Kansas City University adds six trustees, including four alumni

Kansas City University has named six new members to its Board of Trustees, bringing leaders from medicine, dentistry, public health, banking and philanthropy onto the governing body. Four of the six are KCU College of Osteopathic Medicine alumni, a move the university says will support its growth and mission.

Why it matters: - The new trustees add experience in health care, higher education, finance and philanthropy to a board that guides Kansas City University’s strategy. - Four alumni joining the board strengthens KCU’s ties to its own graduate network at a time when the university is expanding programs and access.

What happened: - Kansas City University added six members to its Board of Trustees on July 7, 2026. - The new trustees are Rob Bratcher, Dale W. Bratzler, DO, MPH, MACOI, FIDSA, Karen Evans, DO, Karen J. Nichols DO, MA, MACOI, MACP, FAMWA, CS-F, Joseph P. McGuirk, DO, FACP and Sheila Riggs, DDS, MS, DMSc. - Four of the six new trustees are graduates of KCU College of Osteopathic Medicine. - KCU said the board additions bring decades of combined experience in medicine, dentistry, public health, administration and finance.

The details: - Rob Bratcher is president of Commerce Bank of Kansas City. - Bratcher also serves on the board of directors of the Kansas City Area Development Council, on the Commerce Bank Kansas City Advisory Board and as chairman of the Oppenstein Brothers Foundation. - Dale W. Bratzler is dean of the Hudson College of Public Health at the University of Oklahoma. - Bratzler is a Master Fellow of the American College of Osteopathic Internists and a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. - Karen Evans is a primary care physician at Family Centered Medicine in Lawrence, Kansas. - Evans serves as president of the Kansas American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians and is a former president of the Kansas Association of Osteopathic Medicine. - Evans also serves on KCU’s Advisory Board. - Karen J. Nichols is CEO of Nichols Leadership and a former dean of Midwestern University and Chicago College of Medicine. - Nichols is a past president of the American Osteopathic Association, the Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association and the American College of Osteopathic Internists. - Nichols also serves on KCU’s Advisory Board. - Joseph P. McGuirk is division director of Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapeutics at the University of Kansas Cancer Center. - McGuirk holds the Schutte-Speas Professorship in Hematology-Oncology. - McGuirk helped establish the cancer center as a global leader in chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy. - Sheila Riggs is chair of the Department of Primary Dental Care at the University of Minnesota. - Riggs is a former CEO of Delta Dental of Minnesota and serves on KCU’s College of Dental Medicine Advisory Board. - KCU Board of Trustees chair Robert S. Juhasz said the new members bring expertise that will strengthen the university’s ability to support continued growth. - KCU president and CEO Marc B. Hahn said the board’s breadth of experience will help prepare future osteopathic physicians, dentists, clinical psychologists, scientists and anesthesiologist assistants.

Between the lines: - KCU is leaning on alumni and sector leaders to reinforce governance as the university grows its academic footprint. - The mix of medical, dental, banking and nonprofit experience suggests the board is being shaped to support both clinical education and institutional scale. - The emphasis on excellence, equity and empathy signals that KCU wants board leadership aligned with its public mission, not just operational expertise.

What's next: - KCU said the Board of Trustees will continue providing strategic oversight as the university expands academic programs and increases access to health professions education. - The university also said the board will help serve communities across Missouri, Kansas and beyond. - More information is available on the KCU website.