Notable Alumni of Northwest Missouri State University

Northwest Missouri State University (NWMSU), established in 1905, has a rich history of producing accomplished individuals across various fields. From education and law to politics and athletics, its alumni have made significant contributions to society. This article highlights some of the university's most notable graduates and their achievements.

A Legacy of Excellence: Northwest Missouri State University

Northwest Missouri State University, originally founded as a teachers college, has evolved into a comprehensive public university offering a wide range of programs. Located in Maryville, Missouri, its campus design draws inspiration from Forest Park, the site of the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Over the years, NWMSU has garnered recognition for its "Culture of Quality," emphasizing continuous improvement and student success. The university's commitment to excellence is reflected in the accomplishments of its alumni, who have made their mark in diverse fields.

Education Pioneers

NWMSU has a strong tradition of producing outstanding educators who have dedicated their careers to shaping the minds of future generations.

Dr. Vicki L. Zeliff

Dr. Vicki L. Zeliff dedicated 35 years to Northwest’s faculty until her retirement in 2022. During her tenure, Zeliff served as the advisor for all business education majors and had a profound influence on students through her teaching and service. Zeliff coordinated the District FBLA Leadership Conference and co-sponsored the University’s Beta Chapter of the Pi Omega Pi national business education honor society for the duration of her Northwest tenure. Zeliff regularly experimented with new technology and embraced new education practices, including as a participant in the pilot program that integrated laptops into Northwest undergraduate programs. Considered an expert in assessment and technology, she is highly sought for presenting at conferences and collaborating with fellow business educators. She has presented and co-presented at more than 125 local, regional and national conferences. She also has authored, contributed and edited more than 50 articles for National Business Education Association (NBEA) publications. Zeliff served as a member of the NBEA executive board and its Convention Planning and Publications committees in addition to president of the Pi Omega Pi National Council. Among her honors, Zeliff was inducted into the NBEA Hall of Fame in 2024, and she received the Missouri Association for Career & Technical Education Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.

Aleta Hubbard

Aleta Hubbard served alongside her late husband as Northwest’s first lady for 25 years. Under the Hubbards’ leadership, Northwest earned recognition for its “Culture of Quality,” a framework that emphasized continuous improvement throughout the University. President Hubbard frequently credited Aleta for key contributions to the effort, including the development of Northwest’s comment card system and her early advocacy for quality management principles. Hospitality, relationship building and friend-raising were Aleta’s defining gifts. Together, the Hubbards welcomed countless visitors to their residence at the historic Thomas Gaunt House, hosting students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members alongside distinguished guests, including Jesse Jackson, Maya Angelou, John F. Kennedy Jr., Julie Nixon Eisenhower, Wynton Marsalis, Lech Wałęsa and Missouri governors John Ashcroft, Jay Nixon and Mel Carnahan. Aleta had a unique ability to put students at ease, encouraging their conversation and engagement during the gatherings. Aleta’s curiosity and love of learning also was unceasing. As first lady, she actively followed trends in higher education and regularly discussed new ideas with President Hubbard. Beyond the Northwest campus, Aleta chaired campaigns for United Way as well as improvements to the Nodaway County courthouse and downtown Maryville. Known for her warmth and personal approach, she worked tirelessly to strengthen connections between the University and the community.

Dr. Clarence Green Jr.

During a span of more than 30 years, Dr. Clarence Green Jr. Green began his Northwest career in 1996 as a member of the University Police Department and was named its director one year later. Under his leadership, the department evolved from a small campus security operation to a full-service, nationally respected police agency focused on prevention and partnerships. Green was the architect of the University’s crisis and emergency response plan. In 2004, he guided the launch of Safe Ride Home, which provides shuttle service to retail locations and late-night taxi transportation to students. He also secured grant funding to support activities and programs that have lowered campus crime rates and boosted the safety and security of students, faculty and staff. Equally impactful was Green’s visible presence on campus, whether he was conversing with students as he passed through the Student Union, appearing in Homecoming Variety Show skits or making a cameo in Northwest theatre productions. Beyond his role in public safety, Green served the University in several other capacities, including adjunct faculty member; interim vice president of human resources; interim vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion; and vice president of culture.

