By Jade Elwess
Aug. 22, 2025
Many of this year’s new faculty members at the University of Missouri describe the start of the semester as a personal homecoming. Some are proud Mizzou alumni, while others grew up in central Missouri area.
In total, 137 new faculty have joined the Mizzou family this year. They bring fresh energy and a shared excitement for embracing the university’s land-grant mission, building meaningful collaborations with colleagues and empowering the next generation of leaders trhough the “Missouri Method” — Mizzou’s hallmark approach to hands-on learning.
To kick off the academic year, new faculty participated in several events hosted by the Office of the Provost in August. This included a reception with UM President Mun Choi and Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Matthew Martens, as well as a two-day orientation to highlight resources that support teaching, research and professional development.
Hear from some of our newest faculty members about why they chose Mizzou.
Christine Brodsky
College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources
School of Natural Resources
“As a proud Mizzou alumna, it’s an honor to return to the university that shaped both my academic and professional journey. I chose Mizzou because this role truly represents my dream job, and I’m deeply grateful to join a dynamic, engaged community of faculty and students within the School of Natural Resources. I’m excited to be back at a university that champions excellence in teaching and research and values strong collaborations with conservation practitioners across the state.”
Jon Bradley
Arts and Science
Statistics & Data Science
“The Department of Statistics is one of the best in the world for spatial and spatial temporal statistics. We also have family in the area.”
James Reitting
Arts and Science
Architectural Studies
“The thing that excites me is the Master of Science in Architecture program. To be able to be a part of that early on and be part of the growth of that is very exciting.”
Cameron Perrine
College of Health Sciences
Health Psychology
“I decided to come work at Mizzou because I matched here for postdocs, fell in love with the department and loved the work. I wanted to stay. I like the people in the department, and I like the mission. They do a lot of patient care, so I'm happy to be able to contribute.”
Katy Smith
College of Education and Human Development
Information Science & Learning Technologies
“I came to Mizzou because I completed my master's and doctoral degrees here, and I love the library science program. I've been an adjunct for many years, and now I have the opportunity to teach full time and I’m so excited.”
Kelli Fram
Trulaske College of Business
Management
“I'm actually a native of Columbia. After living in many other states with my husband through his amazing career, we had the chance to move back to central Missouri, and I can't think of a better place that I want to be right now. I've had an amazing career, and it's just a wonderful place for me to give back some of the knowledge that I've accumulated and earned over all these years.”
Kubilay Cirik
Trulaske College of Business
Management
“I decided to come to Mizzou because of its research-intensive environments and further opportunities at the university.”
Chelse Beck-Vannatter
Sinclair School of Nursing
“I completed my undergraduate degrees here, and so I love the community. I love being part of the system wide campus, as I live in Kansas City and will be at a distance. I wanted to come because it is an awesome place to be.”
Shawn Neyens
Sinclair School of Nursing
“My decision to join the University of Missouri was driven by a clear and meaningful purpose. I wanted to grow professionally and contribute to an institution that is actively advancing and shaping the healthcare landscape—not only in Missouri but across the country. As an alumna, I had a strong desire to return to the university that provided me with an exceptional undergraduate and graduate education. It felt only natural to come back and be part of the solution—helping to educate and support the next generation of nurse practitioners.”
Jennifer Brady
University Libraries
Head Librarian College of Veterinary Medicine
“I came to Mizzou because it is doing such amazing things with the libraries. We have a provost who’s behind the libraries, Mizzou is including the libraries in so many programs, with embedded libraries in the colleges. And that's what drew me here.”
Phineas Oren
School of Medicine
Pediatrics
“I came to Mizzou because of the people I’m going to be working with. They are an excellent group.”
