Board Of Governors

Stephen L. Abney was appointed to the Board July 2018 and currently serves as board vice president. A well-known local businessman, Abney is the Chairman, President and CEO of Central Bank of Warrensburg (1984-present), and President and Board member of Warrensburg Bancshares, Inc. (1987-present). He previously served as President, CEO and Board member for Bosworth State Bank. Abney studied at UCM and graduated from the Mid-South School of Banking and the Trust School of Banking.

Active in the Warrensburg and UCM community, Abney is a member and former Board member of both the Missouri Bankers Association and the Warrensburg Chamber of Commerce; member and former Finance Committee Chair for First United Methodist Church; member and a Paul Harris Fellow of Warrensburg Rotary Club; a Board member emeritus of the Warrensburg R-VI Educational Foundation; a member of Central Technology Services, Inc.’s Board since 2008; and a past member of UCM’s Athletic Committee. Abney's term expired Jan. 1, 2024.

Phyllis A. Chase, Ed.D. was appointed to the Board of Governors in September 2023. Since July 2020, she has served as a professor and PK-12 Doctor of Education coordinator at Baker University, where she also served one year previously as an adjunct professor teaching the course, “Program Planning and Evaluation” in the doctoral program. She served from 2012 to 2020 as Director of the Charter School Center for the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where she was responsible for monitoring, oversight and support of eight charter schools that served 5,500 students.

Additional experiences include serving as Deputy Superintendent for North Kansas City Public Schools in Kansas City, Missouri, 2009-2012; Superintendent of Columbia, Missouri Public Schools, 2003-2008; Chief of Staff for Springfield, Missouri Public Schools, 2000-2003; and Acting Superintendent for the Kansas City, Missouri School District, 1998-2000. Chase also worked in Omaha, Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa public schools, and was an adjunct professor at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas.

Chase earned an Ed.D. in Educational Policy and Administration from the University of Kansas, Lawrence, in 1987, and a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education in 1971. She also graduated from Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska, in 1978 with a Master of Science in Guidance and Counseling. Her term expires January 1, 2027.

John A. Collier was named to the Board of Governors in January 2013, and currently serves as board president. He has worked for State Farm Insurance since 1987, holding positions that include claim supervisor, claim superintendent, and his current position of claim manager since 1997. In this capacity, he has oversight of complex claims and litigation matters involving the company and its policyholders.

Collier earned a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations degree from the University of Central Missouri in 1986. His strong commitment to civic duty and community service has resulted in him serving 12 years on the city of Weston's Board of Aldermen; involvement in such groups as Weston's Missouri Economic Development Committee; the city's Planning and Zoning Board; and president of the West Platte R-II School Board. Additionally, he has been active in the Mid-Continent Sports Association and has held a number of local and regional leadership positions with Boy Scouts of America.

Colliers term expired Jan. 1, 2019.

Mary Dandurand was named to the Board of Governors in November 2009 and currently serves as board secretary. Dandurand earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree in clothing and textiles at the University of Central Missouri in 1978. She served the university community from 1993-1995 as coordinator of Student Volunteer Programs, where her accomplishments included involving students, faculty, and staff in Habitat for Humanity projects and initiating a student volunteer organization. She also served as assistant director of the Self-Instruction Center/Computer Lab from 1980-1986, where she provided support to faculty and students in media presentations and computer lab work.

She retired from her employment as rental property manager in the Warrensburg community for JEDRO Properties – The Tiehen Group where she worked from 2004- 2016. She was previously involved in the local residential real estate market from 2001-2004 as a licensed real estate agent with DeLozier Realty Company/Key Realty Company.

Dandurand completed a first term Dec. 31, 2015, and was reappointed for a second term that expired Dec. 31, 2021.

Stu Rogers was appointed to the Board in September 2023. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Education in 1982 and a Master of Science in Social Gerontology in 1985 from the University of Central Missouri. From 1983 to 1990, he served as head coach of the Mules baseball team, compiling a 185-128-3 record, and numerous other achievements that catapulted him into the UCM Athletics Hall of Fame. When he joined UCM Intercollegiate Athletics, he was the youngest head coach in the NCAA. Under his leadership, the Mules captured four MIAA conference titles, won three consecutive regional tournaments (1988, 1989, 1990), and participated in two NCAA Division II World Series in Montgomery, Alabama (1989 and 1990). Rogers was the first Mules coach ever to take the baseball team to these championships.

