Board of Trustees

Driftwood, TX

Dale Simons earned an associate degree from Christian College in 1965 and later attended the University of Texas, where she earned a political science degree in 1967. At Christian College, she served as junior class president and president of Campus Community Government. She has continued to support Columbia College in the years since, both as a donor and as a member of the Alumni Association, where she served as the board president from 2009 to 2011. She is currently serving on the Columbia College Capital Campaign Steering Committee.

Simons has extensive experience in non-profit management and governance and has worked with organizations including the Foundation for Women's Resources, the Marbridge Foundation, Communities in Schools of Central Texas, the Governor's Committee on Volunteerism, and the Texas Department for the Prevention of Developmental Disabilities. She has served on the national boards of the Association of Junior Leagues International and Children's Research Triangle. She is a board member of Leadership Women, Collaborative Care for Kids, and she chairs the Grants Committee for the Kappa Alpha Theta National Foundation. She is currently volunteering at the George W. Bush Institute where she assists with the International Women's Initiative chaired by former First Lady Laura Bush.

Simons is married to Dr. James K. Simons, DDS. The couple has three children and eight grandchildren. Simons' mother, Helen (Boo) Cates Neary, attended Christian College in 1937 and is a member of the Ivy and Oak Circle of the President's Society.

Simons is a member of the Trustees Circle of the President's Society. She and Neary are the first mother and daughter to be inducted together into the President's Society.

Delaware, OH

Anita Abbott Timmons '58 returns to the CC Board of Trustees after having served from 2007-20015. During her previous tenure, she chaired various Board committees, served as vice chair of the Board, and chair of the Executive Committee. Mrs. Timmons was awarded trustee emerita status in 2015.

Mrs. Timmons is a retired partner of TAJ Enterprises, Investments, a former CEO and owner of Adventure Travel, St. Simons Island, Georgia and a primary school educator.

Timmons, a lifelong volunteer, has been involved in numerous community, state, national, and international nonprofits and has expertise in nonprofit governance and leadership. She has served as a trustee of Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire, where she created, established and chaired the Committee on Trustees, established and chaired the Parents Fund and the Grandparents Fund, and was the recipient of the Founder's Day Award. She served as board chair of the College of Coastal Georgia, the Symphony of Coastal Georgia, and the YMCA and YWCA of Brunswick, GA, where she is also a trustee emerita, vice chair of the Advisory Council to the Anglican Observer at the UN, New York and London, chair of the governance committees of several nonprofits including K through 12, secondary, and undergraduate educational institutions as well as other nonprofits and community organizations. She has also served on the President's Council of Colonial Williamsburg, the Vestry of Christ Church, Episcopal, St. Simons Island, GA, the Georgia Conservancy, the Whole Theater Company, Montclair, New Jersey, and the New Jersey Chamber Music Society, among others.

Mrs. Timmons was presented the Columbia College Alumni Association Community Service Award in 1992, and served as chair of the Science Initiative and the Philanthropy Committee, as well as the Tradition Meets Tomorrow Campaign Steering Committee from 2013 to 2015. She delivered the CC commencement address on two separate occasions and is a member of the Trustees Circle of the President's Society.

Timmons graduated with an Associate of Arts degree from Christian College in 1958, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Montclair State University, magna cum laude, in 1976. She and her husband, James, are the parents of four children and seven grandchildren. The Timmons' currently live in Delaware, Ohio.

Columbia, MO

The son of a U.S. Air Force officer and grandson of a naval officer, Lt. Gen. Richard C. Harding, USAF, Retired is a 1975 graduate of the University of Arkansas J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and a 1979 graduate of the University of Arkansas School of Law.

Harding was awarded a direct commission in the U.S. Air Force as a first lieutenant in 1980. He rose through the ranks of the Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG) over the next few decades and served as the staff judge advocate to six separate commands.

From 2007 to 2010, he served as the commander of the Air Force Legal Operations Agency, where he implemented changes that improved legal services in environmental, contract, labor, criminal and medical law.

In 2009, his Legal Information Services team won the W. Edwards Deming Award for an impressive workforce development and training initiative, the first time an Air Force team received this prestigious government award.

In 2010, he was promoted to lieutenant general and became The Judge Advocate General (TJAG) of the Air Force. Harding created the Special-Service-Award-winning Special Victims' Counsel Program, which provides victims of sexual assault with independent attorneys. In 2013, the Secretary of Defense directed other military services to follow this program and to provide Special Victims' Counsel assistance to service members who are survivors of military sexual assault.

During his tenure as TJAG, Harding led the charge for writing the Air Force Directive, as well as the Air Force Instruction on standards of conduct.

