Leroy Wade

Leroy Wade is the Deputy Commissioner for the Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development and has been a member of the department for more than 33 years. In his current position, Mr. Wade is a member of the MDHEWD leadership team and serves as the chief operations officer for the department. He provides leadership for the operation of ten state funded student financial assistance programs, department budget and fiscal operations, the Missouri Student Loan Program, and other internal department functions. He also serves as the state portal agent as part of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA). He works closely with regional and national higher education associations and accrediting bodies and has participated in numerous on-site review teams with both state and national organizations. He received a B.A. in political science from Westminster College and an M.A. in public administration from the University of Missouri-Columbia.