Park University’s Board of Trustees Adds Three New Members

Parkville, Mo.—July 1, 2024 — The governing body of Park University — its Board of Trustees — has elected three individuals to serve a three-year term on the board, effective today. Elected were Andrea Hendricks, Ed.D., Merideth Rose and Kathrine Swanson, Ed.D.

Profiles of the new members of Park’s Board of Trustees:

Andrea Hendricks, Ed.D.

Hendricks, a resident of Lee’s Summit, Mo., serves as the chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at Authentico, a multicultural marketing agency based in Mission, Kan. Hendricks is an executive who provides strategic vision, inspiration and focused leadership for the development and implementation of key initiatives connected to human resources and diversity and inclusion programs designed to strengthen commitment, intention and culture. She is the author of The BIG Journey: Bold Inclusion for Greatness, a blueprint to empower business leaders and to help them build capacity around diversity and inclusion, and create positive organizational change. Hendricks earned a Doctor of Education degree in educational psychology from the University of Missouri, Columbia, and a Master of Science degree in counseling psychology and personnel services, and a Bachelor of Science degree in human development psychology and mass communications, both from Kansas State University.

Merideth Rose

Rose, a resident of Independence, Mo., is the president and chief executive officer at Cornerstones of Care, a behavioral health agency in Kansas City, Mo. She previously held roles with the Community Services League in Independence, Mo., the Independence School District and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The capstone of her work at FEMA included leading the agency’s largest community relations deployment of 1,300 emergency responders in the 2012 aftermath of Superstorm Sandy in New York. Rose earned a Master of Public Administration degree in project management in 2008 and a Bachelor of Arts in communication theory and human relations in 2006, both from Park. 

Kathrine Swanson, Ed.D.

Swanson, a resident of Parkville, Mo., has been the president of the Metropolitan Community College Longview Campus in Lee’s Summit, Mo., since August 2021. She served MCC as its vice chancellor for student success and engagement from August 2015 through June 2023. Swanson joined MCC after having served as a higher education leader within multi-campus community colleges since 1992. Swanson earned her doctorate degree in higher education administration from the University of North Texas, a master’s degree in adult and higher education from Montana State University and a bachelor's degree in business management from Northern Michigan University.

In addition, the Board of Trustees elected officers for the 2024-25 fiscal year:

• Chair: Terry Calaway, Ed.D., Lenexa, Kan., retired higher education leader and president emeritus of Johnson County (Kan.) Community College
• Vice Chair: Scott Jackman, Weatherby Lake, Mo., president of the U.S. division and vice president of sales and marketing for Deveron, an agriculture technology company based in Toronto, Canada.
• Secretary: Mara Cohara, J.D., Weatherby Lake, Mo., attorney and partner at Lathrop GPM, Kansas City, Mo.
• Treasurer: Jeff Anthony, Prairie Village, Kan., chief financial officer for McCarthy Automotive Group, Olathe, Kan.
• Immediate Past Chair: Vince Clark, Kansas City, Mo., vice president of business development and chief corporate affairs officer, Creative Planning LLC, Overland Park, Kan.

The Board also re-elected Anthony and Gary Henry, Phoenix, Ariz., vice president of U.S. commercial servicing, Global Services Group, American Express, each to a second three-year term.

About Park University

Founded in 1875 in Parkville, Mo., a suburb of Kansas City, Park University is a nonprofit, private institution that is a national leader in higher education. In 2000, Park achieved university status and currently serves more than 6,600 students at 23 campuses in 16 states and online, including Parkville, Independence and Kansas City, Mo.; Lenexa, Kan.; Gilbert, Ariz.; Barstow, Calif.; Columbus, Ohio; Austin and El Paso, Texas; and 15 military installations across the country. www.park.edu