Todd Whitaker

Todd Whitaker is an American educator, writer, motivational speaker, educational consultant, and professor. A leading presenter in the field of education, Dr. Whitaker has published over 60 books on staff motivation, teacher leadership, technology, middle level practices, instructional improvement, and principal effectiveness, including the national best-seller, What Great Teachers Do Differently. Before leaving in 2016, he was a professor of educational leadership at Indiana State University. In 2013, Dr. Whitaker received the President's Medal from Indiana State University, the university's highest award for faculty.

Janet McNeese

Since joining the Northwest faculty in 1994, she has mentored and supervised scores of physical education students learning within the elementary environment at Horace Mann. From 1995 through 2018, she also directed the Kip Kittens community gymnastics program at Northwest, in addition to other fitness activities and workshops. Generations of students graduating from the Northwest physical education program are now scattered across the region’s schools. On the Northwest campus and throughout the region, she facilitates training for CPR, first aid training, water safety and lifeguard instruction, for which she received the American Red Cross’s Certificate of Merit. McNeese was recognized in 2019 by the American Heart Association with its Mission Impact Award for her commitment to physical fitness instruction and 30 years of leading students through the organization’s Kids Heart Challenge. In 2016, MOAHPERD recognized her as the Northwest District Elementary Physical Education Teacher of the Year, and she is a recipient of MOAHPERD’s Helen Manley State Service Award.

Legal Luminaries

NWMSU has also produced accomplished legal professionals who have made significant contributions to the justice system and the legal profession.

John Oliver

John Oliver has held numerous leadership roles at Foulston Siefkin, including partner-in-charge of the Kansas City office from 2011 to 2017. He chaired the firm’s ethics committee for more than three decades and served as co-general counsel. Oliver has been recognized as a fellow of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers and the American Bar Foundation. In addition to achieving Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory’s highest “AV” rating, he has been identified in Chambers USA as a leading general commercial litigation attorney as well as by Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers and The Best Lawyers in America. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit. During the Circuit’s Bench-Bar Conference in 2022, he had the honor of introducing Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Outside the legal profession, he was active in the Goodwill movement for more than 20 years, including two terms on the board of directors of Goodwill Industries International and service as chairman of the board of directors of Goodwill Industries of Kansas. Among other service and volunteer activities, he served on the board of Easterseals of Kansas and was appointed by the Kansas governor to the board of directors of Humanities Kansas in 2016. District Courts for Kansas and the Western District of Missouri, and the state bars of Kansas and Missouri.

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David R. Hansen

David Rasmussen Hansen is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit and a former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.

Laura Duffy

Laura Elizabeth Duffy is an American lawyer and judge who serves on the San Diego County Superior Court and served as the United States Attorney for the Southern District of California from 2010 to 2017.

Political Figures

Several NWMSU alumni have entered the realm of politics, serving their communities and states in various elected and appointed positions.

Kim Reynolds

Kimberly Kay Reynolds is an American politician serving as the 43rd governor of Iowa since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, she served as the 46th lieutenant governor of Iowa from 2011 to 2017. Reynolds enrolled in Northwest Missouri State University and studied there from 1977 to 1980.

Steve King

Steve King served as a U.S. representative from Iowa from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he represented Iowa's 5th congressional district until 2013 and the state's 4th congressional district from 2013 to 2021.

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Philip Wise

Philip Leon "Phil" Wise is a former ten-term Iowa State Representative. He served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1987 through 2009 and did not seek re-election in 2008. He received his BS and MS from Northwest Missouri State University.

Tom Moore

Tom Moore is an American politician. He is a Republican who has represented District 18 in the Iowa House of Representatives since 2015.

Athletic Achievers

NWMSU has a strong athletic tradition, and many of its athletes have gone on to achieve success at the professional level.

Gary Gaetti

Gary Joseph Gaetti, is an American former third baseman in Major League Baseball for the Minnesota Twins (1981-1990), California Angels (1991-1993), Kansas City Royals (1993-1995), St. Louis Cardinals (1996-1998), Chicago Cubs (1998-1999) and Boston Red Sox (2000).

Wilbur Stalcup

Wilbur Neil "Sparky" Stalcup was an American basketball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head basketball coach at Northwest Missouri State Teacher's College-now known as Northwest Missouri State University-from 1933 to 1943 and at the University of Missouri from 1946 to 1962, compiling a career college basketball record of 332-236. Stalcup was also the athletic director at Missouri from 1971 until his death in 1972.

Duck Dowell

Robert Loren "Duck" Dowell was an American professional basketball player for the Akron Firestone Non-Skids in the United States' National Basketball League during the 1937-38 season. After an All-American collegiate career at Northwest Missouri State, Dowell also competed in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) for the Denver Piggly Wigglies.

Jon A. Jensen

Jon A. Jensen is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Army. He served as the 22nd director of the Army National Guard from 2020 to 2024, and as the acting vice chief of the National Guard Bureau from May to August 2024. He previously served as the adjutant general of the Minnesota National Guard from November 2017 to August 2020. Prior to that, he was assigned as commanding general of the 34th Infantry Division from January 2017 to October 2017 and as deputy commanding general for United States Army Africa from 2015 to 2017. Jensen graduated with Bachelor of Science from Northwest Missouri State University.

Other Notable Alumni

NWMSU has also produced notable alumni in other fields, including entertainment, business, and the arts.

Chris Stigall

Chris Stigall is an American conservative talk radio personality, cable news contributor, online columnist and host of The Chris Stigall podcast. He currently hosts the morning show on Salem Media Group’s AM 990 The Answer in Philadelphia, and was the prior host of WPHT Morning Show in the Delaware Valley market from 2011 to March 2019. Previously, he hosted The KCMO Morning Show in the Kansas City market from 2006 until 2010.

Edward Wiskoski

Edward Wiskoski was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances in the American Wrestling Association under the ring name Colonel DeBeers from 1985 to 1990.

Zoé Samudzi

Zoé Samudzi is a Zimbabwean-American writer and activist known for her book As Black as Resistance. Samudzi has written for The New Inquiry, The Daily Beast and Vice magazine. Samudzi was a 2017 Public Imagination Fellow at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. She is currently an Assistant Professor in the Photography Department at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Tiffany Stewart Fixter

After beginning her career as a teacher in Kansas City Public Schools, Fixter relocated to Denver and began shaping her vision to assist adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Fixter developed every aspect of the brewery with data-informed decisions - from how the beers are named, to braille labels, to the lighting - all demonstrating how her knowledge of neurodivergent and multiple disabilities impacts the people she seeks to employ and serve. Not a week goes by when Brewability does not host a community group or fundraising event. That includes Fixter lending support to Northwest and showing her Bearcat pride by hosting the Colorado Chapter of the Northwest Alumni Association for social activities and watch parties. Fixter also has helped generate qualitative data detailing the benefits of employing adults with multiple disabilities.

Chelsea Dicksion

Currently, she is the program promotions coordinator for the Missouri Telehealth Network at the University of Missouri-Columbia, which provides education, training and resources for people working in the medical field. From 2018 to 2024, she was employed with the Moberly Area Chamber of Commerce as its inaugural tourism specialist and succeeded at creating unique experiences for residents and visitors. In 2022, she co-founded Junk Junktion Vintage Market, which attracted 22,000 people to Moberly - a city of 13,000 residents - and the Chamber was honored for that initiative with the Innovator Award at the Missouri Governor’s Conference on Tourism. In 2023, she continued to drive tourism growth in Moberly through the acquisition of an ice-skating rink, adding another attraction to the city’s offerings. Since 2019, she has served on the national board of Delta Theta Tau Philanthropic Sorority as its director of public relations. In Moberly, she also served on the Board of Directors for 4th Street Theatre and is an active member of St. Pius X Catholic Church. As a Northwest student, she was active with Sigma Society, for which she served as the historian. She also was a staff member with the Tower yearbook and served as its co-photo editor.

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