WGU Missouri
February 15, 2013: WGU Missouri is established by Executive Order 13-04. In 2012, Mendenhall met with Missouri Governor Jay Nixon and his education advisor, Mike Nietzel, to discuss collaborating on education projects. “We talked about various programs, but we had never considered creating WGU Missouri,” Mendenhall remembers. “When we finished talking, the Governor said, ‘But I want to create a state WGU like WGU Indiana.’” Mendenhall explained that it would cost $5 million to launch a statebased WGU.
“Okay,” Nixon said. In 2013, WGU Missouri became the fourth statebased WGU. Underwritten using federal economic redevelopment funds, it was the first state-based WGU funded by the state. “We partnered with WGU because we recognized that Missouri needed to expand its educational options, offering working adults an affordable way to earn their degrees while balancing work, family, and other commitments,” Nixon said. “WGU Missouri is a viable way for adults to earn their degrees and for our state to build a highly skilled workforce that leads to higher-paying jobs, growing businesses, and thriving communities.”
“This is big. For a large number of first-generation college students, a significant percentage of minority students, and a number of folks who, frankly, have yet to have had the right opportunities in their life, we now have WGU Missouri as a way to create a much better future for themselves.” -Mike Nietzel, Education Advisor to Governor Nixon and former President, Missouri State University.
President Bob Mendenhall and Governor Jay Nixon at the launch of WGU Missouri.
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