In addition to his other firsts, Harding created the premier Training and Readiness Office for the Air Force JAG Corps. The inspection process created under his leadership is credited with a worldwide improvement in Air Force legal services and serves as a model for other services to adopt.

Harding's retirement from the U.S. Air Force was effective April 1, 2014. He currently assists universities and interest groups in eradicating campus sexual assaults by utilizing his military experience. He also serves on the Advisory Council of the National Crime Victims' Legal Institute.

Columbia, MO

Local philanthropist and dedicated Columbia community advocate Genie Rogers became a member of the Columbia College Board of Trustees in July 2018. Rogers has been an active member of numerous boards and organizations, including the Downtown Rotary Club, Boone County History and Culture Center, Central Missouri Humane Society and Lenoir Retirement Center. She also recently retired from a 28-year appointment on the Columbia Housing Authority Board of Commissioners.

Rogers has received several awards during her career that has been deeply focused on public service. She was recognized with the Howard B. Lang Award for outstanding volunteer service to the city of Columbia in 2015 and was also named to Inside Columbia Magazine's COMO 100 top citizens in 2017 among others.

Rogers and her family have been tightly connected to Columbia College nearly since the founding of the school. Her great-great-uncle, Joseph Kirtley Rogers, served as the third president of Christian College from 1858-1877, and shepherded the college through declining economic solvency and the Civil War. He is credited with keeping both the college and First Christian Church, of which he was the minister, open without interruption during the war in a deeply divided Boone County. A sixth-generation Columbian, Rogers is a lifelong member of the same church. She was presented with the Outstanding Leadership Award in 2007 after chairing First Christian's 175th Anniversary Celebration and then penned a history of the church in 2008 titled From the Frontier to the Future.

Rogers' great-grandmother, Mary Rogers Banks, served as headmistress of Christian College after the Civil War, and her grandmother, Rose Allison, graduated from CC in the early 1880's. Rose's husband, Hartley Hopson Banks, and their son Hartley Garrard Banks, both served on the Board of Trustees. The latter – Rogers' father – served as president of the board from 1947-71, and presided over several critical transitions at the end of his tenure including the name change to Columbia College, the admission of men to the main campus, and the implementation of four-year degree programs. Banks Hall is dedicated in his honor. Also, her late husband, David, served on the Board of Trustees from 1972-82, including the final three years of his tenure as president. Two of their five children are Columbia College alumni.

A graduate of the University of Missouri in 1967, Rogers earned a bachelor's degree in secondary education and is a member of Phi Lamda Theta Educational Honorary.

Olathe, KS

Joshua Muder '99 joined the Board of Trustees in July 2021 as the Columbia College Alumni Association representative to the board. Muder currently serves as a project director for the specialty contractor Pullman Power LLC in Kansas City, Missouri. He received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Bachelor of Arts in History and Government from Columbia College.

After graduating, he worked and completed graduate school in Sydney, Australia, earning his Master of Arts in International Relations at Macquarie University. He also holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth, Kansas. He lives in Olathe, Kansas, with his wife, Ann, their two children, and their two dogs.

Jefferson City, MO

Bill Seibert ’09 rose through the ranks of the Missouri State Highway Patrol to serve as assistant superintendent, overseeing daily operations of the 2,300-person agency, before retiring in 2006. Later serving as deputy police chief and interim police chief in O’Fallon, Missouri, he earned his bachelor’s degree online through Columbia College’s St. Louis location, finishing what he had started as one of the first African American students on the main campus in the 1970s. Seibert then worked for nearly a decade at the Missouri Gaming Commission, including four years as executive director. Today the Jefferson City resident is an ordained Catholic deacon. He was the 2023 recipient of the Columbia College Alumni Association Professional Achievement Award.

Columbia, MO

Dr. Gretchen Hendrickson is a professor of Psychology at Columbia College where she has taught since 2010. Hendrickson holds a Ph.D. in Quantitative Psychology from the University of Missouri. She teaches developmental, measurement and specialty courses. Her professional focus is on teaching future, current and unsuspecting researchers proper defendable statistical application to real data. Hendrickson is a quantitative psychologist with training in cognition, social processes and fMRI techniques. She enjoys sharing her love of research with her students and helping them develop tools that will allow them to attain their professional goals. Her consulting experience has provided opportunities to examine data with many statistical analysis techniques and evaluate their limitations and strengths.

