UMSL Names Ashwani Monga as New Chancellor

Monga, currently at the University System of Georgia, will become UMSL's ninth chancellor starting January 1, succeeding interim chancellor Christopher Spilling.

Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in People

Isometric editorial illustration of a partially renovated brick and limestone campus building with scaffolding and a crane arm, set against a flat slate sky. — Ashwani Monga, currently at the University System of Georgia, will become the ninth chancellor of the University of Missouri-St. Louis on January 1. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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University of Missouri President Mun Choi has named Ashwani Monga chancellor of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, effective January 1. Monga will replace interim chancellor Christopher Spilling, who took the role after Kristin Sobolik retired in July.

Why it matters

The appointment fills a leadership vacancy at UMSL while the campus is midway through a $110 million overhaul. It also places a new chancellor over an institution whose enrollment has declined from about 17,000 students a decade ago to 15,254 this fall.

UMSL's enrollment stands at 15,254 students this fall, down from roughly 17,000 a decade ago. The campus is in the midst of a $110 million overhaul, and the incoming chancellor will oversee its completion.

The players

Ashwani Monga

Monga is a marketing scholar and academic administrator who previously served as executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer at the University System of Georgia.

Mun Choi

Choi is the president of the University of Missouri System, which oversees UMSL and the system's other campuses.

Christopher Spilling

Spilling is the interim chancellor of UMSL who has led the campus since Sobolik's retirement in July.

The details

Monga previously served as executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer at the University System of Georgia, and spent nine years at Rutgers, where he was a marketing professor before becoming executive vice chancellor and provost at Rutgers-Newark. President Mun Choi announced the appointment in a news release last week.

July: Kristin Sobolik retired as UMSL chancellor and Christopher Spilling became interim chancellor.
Last week: University of Missouri President Mun Choi announced Ashwani Monga's appointment.
January 1, 2027: Ashwani Monga begins as UMSL chancellor.

Market Landscape

The appointment completes a leadership transition that began when Kristin Sobolik retired as UMSL chancellor in July and Christopher Spilling took the interim role. Monga's move from the University System of Georgia to UMSL is a lateral leadership change that keeps the campus's academic administration in the University of Missouri System.

For St. Louis-area students and staff, the appointment signals new leadership for UMSL during its campus overhaul, which may affect the pace and priorities of construction and academic programs. Enrollment trends and the direction of the $110 million project will shape campus life in the coming years.

The takeaway

Leadership changes at public universities often set the tone for enrollment and campus investment, and UMSL's new chancellor will inherit both a smaller student body and an ongoing overhaul. Readers tracking higher education in the St. Louis region should watch how the incoming administration addresses these priorities after January 1.