Phillips Receives Distinguished Service Award Alumnus Richard P. Phillips was recognized with the University of Central Missouri’s Distinguished Service Award during fall 2013 commencement. Phillips earned a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education degree in 1965, Richard Phillips a Master of Science in Physical Education in 1967, and an Education Specialist in School Administration in 1972, all from UCM. A former three-year Mules football letterman, he served UCM as an assistant football coach from 1970-1972. In 2013 he was inducted into the UCM Athletic Hall of Fame. Phillips served as a member and former president of the UCM Alumni Association, and as a member and president of the UCM Board of Governors. He serves on the UCM Foundation Board of Directors. Phillips retired in 2000 after more than 34 years in public education, but his career now spans nearly five decades. As a former teacher, assistant superintendent
and superintendent, Phillips spent 14 years with the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, supervising the design and implementation of the Missouri School Improvement Program. In 1997 he helped establish The Show-Me Curriculum Administrators Association, which initiated a statewide focus on improving student performance. He served as the association’s president for two years. Phillips returned to DESE in 2010 as interim deputy commissioner. Most recently he worked with veteran Missouri educators to develop leadership support for Missouri public and charter schools through BAFC Consulting in St. Louis. After his retirement, he created Phillips Keynote Consultants to provide leadership for public schools, higher education, agencies and institutions serving school-age youth and their families. He was named the 2005 Public Citizen of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers, Missouri Chapter, and received the Missouri Association of School Administrators’ Friend of Education Award.
Bell Recognized with Outstanding Recent Alumnus Award
Lt. Roger L. Bell
The University of Central Missouri Alumni Association honored Lt. Roger L. Bell, a 2006 graduate of UCM’s aviation program, with the 2013 Outstanding Recent Alumnus Award during the fall 2013 undergraduate commencement.
As a student at UCM, Bell worked several jobs and was a husband and father. He also was active in Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, the National Pan-Hellenic Council and the United Student Housing Association. While at UCM, he also enlisted in the Air National Guard.
completed pre-flight, post flight, and phase inspections. In 2009 he became a USAF pilot with the Indiana Air National Guard, trained to fly the A-10 Warthog attack aircraft. In April 2013, he joined the U.S. Army National Guard with the 1-108th Aviation Battalion in Topeka, Kan., as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot. Bell also completed Euro-NATO Joint Pilot Training. Now working for Cerner Corporation in Kansas City as a test analyst, Bell credits UCM’s aviation program for giving him the right mix of technical science and aviation art, as well as interpersonal and leadership skills necessary to become an officer and successful jet fighter and helicopter pilot in the United States military.
As a USAF crew chief for the Air National Guard in 2006, Bell maintained an F-15 fighter jet, was responsible for launch and recovery procedure, and University of Central Missouri | today
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