New Members Appointed to Board of Governors
The Truman Board of Governors has three new alumni serving on the Board. The appointments were made by Gov. Jay Nixon in February and they were confirmed recently by the Missouri Senate.
Sarah (Hartmann) Burkemper is a certified public accountant and a certified financial planner in her own practice. She served as the public administrator for Lincoln County (Mo.) for 12 years, retiring from the position in December 2008.
Burkemper was a Pershing Scholar at Truman and graduated cum laude with two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree in 1992. She was named Outstanding Graduate Student in Accounting by the Business and Accountancy Division in 1992 and went on to receive a master’s degree in International Affairs from Washington University in 1997. Burkemper was honored as Truman’s Alumna of the Year in 2006. She currently serves as president of the Truman State University Foundation and previously served as a member of the Truman Board of Governors from March 2001 to June 2007.
A resident of Troy, Mo., Burkemper is a graduate of the CORO Women in Leadership program. She serves on the board of Community Opportunities (the county’s Senate Bill 40 board) and as Chair of the Lincoln County Health Foundation board. She fills the vacated term of Mike Greenwell.
Jim O’Donnell is a licensed funeral home director and serves as president of James O’Donnell Funeral Home in Hannibal, Mo. He has an Associate of Arts degree from Hannibal LaGrange College and a Bachelor of Science degree in history from Truman. He also has an Associate of Mortuary Science Degree from Kansas City, Kansas Community College, and is a licensed funeral director and embalmer in both Missouri and Illinois.
O’Donnell is a member of the Missouri Funeral Directors Association and the National Funeral Directors Association. Additionally, he is an active member of the Hannibal Park Board, Hannibal Arts Council Board, Farmers and Merchants Bank and Trust Company Advisory Board, Early Bird Kiwanis, Hannibal Elks Lodge, Hannibal Knights of Columbus Council #907 and of Holy Family Catholic Church. He is a past member of the board of directors for the Hannibal YMCA and the Hannibal Area Chamber of Commerce. He succeeds Mark Wasinger whose term has expired.
Susan Plassmeyer is the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Alumni and Development, Administration and Development Services for Washington University in St. Louis. She also serves as an adjunct faculty for University College, which is a continuing education and professional studies division of Arts & Sciences at Washington University.
A Pershing Scholar at Truman, she graduated summa cum laude from the University in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science in business administration/finance and a Bachelor of Arts in economics. Plassmeyer holds the distinction of being the first student representative to the governing board of the University following the enactment of legislation in 1984 permitting student representation. In 1990, she received a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in finance from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. She currently serves on the Truman School of Business Board of Advisors and the board of Trailnet, a non-profit in St. Louis. Plassmeyer served on the Truman State University Foundation and the Truman State University National Alumni Association Board. She succeeds John W. Siscel, III whose term had expired.
Sarah (Hartmann) Burkemper is a certified public accountant and a certified financial planner in her own practice. She served as the public administrator for Lincoln County (Mo.) for 12 years, retiring from the position in December 2008.
Burkemper was a Pershing Scholar at Truman and graduated cum laude with two bachelor’s degrees and a master’s degree in 1992. She was named Outstanding Graduate Student in Accounting by the Business and Accountancy Division in 1992 and went on to receive a master’s degree in International Affairs from Washington University in 1997. Burkemper was honored as Truman’s Alumna of the Year in 2006. She currently serves as president of the Truman State University Foundation and previously served as a member of the Truman Board of Governors from March 2001 to June 2007.
A resident of Troy, Mo., Burkemper is a graduate of the CORO Women in Leadership program. She serves on the board of Community Opportunities (the county’s Senate Bill 40 board) and as Chair of the Lincoln County Health Foundation board. She fills the vacated term of Mike Greenwell.
Jim O’Donnell is a licensed funeral home director and serves as president of James O’Donnell Funeral Home in Hannibal, Mo. He has an Associate of Arts degree from Hannibal LaGrange College and a Bachelor of Science degree in history from Truman. He also has an Associate of Mortuary Science Degree from Kansas City, Kansas Community College, and is a licensed funeral director and embalmer in both Missouri and Illinois.
O’Donnell is a member of the Missouri Funeral Directors Association and the National Funeral Directors Association. Additionally, he is an active member of the Hannibal Park Board, Hannibal Arts Council Board, Farmers and Merchants Bank and Trust Company Advisory Board, Early Bird Kiwanis, Hannibal Elks Lodge, Hannibal Knights of Columbus Council #907 and of Holy Family Catholic Church. He is a past member of the board of directors for the Hannibal YMCA and the Hannibal Area Chamber of Commerce. He succeeds Mark Wasinger whose term has expired.
Susan Plassmeyer is the Assistant Vice Chancellor of Alumni and Development, Administration and Development Services for Washington University in St. Louis. She also serves as an adjunct faculty for University College, which is a continuing education and professional studies division of Arts & Sciences at Washington University.
A Pershing Scholar at Truman, she graduated summa cum laude from the University in 1986 with a Bachelor of Science in business administration/finance and a Bachelor of Arts in economics. Plassmeyer holds the distinction of being the first student representative to the governing board of the University following the enactment of legislation in 1984 permitting student representation. In 1990, she received a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in finance from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. She currently serves on the Truman School of Business Board of Advisors and the board of Trailnet, a non-profit in St. Louis. Plassmeyer served on the Truman State University Foundation and the Truman State University National Alumni Association Board. She succeeds John W. Siscel, III whose term had expired.
