by Sara Schafer | sschafer@ruralmissouri.coop
With its four universities, cutting-edge health care system, 22 research farms and 114 county offices, the University of Missouri System is one of the state’s greatest assets. As a land-grant university and Missouri’s only public research institutions, the system educates students, promotes lifelong learning and helps solve everyday problems.
Just like your electric cooperative’s board of directors, the University of Missouri Board of Curators serves as the governing authority for the system. They approve the budget, appoint leadership, confirm degree programs and set goals. The nine members are appointed by the governor to represent the state’s congressional districts. Let’s meet the four curators with strong ties to rural Missouri.
Robin Wenneker, Columbia
As a Columbia native, Robin Wenneker has always loved Mizzou. Since childhood, her two favorite places remain The Quad and cheering for the Tigers at Faurot Field. Today, she still loves strolling the expansive Columbia campus, which combined with the other three campuses, educates more than 70,000 students. “When you look across Missouri, our alums are your nurses, doctors, teachers, attorneys and bankers,” she says. “We’re in every county, every day making a difference.”
Robin, a member of Boone Electric Cooperative, is the managing partner of CPW Partnership, a family business that owns farmland in central Missouri. She sees how MU’s agricultural research farms, key degree programs and academic health care system benefit the entire state.
With its seven hospitals, 80 clinics, four medical helicopters, innovative research and outstanding clinical care, the MU health care system is an asset for all Missourians, Robin says. “We care for patients from every county in Missouri, and our medical school’s rural medicine program is addressing the physician shortage that exists in over 90% of those counties,” she says.
Todd Graves, Edgerton
As a young boy on his family’s farm in Tarkio, Todd Grave’s first introduction to the University of Missouri was on the radio. He spent his falls in the tractor listening to Tiger football — cheering for a team in a town he’d never been to, but a university that has been a second home to his family for a century. After his stint at Mizzou, Todd earned a law degree from the University of Virginia. Today the member of Platte-Clay Electric Cooperative, is a lawyer in private practice with the law firm of Graves Garrett.
As a businessman and farmer, Todd says he’s most proud of Mizzou’s focus on research. For instance, the recent $20 million expansion of the MU Research Reactor will make MU a global leader in nuclear medicine research. Also, MU researchers are behind the first-ever vaccine to protect cattle from a devastating tick-borne cattle disease known as bovine anaplasmosis.
“We should all be proud that the University of Missouri system takes its commitment to rural Missouri and its land-grant mission very seriously,” says Todd, the 2025 chair of the University of Missouri Board of Curators.
Jeanne Sinquefield, Westphalia
For Jeanne Sinquefield, serving on the MU Board of Curators combines her top interests — economic trends, innovation and inspiring tomorrow’s leaders. Jeanne, a member of Three Rivers Electric Cooperative, spent her career in investment fund management and trading. After retiring, she and her husband bought a farm in Westphalia.
Since education has always been central to Jeanne’s life, she’s proud the University of Missouri system offers a vast array of education opportunities for students of all ages. For example, MU Extension partners with the University’s schools and colleges to offer continuing education units. With some programs you earn credits, while others just help you sharpen your skills.
Jeanne is also amazed at the research and innovation happening across the four campuses — everything from developing a tornado simulator to using drones on farms to composing new pieces of music. “MU is finding and growing inventors,” she says.
Bob Fry, Greenwood
As a teenager, Bob Fry had a big dream — play football for MU. “But I wasn’t good enough,” he humbly admits. Instead, he set his sights on dental school at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and spent his career as an orthodontist in the Kansas City area.
Bob, a member of Osage Valley Electric Cooperative, splits his time between Greenwood and Urich. His combined big-city and small-town experiences guide his decisions as a curator. “Our organization puts billions of dollars into the Missouri economy,” he says. “Our customers are our students, parents, grandparents, alumni and legislators. We have to focus on the needs of those groups.”
That value is delivered through top-notch education, he says. For example, Missouri S&T is ranked as one of the best engineering universities in the U.S., and University of Missouri-St. Louis has one of the top international business programs. Plus, the Columbia campus is No. 4 for flagship universities in education value.
Beyond the accolades, Bob is proud of the system’s rural outreach. “We are trying to figure out how to make our extension offices meaningful to everyone,” he says.