Executive Leadership
Daily operations oversight and strategic planning are conducted by the University’s Administrative Council which is comprised of:
Mary Jane Pearson, Ph.D.
Interim Provost & Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs Executive Director, Online Program Development & Support Phone 816-501-3759 Email maryjane.pearson
Andrew Vogel, Ph.D.
Vice President of Global Strategy and Chief International Affairs Officer, PDSO Phone 816-501-2995 Email andrew.vogel
Paige Illum, Ph.D.
Vice President for Retention, Persistence, and Student Success Adjunct Faculty Phone 816-501-3760 Email paige.illum2025 – 2026 Board of Trustees
Avila University is a private corporation in the State of Missouri under the control of a Board of Trustees.
| Ibraheem T. Badejo, ’84, Ph.D, Chair Johnson & Johnson Innovation | Kathleen Thompson Brown, CSJA, Community Advocate | Thomas Burns, Littler Mendelson P.C. |
| Kenneth V. Hager, DST Systems, Inc. (Retired) | S. Marie Joan Harris, CSJ, Ph.D.,Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet | S. Jeanne Janssen, Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, Province Leadership Team |
| S. Mary Frances Johnson, CSJ, Ph.D., Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet | Stuart Lindeman ’86 Mission Health Communities | S. Mary Margaret Lazio, CSJ ’70, Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet |
| S. Shawn Madigan, CSJ, Ph.D., Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet | Charles Flynn, President Emeritus / College of Mount St. Vincent | Larry Marsh, Professor Emeritus in Economics at the University of Notre Dame |
| Christine Ojile ’82, Kantar Retail Market Insights | Gary D. Smith, USB Financial Services, Inc. | Rick Weller,Treasurer Euronet Worldwide, Inc |
| Wendy Guillies | Erica Crenshaw, Co-Chair | Matthew Mellor, Secretary |
| Lisa Gioia | Jose Flores |
Founded and inspired by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet (CSJ), Avila University is a Catholic institution with a long heritage in social justice and human rights.