Truman
State University Foundation Board of Directors
Barbara Dixon, President of Truman State University
Barbara
Dixon became the 14th and 1st woman president of Truman State University
on July 1, 2003. Before coming to Truman, President Dixon served from
1997-2003 as provost and vice president for academic affairs at the
State University of New York at Geneseo, a public liberal arts
university very similar to Truman. President Dixon previously spent 27
years at Central Michigan University. She was a full-time faculty member
in the Department of Music for 18 years, during which time she was
elected by her university wide colleagues to serve as chair of the
Academic Senate during the 1986-87 academic year. She began her formal
administrative career at Central in 1989 as an Associate Dean in the
College of Arts and Sciences and served in that position for six years
before being appointed Dean. President Dixon has both a Bachelor of
Music and Master of Music in applied piano from Michigan State
University and a Doctor of Musical Arts in piano performance, literature
and pedagogy from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Throughout her career, President Dixon has worked persistently to advance the status of women and minorities. She was recognized in 1997 by the Affirmative Action Council of Central Michigan University, who presented her with a special tribute for her longstanding contributions and extraordinary efforts. A strong advocate for civic engagement and social responsibility, President Dixon has worked with local Women’s Aid and Domestic Violence Shelters, Hospice, Red Cross, Special Olympics, and the Lions Club hearing and sight impaired philanthropy.
President Dixon serves as an at-large representative on the NCAA Division II Presidents Council. She is past president of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC) and the Council on Public Higher Education in Missouri (COPHE), an organization made up of the presidents of Missouri’s 13 public four-year institutions.