COLUMBIA, Mo. – Blake Naughton, executive director of University of Missouri’s Hook Center for Educational Renewal, will be MU Extension’s new associate vice chancellor for extension and engagement, effective Feb. 1.

Naughton, who is also an associate clinical professor in the MU College of Education, will be in charge of statewide administrative oversight of extension’s day-to-day operations. Responsibilities will include leadership in the development, implementation and evaluation of research-based programs that address state and national priorities.

Naughton came to MU four years ago with a charge to reinvent the College of Education’s engagement strategy, said MU Vice Chancellor for Extension and Engagement Marshall Stewart. “His work in this area has prepared him to lead extension’s initiatives as our own commitment to outreach and engagement evolves.”

A native of Hannibal, Mo., Naughton holds two advanced degrees in education administration and policy: an Ed.M. from Harvard and a Ph.D. from Stanford. Before coming to MU in 2012, Naughton was on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, where he directed an executive doctoral program in higher education management. He has also served as director of quality management education at Northwest Missouri State University and as an education policy analyst for the Congressional Research Service in Washington, D.C.

He takes over from Mark Stewart, who has served as interim associate vice chancellor since the retirement last year of Beverly Coberly. Stewart will become director of field operations for MU Extension.