Nov. 20, 2025
Contact: Christopher Ave, Christopher.Ave@missouri.edu
The University of Missouri Board of Curators named Chair Todd Graves to serve for a second one-year term, effective Jan. 1, 2026, signaling continuity after a landmark year for the UM System. Robert Blitz was elected to serve as vice chair, replacing outgoing curator Michael Williams.
Graves, who has deep family ties to the university, has served in the role since Jan. 1 of this year.
“I am honored to have the confidence of my fellow curators to lead the board for another year,” Graves said. “I will work with them to continue building on the successes of the past so that the UM System continues to provide world-class education, cutting-edge research and economic opportunity for the people of our great state.”
Over the past year under Graves’ leadership, the Board of Curators has celebrated several important victories to strengthen and improve the university. After working with the Missouri General Assembly and governor to secure $50 million in state funding for NextGen MURR, the board named members to the NextGen MURR Working Group to serve as strategic advisors for the project. The board also approved a new plan to construct the Energy Innovation Center, a state-of-the-art facility in which researchers will discover new methods of energy production.
Under Graves’ leadership, Mizzou announced a record fundraising year in fiscal 2025.
Graves and the board also extended the contract of university President Mun Choi who will continue serving in that role through 2031.
Graves was first appointed to the board in 2021 by Gov. Mike Parson. He currently works as a partner at the law firm of Graves Garrett Greim LLC, representing clients nationwide before federal and state courts and administrative agencies.
He served as Platte County prosecuting attorney from 1994 to 1998. Prior to that position, Graves was in private practice with the Bryan Cave law firm and also served as an assistant attorney general for the State of Missouri. He then served as the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri from 2001 to 2006 and as a member of U.S. Attorney General’s Advisory Committee.
In 1991, Graves received his law degree and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Virginia. He received a bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Missouri in 1988.
Graves is past president of the Pony Express Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Additionally, he serves on the board of directors for Ballotpedia, an organization dedicated to building the Encyclopedia of American Politics, and he is a founding board member of the Police Foundation of Kansas City.
Blitz to serve as new vice-chair
Joining Graves in leadership, Robert “Bob” D. Blitz will serve as vice chair of the board for 2026.
“I am honored to serve as vice chair of the University of Missouri Board of Curators,” Blitz said. “I look forward to support Chair Graves in spreading our brand of excellence across the country, and to insure a wonderful college experience for our students. The University of Missouri has a strong foundation in all aspects, and its opportunities are unlimited. I look forward to unlocking those opportunities with the board and administration.”
Blitz was appointed to the UM Board of Curators by Parson in April 2023. He has practiced law for 50 years since graduating from the University of Missouri School of Law in 1973, and he is a founding member of the law firm Blitz, Bardgett & Deutsch, L.C. Over the course of his career, Biltz has secured verdicts and settlements in complex business, construction, employment and contract disputes. He has been named Lawyer of the Year twice by Missouri Lawyers Weekly and has received the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis' Distinguished Lawyer Award.
An active contributor in his community, he was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2022 in recognition of his longstanding commitment to the sport and its values.
Blitz resides in St. Louis with his wife Janet and brings to the board a strong commitment to higher education, community service and the land-grant mission of the University of Missouri.
Blitz will replace Michael Williams, who has served as vice chair since 2024. Williams, a founding partner of Williams Dirks Dameron, LLC law firm, was appointed to the board in 2019 by Parson and served as the board chair in 2023. While his six-year term will come to an end, he will remain on the board until his replacement is named by the governor and approved by the Missouri Senate. Williams obtained both his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Missouri, where he previously served as an adjunct law professor.
“Serving on the University of Missouri Board of Curators has been the honor and privilege of a lifetime,” Williams said. “Over the course of my tenure with the board, I have worked diligently to deliver meaningful improvements in research, education and engagement for all Missourians and secure the future of the university for generations to come.”
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