorate from the University of New Mexico. She also holds a Master's of Divinity from Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond.