Dr. Jeni Hart is the Dean of the Graduate School and Vice Provost for Graduate Studies at the University of Missouri. She is also Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis (ELPA). Dr. Hart joined ELPA as an assistant professor in 2003.

She completed her BS in Foreign Service at Georgetown University, her MEd in Higher Education and Student Affairs Administration at University of Vermont, and her PhD in Higher Education Administration at the University of Arizona. Prior to becoming a faculty member at the University of Missouri, she worked for 9 years as a student affairs educator, and one year as a faculty member at Southeast Missouri State University. 

Her primary role is to support excellence in graduate and postdoctoral education for over 5,000 graduate students and postdoctoral scholars at the University of Missouri. She is responsible for facilitating the strategic vision of the Graduate School. She is past-chair of the AAU Association of Graduate Schools and past board member of Council of Graduate Schools. She also served as co-editor of NASPA Journal of Women and Gender and is past-president of the Association of the Study of Higher Education.