Meet Graduate Education

Academic Leadership
Dr. Samuel Frimpong

Vice Provost of Graduate Education

(573) 341-4141 | grad@mst.edu |

216 Centennial Hall

View Responsibilities
  • Provides leadership to the collaborative refinement, adaptation and development of the distribution of responsibilities among staff and the mission of Graduate Education
  • Provides leadership to ensure the continuing development of Graduate Education staff and to regrow the size of the Graduate Education team   
  • Guides the implementation of effective means to enhance bi-directional communication with all constituencies by way of in-person meetings, online meetings (i.e., Zoom, Webinars), and digital media (incl. Website, MinerBytes, Twitter, etc.)
  • Adjudicates non-standard cases presented to Graduate Education
  • Researches options for an online campus-wide Graduate Education Management system
  • Collaborates with Kummer Institute leadership on the development and implementation of the Kummer I&E Fellows program
  • Develops new approaches to facilitate graduate education in “Innovation & Entrepreneurship” as part of broader graduate education
Dr. Chang-Soo Kim

Faculty Fellow

(573) 341-4141 | grad@mst.edu |

216 Centennial Hall

View Responsibilities
  • Creates an up-to-date list of sources for graduate student support from federal, state, and private funders with focus on foundations
  • Disseminates information about sources for graduate student support via the Graduate Education website, MinerBytes push communications, seminars, etc.
  • Informs and mentors specific target audiences to seek graduate student support
  • Works collaboratively with the Director of Graduate and International Admissions to enhance the recruitment of graduate students to Missouri S&T

For a brief history of previous academic leadership, please click here.

Administrative Leadership
Sharon Matson

Director of Operations

(573) 341-6494 | matsons@mst.edu |

216 Centennial Hall

View Responsibilities
  • Oversees day-to-day office operations
  • Facilitates GTA workshop and SPEAK tests
  • Monitors C/F/I grades, GPAs, and probationary status
  • Coordinates process for graduate certificates: creation, revisions, and approvals
  • Leads and provides support for the Council of Graduate Coordinators and Staff (CGCS)
  • Conduct manager for academic integrity for graduate students
  • Receives graduate student complaints and grievances
  • Special projects
Madison Armstrong

Office Support Assistant Sr.

(573) 341-4141 | mawkd@mst.edu |

216 Centennial Hall

View Responsibilities
  • Oversees office front entrance
  • Directs office inquiries
  • Maintains calendar for Vice Provost of Graduate Education
  • Arranges travel for Vice Provost of Graduate Education
  • Manages the travel fund reimbursement and recruitment program
  • Completes initial intake of student forms
  • Reviews format of theses/dissertations
  • Manages office email inbox (grad@mst.edu)
  • Provides support for graduate specialists

Graduate Specialists

Every graduate student is assigned a specialist based on the first letter of their last name.
Jade Sinnott

Program Manager II

(573) 341-4099 | sinnottj@mst.edu |

Last Names: A

View Responsibilities
  • Development of programs/projects for student support
  • Leads the graduate specialist team
  • Oversees the Grad Track Pathway and Accelerated BS/MS Programs
  • Advises students (last names A), faculty, and staff on rules and requirements outlined in the Graduate Catalog and Chancellor’s Policy Memo II-20: Graduate Student Registration
  • Processes graduate student forms and builds degree audits to monitor degree progress
  • Approves final degree audits for graduate degrees/certificates to be awarded
  • Reviews format of theses/dissertations
  • Maintains and oversees university-approved thesis/dissertation specifications/templates and presents information to students preparing for completion
Fernando Chavez

Graduate Specialist

(573) 341-7712 | fccft@mst.edu |

Last Names: B-L

View Responsibilities
  • Advises students (last names B - L), faculty, and staff on rules and requirements outlined in the Graduate Catalog and Chancellor’s Policy Memo II-20: Graduate Student Registration
  • Processes graduate student forms and builds degree audits to monitor degree progress
  • Approves final degree audits for graduate degrees/certificates to be awarded
  • Reviews format of theses/dissertations
  • Plans and implements events and programming for graduate students
  • Oversees updates to office website
Anita Ahl

Graduate Specialist

(573) 341-4039 | aa9kx@mst.edu |

Last Names: M-Z

View Responsibilities
  • Advises students (last names M - Z), faculty, and staff on rules and requirements outlined in the Graduate Catalog and Chancellor’s Policy Memo II-20: Graduate Student Registration
  • Processes graduate student forms and builds degree audits to monitor degree progress
  • Approves final degree audits for graduate degrees/certificates to be awarded
  • Reviews format of theses/dissertations
  • Provides support and serves as liaison for Graduate Council and Graduate Faculty
  • Provides training to new staff on processes related to graduate student support

Graduate Student Support Staff

These staff members are here to assist graduate students in many different ways.
Mina Amini

Technical Editor

(573) 341-4149 | ma46c@mst.edu |

216 Centennial Hall

View Responsibilities
  • Edits content of theses, dissertations, conference papers, journal articles, and proposals for theses and dissertations written by graduate students for technical writing issues such as grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and word choice
  • Develops, implements, and administers workshops and seminars
  • Maintains and updates online webpages for editing help
  • Meets with students in one-one writing development sessions to discuss edited documents and writing questions
  • Logs editing data, generates statistics, and gathers survey results for technical editing services
Lea Hickerson

Temporary Technical Editor

(636) 358-3411 | leahickerson@mst.edu |

216 Centennial Hall

View Responsibilities
  • Provides editing services for theses, dissertations, conference papers, journal articles, and thesis/dissertation proposals for graduate students
  • Hosts writing-centric workshops and events
  • Meets with graduate students in one-on-one writing development sessions