Columbia, MO

Dr. Alan James is an associate professor of Chemistry at Columbia College, where he has taught since 2006. A Missouri native, he was raised in Kirksville and completed his undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Truman State University. His experience as an undergraduate laboratory assistant kindled his interest in research and teaching. Dr. James received his Ph.D. in Chemistry, with an emphasis in Organometallic Chemistry, from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Since joining Columbia College, Dr. James has taught a variety of upper- and lower-level Chemistry courses and labs, with Organic Chemistry being a constant. Helping students make connections between classroom concepts and the world around them is key to his teaching philosophy. He enjoys performing chemical demonstrations in the classroom, as well as for local K-12 students. He is an active member of Missouri Academy of Science, where he served as president of the academy and chair of its chemistry section.

Independence, MO

Lynne B. (Stuver) Baker earned her associate of arts from Columbia (Christian) College in 1964, followed by her bachelor's degree in education from the University of Missouri in 1966 and master's degree in counseling and guidance from the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1973. She also earned a bachelor's degree in social work at the University of Central Missouri in 1996 before finishing an additional master's degree in social work from the University of Kansas in 1998.

Baker has served on the Columbia College Alumni Association Board of Directors since 1991, acting as the board's first vice president from 1993 to 1995 before serving as president from 1995 to 1997. She also has served on several committees and currently is the chair of the nominating committee. Baker also served on the Columbia College Board of Trustees as an Alumni Trustee from 1997 to 2006.

Baker will soon retire from a career in counseling and education in the Independence, MO, public school district. She now operates a part-time life counseling service, Heart to Heart Counseling and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in both Missouri and Kansas.

Columbia, MO

Dr. Mary Beck retired in 2021 as chief nursing officer at University of Missouri Health Care, where she led all nursing practice across the health system and was responsible for nursing policies and initiatives while optimizing the recruitment and retention of approximately 1,200 nurses. She previously served for 16 years as vice president of patient care services and chief nurse executive at Boone Hospital Center. The Columbia resident’s professional experience started in critical care nursing in rural Missouri and evolved into critical care education. She earned a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Missouri and a Doctorate of Nursing Practice from Rush University.

Lafayette, LA

June (Viner) Hackworth is a native of West Liberty, Iowa. She attended Columbia College and earned a bachelor's degree in fashion design in 1983. While a student at the traditional campus, she participated in the Jane Froman Singers and Double Sextet vocal music groups and served as a student Admissions Officer and Campus Ambassador. Later she returned to work at the college, first as an Admissions officer and then as Assistant Dean of Admissions. She continued her studies in business administration as a student at the Columbia College evening program. Her professional career has included work in fashion, real estate development and sales, business management, marketing, accounting and interior design in California and Missouri. She now makes her home in Lafayette, Louisiana.

Hackworth is an active volunteer and supporter of Columbia College. Her service includes vice chair of the Traditions Meets Tomorrow Campaign and member of the Alumni Association Visioning Committee. She has served on trustee committees for Audit and Compliance, Enrollment Management and Marketing, Advancement, Student Affairs, Plant and Facilities, Real Estate, Compensation, and President Selection. She is a member of the President's Society Ivy and Oak Circle and the Cornerstone Club.

Jefferson City, MO

Greg Johnston ’91 is an entrepreneur and consultant with 32 years of experience in governmental and business relations. As president of Johnston & Associates, Inc., he advises a diverse group of clients, including Fortune 500 companies. Johnston is a founding member of Mar-Ston Development Group based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, which is actively developing projects in opportunity zones throughout the country. Johnston previously directed legislative affairs for Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan. He was a founding owner and board member of BlueBird Network, a leading Missouri and Illinois telecommunications company. He earned a bachelor’s degree in History from Columbia College and received the CCAA Professional Achievement Award in 2014. Johnston is a member of the Ivy Chain Circle of the President’s Society and a member of the Cornerstone Club.

Columbia, MO

Bill Johnston graduated from Columbia College in 1982 with a bachelor's degree in business administration and currently is an account executive for Shelter Mutual Insurance Co. in Columbia, MO, where he has worked since 1983. Johnston earned his Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter designation in 1999 and also holds the Associate in Reinsurance and Associate in Information Technology designations.

Johnston has served on the Columbia College Alumni Association Board of Directors extensively for more than 22 years, serving as the association's secretary/treasurer from 1997 to 1999, and as president from 2005 to 2007. He also has sat on several committees and is the current co-chair of the bylaws committee. Johnston is a member of the Ivy and Oak giving circle at Columbia College.

He enjoys assisting with Knights of Columbus events in his spare time, as well as traveling, playing golf, attending Columbia College men's and women's basketball games, and spending time with his wife, Janice, and two children, Kim and Brad.

