Laurel Hogue of UCM Receives Central Region Sue Maes Leadership Award from National Association

Dr. Laurel Hogue, University of Central Missouri vice provost for online and learning engagement, recently received the 2022 Central Region Sue Maes Outstanding Leadership Award from the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA). 

 

The award recognizes one UPCEA Central Region professional member each year who has exhibited outstanding leadership and service. Hogue will be honored at the UPCEA Central Region Conference in late September in Columbus, Ohio.

 

“She is an outstanding and inspirational leader who has championed adult education throughout her educational career,” said Rick Smetana, director of the UCM Lee’s Summit campus who also praised Hogue for removing barriers to higher education. “Dr. Hogue has championed the process of making undergraduate and graduate degrees more accessible to adult and non-traditional learners. Shifting degree programs to online, evenings and weekends is just the tip of the iceberg. She created new student advisor positions that work non-traditional hours so working adults do not have to take time off to meet with them. Dr. Hogue helps lead the general studies degree program that allows adults with some college credit to efficiently complete their education when and where it is most convenient for them.”

 

Smetana added that Hogue has also effectively expanded UCM’s professional education courses, industry-recognized certificate programs and customized corporate curriculum. “Dr. Hogue brings employers desperate for skilled labor, government agencies and foundations with funding resources, and students wanting a higher-paying career together,” he said. 

 

Since joining UCM in 2003, Hogue has provided innovative leadership to expand and energize university programs while also serving as a leader for UPCEA and other professional and community organizations. Under her leadership, the university has expanded its online and learning engagement programming as well as its Center for Workforce and Professional Education. Working with staff members from both the main campus in Warrensburg and the campus in Lee’s Summit, Hogue has facilitated a number of successful partnerships and collaborations with online learning partners, healthcare facilities and funding organizations.

 

“Leadership is a word that is spoken frequently, but for Laurel leadership is something that she displays every day,” said Clarinda Dir, UCM program manager, Center for Workforce and Professional Education. “As a student of servant leadership, Laurel provides her staff with the trust and support that allows them to create unique programs to provide opportunities for students throughout their life-long learning journeys while also working closely with us to ensure the program is of top quality.

 

A long-time UPCEA member, Hogue has presented and moderated a number of conference sessions. She has held several offices within the organization and currently serves as an officer on the UPCEA Central Region Conference Planning Committee and as past chair for the UPCEA Community and Economic Engagement Network Leadership Team. In addition, she is recognized for her commitment to mentoring and supporting others at UCM, at other institutions and through numerous UPCEA connections.

 

Within the local community, Hogue serves as chair for the Lee’s Summit Medical Center Board of Trustees, as board member of the Greater Lee’s Summit Healthcare Foundation, as a member of the Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council Board of Directors, as chair of Gradforce KC and as a member of both  the Standing Committee for the Keystone Innovation District and KC Rising’s People Driving Committee. She is also active in the Lee's Summit Chamber of Commerce and co-chairs the executive committee for the Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council’s Lee's Summit Workforce Alliance.

 

“Laurel is a leader in the way she reimagines student pathways,” said Brenda Fuhr, UCM Lee’s Summit academic advisor. “She recently supported a cross-cut section of staff and administrators to a Student Journey Mapping workshop held by the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development to build off of our work with Degrees When Due. Some think of a national project like Degrees When Due as a one-and-done procedure. Laurel takes the momentum and continues to push our organization forward to ways to continue to support adult and returning students.”

 

Hogue earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from UCM and received a doctor of education degree in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Missouri. She began her career at UCM as the assistant director of Extended Studies and Summer Sessions in 2003 and was later named the director of Extended Studies. In 2015, she was named vice provost for Extended Studies with her job title changing to vice provost for online and learning engagement in 2021.