University of Missouri announces leadership appointments

Several joint appointments will contribute to efficiency, campus alignment

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Today, University of Missouri System President Mun Choi and MU Interim Chancellor Garnett Stokes announced four leadership appointments effective July 1. Several leaders will have joint appointments designed to unify and consolidate efforts at the system and campus level.

“The University of Missouri System and our four campuses are at a historic, transformative time,” Choi said. “Since joining the University in March, I have worked diligently to ensure we have the right people at the leadership table as we face unprecedented challenges and opportunities. I am proud of the team we have built, and these appointments will ensure that the University moves forward with the intention, coordination and nimbleness required of us.”

The following individuals have new or extended appointments:

Jonathan Curtright will serve as both chief executive officer and chief operating officer for MU Health Care, consolidating two executive positions. He will report to the UM System president and the MU chancellor. Curtright, who joined MU Health Care in 2016, previously served as COO and interim CEO.

Prior to his appointment at MU Health Care, Curtright served as COO at Indiana University Health; as chief operations officer for ambulatory services at UK HealthCare in Lexington, Kentucky; and as an administrator of various departments at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

Additionally, Patrick Delafontaine, dean of the MU School of Medicine, will now have a split reporting relationship with the UM System president; MU chancellor regarding clinical affairs; and MU provost on matters relating to academic affairs.

Ryan D. Rapp, previously interim vice president for finance and chief financial officer, has been appointed vice president for finance for the UM System.

A native of Missouri, Rapp has worked for the University since 2010 and is a certified public accountant. Previously, he worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He graduated from MU Trulaske College of Business in 2004 with a master's in accounting and accounting information systems. 

Kevin McDonald, chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer for the UM System and interim vice chancellor for inclusion, diversity and equity at MU, will now jointly serve UM System and MU on a permanent basis.

As a diversity and inclusion professional, McDonald has developed a significant track record of transformational contributions toward organizational equity, diversity and inclusion goals. Before joining the University, McDonald served as vice president and associate provost for diversity and inclusion at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York.

Mark McIntosh has been named vice president for research and economic development and vice chancellor of research, graduate studies and economic development, which is a joint appointment between the UM System and MU.

McIntosh has served as MU’s interim vice chancellor for research, graduate studies and economic development since 2015. He began his career at MU in 1981 as an assistant professor of microbiology; was the first director of MU's DNA Core Facility; initiated the MU Informatics Research Core Facility; served as director of graduate studies for 14 years in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology; and served as chair of that department for 15 years.

 “These strong leaders are energized and motivated to help the University of Missouri continue our land-grant mission of educating tomorrow’s leaders while serving our state, nation and world through groundbreaking research, life-saving medicine, and service and outreach,” Stokes said.

###

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI SYSTEM: The University of Missouri was founded in Columbia in 1839. The University had a single campus until 1870, when the School of Mines and Metallurgy was established in Rolla. In the same year, the University assumed land-grant responsibilities of providing higher education opportunities for all citizens. In 1963, the University expanded by founding a new campus in St. Louis and acquiring the University of Kansas City, creating the present four-campus system. Today, the University of Missouri is one of the nation’s largest higher education institutions, with more than 75,000 students, a health care enterprise and a statewide extension program.