Troy D. Paino, J.D., Ph.D.
President

Dr. Troy D. Paino began his duties as the sixteenth President of Truman State University on May 10, 2010, and serves as the chief executive officer and principal spokesperson for the University.  Prior to becoming President, Dr. Paino served since July 2008 as Truman's Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.  In this leadership position he served as a senior member of the president's cabinet and as chief academic officer for the University.   

Dr. Paino served as the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Winona State University (Minnesota) from 2004 to 2008.  He began his career at Winona State University in 1997 as an Assistant Professor of History.  He was promoted to the rank of Professor in 2007.

Dr. Paino received his Juris Doctorate from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.  Prior to arriving at Winona, he worked as a lawyer in Indianapolis.  Dr. Paino has a Ph.D. and a Master of Arts degree in American Studies from Michigan State University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and philosophy from Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri.  His teaching and scholarly interests include 20th-century cultural and social history and American legal history.  He has written extensively on the history of American sport, and in 2008 published his book, "The Social History of the United States: 1960s."

Dr. Paino was selected by the Council on Public Higher Education in Missouri (COPHE) to serve as the state representative for Missouri on the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Council of State Representatives.  He is also a member of the AASCU Committee on Professional Development and the AASCU New Presidents’ Academy Advisory Committee.  Dr. Paino serves as a member of the Association of American Colleges and Universities’ (AAC&U) Presidents’ Trust for Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP).  In addition, Dr. Paino serves as Chair of the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education (CBHE) Presidential Advisory Council and is a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC) Communications and Membership Committees.  Dr. Paino holds the academic rank of Professor of History at Truman, and he is a member of Truman's Chapters of Beta Gamma Sigma, Phi Kappa Phi, Omicron Delta Kappa and the National Residence Hall Honorary.  He is also a member of the Rotary Club of Kirksville.   

Dr. Paino and his wife Kelly reside in Kirksville and have two daughters, Sophia and Chloe.  Kelly has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Evangel University and licenses in Elementary and Early Childhood Education from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and Winona State University.  She is a former educator in Early Childhood and Elementary Education, most recently in the Houston Public Schools in Houston, Minnesota, where she coordinated an Early Childhood Family Education program.  Kelly serves on the Northeast Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees, the United Way Board and the Northeast Missouri Food Bank (Adair County) Advisory Council.