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Park University Board Selects Interim President

Park University’s Board of Trustees appoints Dr. Kathrine Swanson, to serve as interim president. Photo credit: Park University.

Posted April 21, 2025

Park University’s Board of Trustees has appointed Dr. Kathrine Swanson as the University’s interim president, beginning her role effective April 23.

Swanson assumes the role of interim president following former Park president Shane Smeed’s decision to leave the university to pursue his next role as president of Utah Tech University by the Utah Board of Higher Education.

Smeed will begin his new duties on May 1.

A resident of Parkville, Swanson served as president of the Metropolitan Community College Longview Campus in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, from August 2021 to August 2024. She also served MCC as its vice chancellor for student success and engagement from August 2015 to June 2023. Swanson joined MCC after having served as a higher education leader at Montgomery County (Pa.) Community College and Collin County (Texas) Community College (now known as Collin College). Prior to her work in community colleges, Swanson started her career in student services at Montana State University and Northern Arizona University.

Swanson earned her doctorate degree in higher education administration from the University of North Texas, a master’s degree in adult and higher education from Montana State University and a bachelor’s degree in business management from Northern Michigan University.

Swanson, who joined Park’s Board of Trustees in July 2024, will step down from the Board to assume the interim president role.

A search for Park University’s new permanent president will begin in the coming months. A search committee will develop a prospectus in the fall, followed by a national search of candidates, with an expected start date for the new president by June 2026.

In March, Park University appointed Dr. Paul Orscheln as vice president of enrollment and student services, where he will be mainly directing recruitment efforts for the institution. The University also recently announced the appointment of Catherine O’Sullivan to the role of director of development and alumni engagement within the Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations