Gov. Nixon announces UM Board of Curators appointments

Governor Jay Nixon has announced three appointments to the University of Missouri Board of Curators.

Those appointed include Jon Sundvold from Columbia, Thomas Voss from Eureka, and Mary Nelson from St. Louis.

Sundvold is well-known among the Mizzou community after playing basketball for the Tigers from 1979 to 1983. Sundvold was elected to the university’s Athletic Hall of Fame, played in the NBA for the Seattle Supersonics, and worked as a college basketball analyst for ESPN and CBS. He is currently analyst for Tigers games on the SEC network. Sundvold is also the founder and president of Sundvold Financial, an investment advisory firm.

ABC 17 News spoke with Sundvold Wednesday afternoon. He told us when the Governor first approached him about the position, he really didn’t know what the curators did. But he said after speaking with the Governor and his staff, they could be “convincing”.

“He basically said we need your help,” Sundvold said of his meeting with Governor Nixon. “I have a spot I would like you to fill.”

Sundvold and his family have been around Mizzou a long time. Sunvold himself is an alum, he has two children who are current students, and his wife also graduated from the university.

The unrest on Mizzou’s campus last fall and the enrollment drop that followed have made the board’s job of hiring a new system president that much tougher.

“The new president will have their footprint in what this institution has to do. Our job as curators is to help that person become the best president they can be and then oversee the chancellors at the great schools that we have.”

Voss is the former CEO of Ameren Corp and current chairman of Smart Wires, a global grid optimization company. Voss has previously served as chairman of the St. Louis Regional Chamber; he is also a U.S. Air Force veteran.

Nelson is general counsel and chief legal officer for the St. Louis Community College District. She also serves on the state’s Highways and Transportation Commission, and has served on the board of police commissioners for the City of St. Louis.

Nixon also nominated Gene Graham from Columbia to serve as the student representative to the UM Board of Curators. Graham is majoring in vocal music education and expects to graduate in 2018.

All three Curator appointees can be considered “interim” curators. In January, a new governor or the Senate will decide to keep them on the board or not.