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ST. LOUIS, Mo.— The University of Missouri Board of Curators elected Todd Graves and Michael Williams to serve as board chair and vice chair, respectively, for one-year terms, effective Jan. 1, 2025.
Graves is a lawyer with the law firm of Graves Garrett Greim LLC who was appointed to the board in 2021 by Gov. Mike Parson. He previously served as the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri and as a member of U.S. Attorney General’s Advisory Committee.
“The University of Missouri System is the beating heart of our state, and I am proud to be part of that legacy. I am honored to be selected by my fellow curators as chair,” Graves said. “I appreciate the time and effort every one of them contributes as members of this board. I have been fortunate to be on the board during a period of great success for our universities, and as chair, it is my goal to continue to build on the strong brand of the University of Missouri and fulfill the promise of opportunity for Missourians.”
Graves currently serves as chair of the board’s finance committee and member of the Academic, Student Affairs, Research and Economic Development Committee and the Mizzou Intercollegiate Athletics Special Committee.
Graves represents clients nationwide before federal and state courts and administrative agencies. He served as Platte County prosecuting attorney from 1994 to 1998. Prior to that position, Graves was in private practice with the Bryan Cave law firm and also served as an assistant attorney general for the state of Missouri.
Graves is past president of the Pony Express Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Additionally, he serves on the Board of Directors for Ballotpedia, an organization dedicated to building the Encyclopedia of American Politics, and he is a founding board member of the Kansas City Missouri Police Foundation.
In 1991, Graves received his law degree and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Virginia. He received a bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Missouri in 1988.
Williams, also a lawyer, was appointed to the Board in 2019 by Parson and served as the board chair in 2023. Williams is the founding partner of Williams Dirks Dameron, LLC, where he specializes in complex and class litigation and labor and employment law.
“I’m honored that the board once again elected me to help lead this body, and I look forward to continuing building on our legacy of providing a world-class education to our students and cutting-edge research that all Missourians can be be proud of,” Williams said. “Research, education, engagement and providing a qualified state workforce will continue to be my priorities as vice chair.”
Williams was appointed by the Missouri Supreme Court to the Commission on Civil Justice Reform in 2018 and the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness in 2015, where he continues to serve. In 2004, he became the first African American to serve on the Kansas Bar Association Board of Governors.
Williams obtained his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he previously served as an adjunct law professor. He has been honored by MU with the Distinguished Recent Alumni Award from the School of Law and the MU College of Arts and Science and the Faculty Alumni Award from the Mizzou Alumni Association. Williams has served as a board member and volunteer with numerous nonprofit and civic organizations.
Robin Wenneker’s term as 2024 board chair will draw to an end Dec. 31. Under Wenneker, the board approved the $250 million Memorial Stadium Improvements Project, a transformative renovation of the home facility for Mizzou’s football program. The university will break ground on the project Nov. 30 before the home football finale against Arkansas. Also under Wenneker’s leadership, strategic plan updates for all four UM System universities and a Mizzou campus master plan were developed and approved, and a variety of crucial projects across the system were launched and funded.
“It has been a personal and professional privilege to serve as the chair of the University of Missouri Board of Curators, and I’m confident that the leadership team of Todd Graves and Michael Williams will continue to offer excellent service to our university and the citizens of our great state,” Wenneker said. “We are assured of leadership that is accomplished, committed and rooted in principle. This is a great time for the University of Missouri System and there is no question that our system’s momentum will continue and our vast potential will be met under their collective direction in the years ahead.”
Wenneker is the managing partner of CPW Partnership, a family business that owns commercial, residential and agricultural land holdings. She is a past president of the Mizzou Alumni Association and recipient of their Outstanding Graduate of the Last Decade Award in 2001. Wenneker is also a past president of the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Foundation, and she has been honored for her commitment to the land-grant mission of the University of Missouri with the Mumford Distinguished Service Award. Wenneker was named one of the Top Women Leaders for 2024 by Women We Admire and was the recipient of the 2023 Lieutenant Governor’s Women of Achievement Award.
University of Missouri President Mun Choi congratulated the new leaders while expressing appreciation for the current chair.
“I want to congratulate Curators Graves and Williams and thank them for their leadership for the University of Missouri System,” Choi said. “I also want to recognize Chair Wenneker’s contributions to our mission.”
Reviewed 2024-11-20