Nancy Hoover, Coordinator of Student Services, has been working in the School of Graduate Studies since November 1998, almost 15 years. Along with reviewing all theses and dissertations for format and style, Nancy’s duties include managing the annual competitions for the outstanding dissertation and distinguished master’s thesis, maintaining the SGS website, acting as administrative liaison for the Graduate Council and the Graduate Officers Committee, managing the university catalog process, and acting as the IT and web liaison for SGS.
Nancy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Emporia State University.
“I keep starting master’s degrees, but haven’t managed to finish one yet,” she said. “I worked on library science degrees both at Emporia State and through Mizzou.”
While Nancy said she did not have a dream job as a child, she wanted to get into social work as she moved toward college. Though she had hoped to transfer to KU to finish a social work degree, Nancy instead married and stayed at Emporia State.
“I realized later, that while I had an interest in social work and wanted to help, that I didn’t really have the ‘toughness’ that a job like that demanded,” she said. “I also find that as I get older, I have less tolerance for peoples’ poor choices – probably wouldn’t be a good fit for social work at this stage.”
When Nancy moved to Kansas City in 1997, she worked at a law firm that specialized in foreign trade zone law.
“It was fascinating work, but was long hours and not a good fit for a single mom,” she said.
One of the attorneys introduced Nancy to UMKC via research in the School of Law, and she soon saw a job posting in SGS. After an interview with Dr. Patricia Hovis-French, Nancy moved into a newly-created position.
“It turned out to be a perfect fit as I had the website experience they wanted, expertise in computer formatting, and I had been an administrative liaison for several faculty committees at Emporia State,” she said.
Nancy believes UMKC is a good choice for students wishing to pursue graduate degrees.
“I think graduate students at UMKC have the opportunity to really know their professors well and are offered a lot of personal service from the support units like SGS,” she said.
Outside the office, Nancy and her husband have started a business dealing with real estate and buying defaulted mortgages.
“I have really enjoyed learning that business and we have worked hard at growing more knowledgeable in all kinds of real estate investing,” she said. “We manage rentals and also rehab and flip some properties.”
Nancy said that if she ever leaves UMKC, it will be to pursue her real estate endeavors full-time. In the meantime, however, she considers herself fortunate to have landed in a job she likes in a setting she enjoys.
“University work offers so many varied experiences,” she said. “I get to work with exceptional students, exceptional faculty, and have had the opportunity to be exposed to such interesting topics and issues.”