John Sellars, is an American academic administrator. He was named president of

Graceland University Graceland University is a private university with campuses in Lamoni, Iowa, and Independence, Missouri. The university offers degree completion and master's degree programs. It also offers undergraduate and graduate programs online. The univers ...

in May 2007, serving until 2017. He previously served as the fifteenth President of

Drury University Drury University, formerly Drury College and originally Springfield College, is a private university in Springfield, Missouri, United States. The university's mission statement describes itself as "church-related". It enrolls about 1,590 undergr ...

for two years, and a senior vice president for institutional advancement at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

Biography

Sellars was born and raised in

Independence, Missouri Independence is a city in and one of two county seats of Jackson County, Missouri, United States. It is a satellite city of Kansas City, Missouri, and is the largest suburb on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metropolitan area. In 2020 Unite ...

and received his bachelor's degree from

University of Central Missouri The University of Central Missouri (UCM) is a public university in Warrensburg, Missouri, United States. In 2024, enrollment was 13,734 students from 48 states and 52 countries on its 1,561-acre campus. UCM offers 150 programs of study, incl ...

. He continued his education at the

University of Missouri–Kansas City The University of Missouri–Kansas City (UMKC or Kansas City) is a Public university, public research university in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. UMKC is part of the University of Missouri System and has a UMKC School of Medicine, medic ...

, where he received a master's degree in public administration in 1986 and a Ph.D. in 1992. His post-graduate studies include the Institute for Educational Management at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and the Strategic Planning and Higher Education Marketing program at the

Wharton School The Wharton School ( ) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Established in 1881 through a donation from Joseph Wharton, a co-founder of Bethlehem Steel, the Wharton ...

of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. In 2005, Sellars became the 15th president of

, though his tenure ended abruptly after he announced the school was millions of dollars in debt, initiated a re-examination of the university's mission, and appeared to squelch academic freedom following a controversial interview by a faculty member. On April 23, 2007, facing a likely vote of no confidence from the faculty, Sellars resigned. One month later, on May 24, 2007, Sellars was named president of

Lamoni, Iowa Lamoni is a city in Decatur County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,969 at the time of the 2020 Census. Lamoni is the home of Graceland University, affiliated with the Community of Christ, a denomination of the Latter Day Saint move ...

, effective July 15. In 2016, the university announced that Sellars would retire in July, 2017. He was succeeded by Patricia Draves, who formerly served as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the

University of Mount Union The University of Mount Union is a private liberal arts university in Alliance, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1846, the university was affiliated with the Methodist Church until 2019. It had an enrollment of 2,100 students as of 2023. History ...

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or sovereign state, states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an a ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sellars, John Graceland University faculty University of Central Missouri alumni Harvard University alumni Wharton School alumni Syracuse University faculty Living people Year of birth missing (living people)