New Executive Director of the Council on COPHE named | News

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KFVS) - The new Executive Director of the Council on Public Higher Education has been named.

Paul Wagner begins his duties Feb. 27. He replaces Brian Long, who was named Director of the Department of Revenue in late December 2012.

COPHE is the organization of the 13 public four-year universities in Missouri.

“We are very pleased that Paul Wagner has accepted our offer to be our next Executive Director,” said Dr. Brady Deaton, Chancellor of the University of Missouri-Columbia and Chair of COPHE. “Paul has tremendous experience and knowledge, and over his 16-year career he has developed strong relationships in Jefferson City. We are confident he will do an outstanding job in representing the public four-year universities.”

Since 2007, Wagner has served as Deputy Commissioner of Higher Education at the Missouri Department of Education. In that role, he provided leadership for strategic planning, legislative and budget activities, external relations, inter-governmental affairs, and personnel. Most recently, he chaired the Higher Education Funding and Performance Funding Task Forces.

From 2001-07, Wagner was a budget analyst for the Missouri Senate’s Appropriations Committee. In that role, he was the chief analyst for Senate Bill 389 in 2007, leading the development of a new elementary and secondary foundation formula, and he was a charter member of the Coordinating Board’s Student Financial Aid Committee.

From 1996-2001, he was a Research Associate for Fiscal and Legislative Affairs for the Missouri Department of Higher Education. In that role, he was the legislative liaison between the Coordinating Board for Higher Education, the Missouri General Assembly, and the Governor’s Office.

Wagner, a Missouri Bright Flight Scholar, received his B.S. degree in political science from Truman State University. He received his M.S. degree in public policy and administration from Baylor University, and also served as one of two Judicial Interns at the United State Supreme Court under Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist.

“I’m honored to have the opportunity to assume this leadership position with our public universities,” Wagner said. “These are both exciting and challenging times in Missouri public higher education and I’m looking forward to putting my skills and experience to work on behalf of the COPHE institutions.”

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