President Hubbard announces plan to retire in 2009

hubbard med

Dr. Dean L. Hubbard, president of
Northwest Missouri State University

Dr. Dean L. Hubbard, 69, ninth president of Northwest Missouri State University, will retire next summer at the end of the 2009 fiscal year.

Hubbard announced his intention to step down at Thursday’s (June 26) Board of Regents meeting. He assumed the presidency on July 1, 1984, and will have served as the institution’s top administrator for 25 years, the longest term ever by a Northwest president.

“It is, of course, with great sadness that I announce my forthcoming retirement,” Hubbard said. “There are simply no words to describe the deep affection Aleta and I feel for this University after so many years. Both of us want to express our heartfelt thanks to all of the faculty members, staff and students, past and present, whose friendship and dedication have graced our lives. Together, we have accomplished so much. It goes without saying that, whatever the future holds, Aleta and I will always be Bearcats.”

Over the past quarter century, Hubbard has become a symbol of the University’s leadership role in Missouri higher education. He arrived at Northwest after serving as international consultant in Asia and as a college administrator in California and Nebraska. He holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University, a degree in Korean language from Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea, and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Mich.

Under Hubbard’s leadership, Northwest has gained national recognition for its “Culture of Quality,” an initiative designed to foster continuous improvement in all aspects of University operations. Among many other distinctions in this area, Northwest has won the Missouri Quality Award three times -- in 1997, 2001 and 2005 -- and is the only educational institution in the state to have done so.

Internationally recognized for his work in the field of total quality management, Hubbard served as a member of the Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award as well as the Excellence in Missouri Foundation board of directors. He received the Missouri Governor’s Quality Leadership Award in 1998.

During the 1980s, Hubbard was instrumental in making Northwest the first comprehensive electronic campus in the United States. That effort continues today, the most recent development being the University’s decision to provide every full-time student, including those living off campus, with a fully programmed laptop computer.

A first-generation college graduate, Hubbard has worked for decades to make higher learning affordable for those lacking the financial means to continue their education. One of his most visionary ideas has evolved into the American Dream Grant, a needs-based program that provides tuition, room, board, books and the use of a computer to lower-income students during their first two years at Northwest.

Other initiatives rooted in the twin promise of educational and economic opportunity include Northwest’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. When completed in 2009, this combination research center and high-tech business incubator will combine academic and entrepreneurial resources needed to help make Missouri a full participant in the 21^stcentury’s global marketplace. The CIE will provide unparalleled learning and research opportunities for Northwest students and faculty in a wide range of disciplines, from nanoscience to market research.

Hubbard has also supported the expansion of Northwest’s pioneering alternative fuels program, which transforms recycled cardboard, paper and agricultural wastes into most of the energy used to heat and cool the campus. It is estimated that this environmentally sound process has saved the University $10 million dollars over the past two decades compared to the cost of purchasing natural gas.

On other fronts, Dr. Hubbard’s long experience on the international scene has paid benefits through the University’s International and Intercultural Center, which provides valuable multicultural experiences to future leaders whose careers will depend on their ability to build multinational relationships.

A resident of Korea from 1966 to 1971, Dr. Hubbard is a recipient of the prestigious Global Korea Award from the Council of Korean Studies, which honors individuals who make significant contributions to the worldwide Korean community. It is highly unusual for a non-Korean or non-Korean-American to be considered for this distinction.

The author of numerous articles and papers, Dr. Hubbard’s most recent published work is “The Hubbard Cycle: Seven Steps to Improved Quality and Reduced Costs,” a summation of the planning process at the heart of Northwest’s internationally recognized system of continuous process improvement.

For more information, please contact:

Anthony Brown,
News Bureau Manager
E-Mail: abrown@nwmissouri.edu
Phone: 660.562.1704
Fax: 660.562.1900

Northwest Missouri State University
219 Administration Building,
800 University Drive
Maryville, MO 64468

Return to Previous Page