Zora Mulligan is Chancellor of Missouri State University–West Plains, a position she has held since July 2025. Her previous roles include Executive Vice President for Missouri State University, Commissioner of Higher Education for the State of Missouri, University of Missouri Chief of Staff, Missouri Community College Association Executive Director, and Assistant Attorney General. Mulligan has been recognized as the Greater Missouri Leadership Foundation’s Civic Leader of the Year (2025), one of Springfield Business Journal’s Most Influential Women (2023) and Twelve People You Need to Know (2023), and Ingram’s Magazine’s 50 Missourians You Should Know (2023). She held the Missouri State University Leadership Chair from 2023 to 2025. She has received the Exceptional Leader Award from the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (2021) and the Missouri Economic Development Council’s Governmental Partner of the Year (2019). She is a member of the West Plains Chamber of Commerce. Mulligan is a native of West Plains, Missouri, and a graduate of Drury College (B.S., 1998) and the University of Kansas (M.S.Ed., 2000, and J.D., 2003).