Green announces retirement from Northwest after 28 years

Dr. Clarence Green, a fixture at Northwest Missouri State University since earning a bachelor’s degree at the institution and joining its staff during the 1990s, has announced he will retire from the University, effective March 31.

“I am incredibly grateful for the experiences, growth and countless memories I have gained during my time with Northwest,” Green said. “The opportunities for personal and professional development that I have been provided have been invaluable. I have had the privilege of working alongside some of the most talented students, faculty and staff, and I am sincerely thankful for the support and mentorship I have received throughout the years.”

Dr. Clarence Green, center, is pictured interacting with Northwest students last year. (Photo by Chandu Ravi Krishna/Northwest Missouri State University)

Green has served the University in numerous capacities since joining it in 1996, including as Northwest’s interim president during the 2022-23 academic year, prior to the arrival of the institution’s 11th president, Dr. Lance Tatum, last June.

“Dr. Clarence Green has made a tremendous impact on Northwest,” Tatum said. “Although I am new to the University, I am certain I can speak for countless individuals in our Bearcat community who are forever grateful for his exceptional leadership, passion for helping others and his Bearcat pride.”

As part of his law enforcement career spanning more than 25 years, Green was appointed as Northwest’s chief of police in 1997 and has led the University Police Department since that time. In 2019, Green was named Northwest’s vice president of culture, with oversight of the Office of Human Resources, the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness, and University Police.

Additionally, he served at Northwest as interim vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion and as the interim vice president of human resources.

While leading Northwest teams responsible for strategic planning and crisis management, he served on implementation teams for student success, inclusive excellence and behavioral intervention. He also led efforts to establish a multidisciplinary team focused on intervention strategies for students in crisis.

Green served on the United States Attorney General Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee and is a Malcom Baldrige fellow. He has led presentations and trainings on topics of leadership, diversity and inclusion, ethics, crisis management, threat assessment, community policing and balanced scorecards.

He serves in Maryville Ten Squared Men, the Rotary Club of Maryville, the local NAACP chapter and numerous law enforcement organizations. In 2016, he was named among Ingram’s Magazine’s “Top 50 Missourians You Should Know.”

Before his employment at Northwest, Green was a police officer with Maryville Public Safety.

Green earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology at Northwest in 1994 and completed a master’s degree in higher education leadership at Northwest in 2010. He earned a doctorate in educational leadership and policy analysis from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2018.