Harr, Richardson appointed NW regents

Gov. Jay Nixon has appointed Dr. Patrick B. Harr (Republican), of Shell Knob, and John W. Richmond (Democrat), of Albany, to the Northwest Missouri State University Board of Regents.

Both appointments must still be confirmed by the state Senate.

Harr is a physician specializing in family and sports medicine at Mercy Family Medicine in Shell Knob, a resort town near Table Rock Lake in the southwest Missouri Ozarks.

He spent many years practicing medicine in Maryville, where he served as team doctor for both the Maryville High School Spoofhounds and the Northwest Bearcats.

Harr obtained his medical degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia after studying pre-medicine at Northwest and earning an undergraduate degree at MU. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran.

Richmond is the retired president and CEO of Northwest Medical Center in Albany, a position he held for nearly 30 years. He has also held leadership positions with several health care organizations and boards.

After attending college at the the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Richmond went on to earn a master's degree in hospital administration from Webster University.

If confirmed, both men will serve terms ending Jan. 1, 2019.

Harr is to replace the board's longest-serving member, Doug Sutton (R) of Maryville, a retired Kawasaki Motors plant manager who joined the regents in 2001.

Richardson will assume the seat occupied since 2003 by Lydia Hurst (R) of Tarkio.

The term of Dr. Douglas Wycoff (D), a dentist from Cameron, also expired at the first of this year, but Nixon has yet to name his successor.

Assuming Wycoff remains on the board until replaced, which he has said he will do, the board will continue to operate with six sitting members and two vacancies. The other members are Mark Hargens (D), St. Joseph, the current chairman; Gene Dorrell (R), Maryville; and Joseph Bosse (R), St. Louis.

The eight-member Board of Regents, which meets on campus every couple of months, is a body created by Missouri statute. It is charged with setting policy and providing fiscal oversight for all university operations.

The panel signs off on hiring decisions regarding senior personnel and must approve budget recommendations prior to their implementation by university administrators.

In addition to the eight regular positions, the board also includes a non-voting student regent who attends meetings but has no vote. The position is currently held by Ashton Rafferty, whose term expires in December.

By statute, six of the eight board members must live in the university's traditional northwest Missouri service district, which embraces 14 counties. At least one regent must reside in Nodaway County, and two must be from other parts of the state. No more than four can be members of a single political party.