Nelson, MO

Rev. Dr. Michael Kateman recently retired after amassing more than 38 years of experience in communications, constituent relations and fundraising, including nearly nine years as Columbia College’s executive director of Development, Alumni and Public Relations. Most recently, Kateman served as assistant vice chancellor for Advancement at the University of Missouri. He also previously worked at the formerly named Columbia Regional Hospital.

His acting career includes professional theatre, television and film work. As a playwright and producer, his work has been produced in Missouri and New York City. Currently, he produces the readers theatre series Voices of Arrow Rock, which brings to life underrepresented voices of the past in this historically significant village. In addition, he serves as pastor at the Arrow Rock Federated Church and an adjunct professor in Communication Studies at Missouri Valley College.

Kateman holds three degrees from the University of Missouri: a bachelor’s in Business Administration (Marketing), a master’s in Journalism, and a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis. As an undergraduate, he studied at Universidad Iberoamericano in Mexico City. He is currently working toward a certificate in Pastoral Ministry at Phillips Theological Seminary. He is a member of the Columbia College President’s Society.

Fernandina Beach, FL

Bill Leeper '04 was named to the Columbia College Board of Trustees in July 2021 and currently serves as sheriff of Nassau County, Florida. He served the Florida Highway Patrol for 35 years, retiring as captain and the public affairs officer/media spokesperson for northeast Florida. Bill was elected the sheriff of Nassau County in 2012. He graduated from Columbia College-NAS Jacksonville with a bachelor's degree in general studies. Bill received the CCAA Professional Achievement Award in 2010, served as president of the CCAA from 2013-15 and is an inaugural member of the college's Cornerstone Club. He is an active member of his community, serves on various boards for nonprofit organizations and is a former city commissioner and two-term mayor of Fernandina Beach, Florida, where he resides with his wife, Emma. They have two grown children, Jordan and Chelsea, and two granddaughters, Harper and Memphis.

Glen Carbon, IL

René Massey has been a key part of the Columbia College community since enrolling as a student in 1980. She first served the college as a work-study student in Academic Affairs. She then began work full-time in the adult learning division, now known as Columbia College Global. During 34 years on staff, Massey was instrumental in moving the college from paper to computer and from strictly in-seat study to online education. She attained the position of associate dean for Adult Higher Education and served in that capacity until she retired in 2015.

Throughout her career, Massey directed nationwide campuses, planned and executed many conferences and training events for division staff, and participated in graduation ceremonies at various Columbia College locations. She also taught online courses in Management. She worked diligently to bring innovation and excellence to each task undertaken.

Massey earned multiple degrees from Columbia College, including a bachelor’s in Psychology, a bachelor’s in Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration degree. She and her husband, Dr. Gary Massey ’85, are members of the President’s Society, and she previously served on the Alumni Association Board of Directors. She currently serves on the board of directors for Retrieving Freedom, Inc., a service dog organization. She is also the director of volunteers at her local hospital and sits on the auxiliary board. In addition, she volunteers at a St. Louis-based Alzheimer’s organization, Memory Care Home Solutions.

Columbia, MO

David “Mike” Randerson joined the Columbia College Board of Trustees in July 2021. He retired as Vice President for Adult Higher Education at Columbia College in February, 2014 after having oversight of the College's adult learner programs since coming to the College in 1995. Immediately prior to coming to Columbia College, he served as Commander & Department Chair of the Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps at the University of Missouri, Columbia. Randerson, a Viet Nam veteran, spent 25 years in the United States Air Force in a variety of positions with early tours as an Intelligence Analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency, as Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies (AFROTC) Oregon State University and staff officer at Headquarters, Air Force Recruiting Service. Latter tours included Command of a Technical Training Group, Director of Student Affairs and Professor of National Security Studies at Air University's Air War College. He retired in 1995 in the rank of Colonel.

V.P. Randerson graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Political Science and minors in Spanish, Economics, and Aerospace Studies from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, Illinois Class of 70. At the same time, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, USAF, & designated a Distinguished Graduate of the University's AFROTC program. He received a Master of Arts in International Relations with concentrations in U.S. Foreign Policy and Diplomatic History from The George Washington University, Washington, D.C. in 1975. He is also a graduate of the Air Force's Squadron Officer School, Air Command & Staff College and the Air War College in residence class of 90.

A member of several local civic and service organizations, Randerson serves on the Board of the Columbia Downtown Rotary Club, and is on the Board of the Mid-Missouri Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America. He received the latter organization's Citizen of the Year award in 2014. A dedicated volunteer in the fight against Alzheimer's, he and his wife, Carole, were recognized in 2019 by the State of Missouri as recipients of the Lieutenant Governor's Senior Service Award. He is an active member of First Christian Church-Disciples of Christ and serves on the church's Finance & Stewardship Committee as well as the Property Committee. He is also a proud Honorary Alumnus of Columbia College 2014.

