MARYVILLE, Mo. — For 40 of his 43 years, Dr. Kent Porterfield breathed Nodaway County air.

He’s one of four candidates in the running to take in much more of it as president of Northwest Missouri State University. Dr. Dean Hubbard, president for the last 25 years, retires in July.

Dr. Porterfield, vice president of student affairs at Saint Louis University, met with Northwest students, faculty, staff, and community Tuesday in two town hall-style meetings at the student union on campus. Many of them he knew well already. Dr. Porterfield earned his undergraduate degree (cum laude) and master’s degree at Northwest and spent the first 17 of his 20 years in higher education at Northwest.

Raised on a farm north of Marvyille, Dr. Porterfield told the audience he could not have imagined as a young boy playing in a grain silo that he’d one day have the opportunity to stand in front of them as a finalist for president of the university.

“Such is the power of education and opportunity,” he said.

Dr. Porterfield, the third finalist to take part in such a meeting, fielded questions ranging from fundraising to the importance of multicultural education to his relationship with faculty and the faculty senate. His answers tended toward long and insightful, particularly when allowed to compare Saint Louis University, an urban, private, Jesuit college, to Northwest.

Earning a doctorate in educational leadership and policy analysis, Dr. Porterfield has spent the majority of his career in student affairs, which he said is unique in that the position has allowed him to delve into many issues in academia and administration.

Like the two previous candidates, Dr. Porterfield sees potential in the university’s Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, a work in progress that will be used to assist technology upstarts. He also voiced his opinion on branding (“Being called the best-kept secret is a backhanded compliment”), leadership style (leaders should “define value, articulate mission and vision”) and strategic planning (a thorough “environmental scan” will identify “strengths and challenges”).

Dr. Porterfield started his career in higher education as the director of the student union at Northwest. After two years in that position he moved to assistant dean of students and assistant vice president for student affairs. He served as vice president for student affairs from 1997 to 2006 before taking his position at Saint Louis University.

He met his wife, Nicole, at Northwest. They have two children.

Jimmy Myers can be reached at jimmym@npgco.com