After leaving the university, in January 1991 Rogers became a sales agent owner for American Family Insurance, an independent business in Warrensburg which served 2,500 accounts. He was promoted into a sales leadership post within American Family Insurance in Lee’s Summit in 1993. With approximately three decades of service in this industry, his achievements include being inducted into the American Family Hall of Fame. His term expires January 1, 2029.

Gus S. Wetzel, II, M.D. was appointed to the Board of Governors in November 2011, and served as Board President from 2016-2018. He is well known throughout the Clinton area for his work in the medical field as well as his strong record of community involvement. Wetzel served as mayor from 1994-2010, and spent six years on the Clinton School Board, including two years as president. His service to the community includes 40 years of membership in the Clinton Rotary Club, and serving as a trustee and holding leadership positions in the United Methodist Church and St. Paul School of Theology boards. He also served for three years on the National School Boards Federation in Washington, D.C., an appointment by former Congressman Ike Skelton.

Wetzel has served as a board-certified general surgeon at Golden Valley Medical Clinic and Golden Valley Medical Center, with a medical practice in Clinton since 1972. He has been involved in the business community, serving since 1999 as a director on the Hawthorn Bank board. His business experiences include board chair of Union State Bancshares and president of Meadow Lake Properties, Inc., and member of the Health Midwest Ventures board.

Before following in his father’s footsteps to become a Clinton physician and surgeon, Wetzel earned a bachelor's degree from Westminster College in Fulton in 1963, and his M.D. from Tulane Medical School, New Orleans, La., in 1967, where he also completed his surgical residency training in 1972.

Wetzel completed a first term Jan. 1, 2017, and was appointed to a second term that expired Jan. 1, 2023.

Ken Weymuth was named to the Board of Governors in January 2020. A third-generation business owner from Sedalia, Missouri, he has a connection with UCM that spans multiple decades.

Weymuth earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and marketing from UCM (then known as Central Missouri State University) in 1978 and began working in the automotive industry the same year as a sales representative. He later went on to become a third-generation owner/dealer of W-K Chevrolet, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019. Weymuth is now semi-retired. His sons are now partners, owning and operating the W-K Family of Dealerships in Sedalia and Boonville.

Active in civic and community endeavors, Weymuth gives back to those communities that have helped support his business over the years. His volunteer professional and service activities include past president of the Missouri Auto Dealers Association; past vice president and member of UCM’s Foundation Board; past president of the Cole Camp Chamber of Commerce; past president of the Benton County Cole Camp R-1 School District Board; member of the Benton County Education Foundation; member of the Cole Camp Community Betterment Board, Cole Camp Child Safe Committee, and Cole Camp Optimist Club; member of the Central Bank Board of Directors; member of the State Fair Community College Advisory Board; and member of Lake Creek Methodist Church. Additionally, Weymuth has been a major supporter of youth in West Central Missouri and of the Boys and Girls Club of Central Missouri. His term expires Jan. 1, 2025.               

Hadley Oden was appointed to the Board July 2023 as Student Governor.  Oden graduated with honors from Hermann High School in 2022 and is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in History degree with a dual minor in Political Science and Legal Studies. With strong ambitions to attend law school post-graduation, she plans to graduate in spring 2025.  In addition to her studies, Oden is a student ambassador for UCM’s Office of Admissions, a member of UCM’s Student Government Association (SGA), past chair of SGA’s Sustainability Committee and a member of UCM’s Mock Trial Team.

Oden has achieved many accolades that include being a recipient of the Randolph Putcha Memorial Scholarship, Charles R. Hayes Memorial Scholarship, the Missouri A+ Scholarship, UCM Red and Black Scholarship, UCM Student Ambassador Scholarship and the Sandra Temple & Ed M. Elliott Family Scholarship. She is also a recipient of the President’s Award for Educational Excellence and the UCM Outstanding Leader Award, in addition to being named to the University’s Dean’s List. Oden’s term expires December 31, 2025.