Columbia, MO

Jolene Schulz earned an associate degree from Christian College in 1961, followed by a bachelor's and Master of Education from the University of Missouri. She has taught kindergartners and college students alike, including some at Columbia College, where she was an adjunct professor from 1998 to 2001.

Schulz served 34 years as an administrator for Columbia Public Schools and has held board positions with many organizations, including the National Association of Partners in Education, the Central Missouri Leadership Board of Directors, the Missouri Community Service Commission (appointed by the governor), the National Association of States Service Association (as a representative for the state of Missouri), Columbia Junior Achievement Board, the University of Missouri College of Education Advisory Board and Achievement Board, the University of Missouri Jefferson Club Board of Trustees, the Ronald McDonald House Charities Board, the Columbia Community Foundation Board, the Voluntary Action Center Board and the Mid-Missouri Tourism Council Board. She is also a Columbia Chamber of Commerce Ambassador.

Schulz has won numerous awards, including the Columbia College Alumni Association's Community Service Award, the University of Missouri College of Education's Citation of Merit for Outstanding Achievement and Meritorious Service in Education, the University of Missouri Faculty-Alumni Award, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Outstanding Community Educator Award, the Hazel Riback Volunteer Director of the Year Award for the State of Missouri, the National Association of Partners in Education Director of the Year Award, the Columbia Public Schools Fund for Academic Excellence Outstanding Community Education Award, the Voluntary Action Community Leader Award, the Outstanding Young Women of America Award and Who's Who in American Education. She is a member of the Columbia College Founder's Circle of the President's Society and was inducted into the Columbia Public Schools Foundation Hall of Leaders.

Schulz presently is a co-owner of Tiger Trolley Tours, which offers “A New and Fun Way to See and Explore Columbia.” She was named secretary of the Columbia College Board of Trustees in July 2016.

Columbia, MO

Rev. Dr. Brad Stagg is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and has served as the senior minister of Columbia's First Christian Church since July 2012. Previously, he worked at Bethany Christian Church in Houston, Texas.

Stagg earned a bachelor's in Humanities at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, in 1987. In 1993, he received his Master of Divinity from Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas and earned his Doctor of Ministry from Garret-Evangelical Theological Seminary at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois in 2019.

Dr. Stagg delivered Columbia College’s 2019 Schiffman Lectures on Religious Studies entitled "Jesus, Adam Smith, and Modern Capitalism."

Aurora, CO

Retired Air Force Col. Robert “Rob” Walker '87 was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2022. He currently serves as the program manager for the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Contractor Logistics Support Program at Lockheed Martin, and previously held similar roles at both Engility Corporation and Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc.

Walker served in the Air Force for 30 years, completing a distinguished military career as vice commander of the Twentieth Air Force (Air Force Global Strike Command) and Deputy Commander ICBM Task Force 214 (United States Strategic Command), Francis E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming.

In 1987, Walker earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Computer Information Systems from Columbia College's Aurora location (now Denver). He also holds master's degree from the U.S. Naval and U.S. Air War Colleges.
Walker and his wife, Gail, reside in Aurora, Colorado. They have two children and several grandchildren.

Columbia, MO

Matt Williams, a native of Shelbina, Missouri, and a 26-year veteran in the banking industry, began his tenure on the Columbia College Board of Trustees on July 1, 2017.

Williams has served as the regional president of Landmark Bank since October 2014, a role in which he oversees the bank's Columbia market while also managing its Columbia commercial lending department. Before coming to Landmark Bank, Williams served as the president of the Columbia market for the Jefferson City-based Hawthorn Bank (2007-2014), chief credit officer at Boone National Savings and Loan (2002-2007) and vice president and senior lender for the Columbia market for Mercantile Bank (1993-2002).

Throughout his time in mid-Missouri, Williams has been an active member of community organizations. He currently serves on the boards of Regional Economic Development Inc. (REDI), the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, the City of Columbia New Century Fund, the Country Club of Missouri and the Women's and Children's Hospital, and he is a tri-chair of the United Way campaign major firms division. Williams is also a past board member of the Community Foundation of Central Missouri and Russell Boulevard Elementary School PTA.

Williams earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, with a concentration in finance, from Truman State University in 1990. He and his wife, Carla, have been married for 26 years and have three children: Annie, Katie and Tommy.