Maj. Gen. Danner has served as Adjutant General of Missouri since 2009
Fulton, MO – William Woods University (WWU) today announced the appointment of Maj. Gen. Stephen L. Danner, the Adjutant General of the Missouri National Guard, to the William Woods Board of Trustees. The appointment of Maj. Gen. Danner, of Jefferson City, to the university’s governing board is effective immediately.
“I am honored to become part of the William Woods University family,” Danner said. “William Woods has an unparalleled reputation for academic excellence, and the Missouri National Guard was honored when they chose to become part of our Show Me GOLD program.”
Maj. Gen. Danner has served as Adjutant General of the Missouri National Guard since January 2009, when he was appointed to the position by Governor Jay Nixon. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1972 and served as a combat engineer. In 1981, he joined the Missouri National Guard as a member of the Judge Advocate Generals Corps and has since held numerous additional military assignments, including Deputy Chief of Staff, Commander of the 140thRegiment, Assistant Adjutant General, Command Judge Advocate in Balad, Iraq, and many more. Danner is the recipient of the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal (with two Bronze Service Stars), Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal and Army Achievement Medal, among others.
Maj. Gen. Danner joins the WWU Board of Trustees following the university’s establishment of the Show-Me Guard Officer Leadership Development (GOLD) program in August of this year. The Show-Me GOLD program is designed to train and educate men and women to become commissioned officers in the Missouri Army National Guard. To be eligible, students must be a member of the Missouri Army National Guard and accepted to enroll at William Woods.
William Woods was the first private university to offer the Show-Me GOLD program, and one of only five in the state of Missouri. It is the only university to offer the program in the central, north-central and eastern regions of the state.
In addition to his sterling military career, Maj. Gen. Danner also served three terms in the Missouri House of Representatives and one term in the Missouri State Senate. A corporate/business law attorney by trade, he is also the co-owner of a management and construction company that has developed, built, operated, and/or owned more than 30 resort, motels, commercial developments and residential subdivisions in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
A native of Macon County, Missouri, Maj. Gen. Danner is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City (BA, History); the University of Missouri-Columbia (JD, Law) and the U.S. Army War College (MS, Strategic Studies).
Maj. Gen. Danner has four children and three grandchildren and is married to Katie (Steele) Danner.
