'Remarkable' student governor Bradley Cooper leaves MSU board after making history

In a single year, Bradley Cooper has redefined what it means for a student to serve as part of Missouri State's Board of Governors.

Highly visible and deeply engaged, Cooper attended at least 1,000 meetings and university events since last spring, when he was appointed by Gov. Mike Parson.

Cooper has worked to elevate the student voice in critical discussions and decisions, especially the hiring of Missouri State's 12th president.

"This has been such a fun, challenging and fulfilling chapter of my life," said Cooper, 20. "I've enjoyed every second of it. Not a day has felt like work."

Cooper chronicled his experience in more than 500 social media posts, highlighting campus events and the work of the university and board. He also championed the successes of staff, faculty and students.

"Bradley set out and met with 200 people who worked at the university in the first couple months so that he had an understanding of what they did. He comes to every celebratory event. He has developed real relationships with dozens of administrators on campus at the same time he is involved with SGA (Student Government Association) so he knows what the student leadership is doing and talking about and cares about," said MSU President Clif Smart, who will retire July 1. "It's been remarkable."

Smart described Cooper as the "most engaged student governor in university history."

The 2022 graduate of Willard High School made history when he became the first freshman appointed to serve on the board.

He was part of the executive leadership team for the presidential search committee, which included sifting through 48 applications and resulted in the unanimous board decision to hire Richard "Biff" Williams.

"I think incoming President Williams will have a strong relationship with the student body from the start," Cooper said.

Cooper said he was "humbled and honored" to be part of the search committee and the board during a leadership transition. "From the start, it was a lot of work but really meaningful work."

He sought more responsibility from the beginning. A year ago, Cooper talked to Smart about his idea to reshape the student governor role.

"I shared my vision for the next year, to take a vacant and dormant role and turn it into a full-time job. I asked to spend at least 40 hours a week at the university," Cooper recalled this week. "Clif could have easily responded by saying, ‘That’s not the role of the student on the board, the student really just shows up to five meetings a year and represents their peers.’ But he did not."

Smart said it was clear how much Cooper "loved the university" and was open to change. "He's the kind of person that likes to have a seat at the table and likes to be part of important decision and important work. I've never seen another 20-year-old student like him."

He added: "I really like him. I like him as a person, as well."

'Incredibly driven and hardworking'

Cooper and his younger brother, a high school senior, grew up in Willard. He is close to his parents, Jack and Kris. His father, a retired member of the U.S. Army National Guard who was injured overseas, now works for a nonprofit.

They weren't political or news junkies but Cooper became highly interested in both at age 12. He was sitting in the waiting room of a hospital — his dad was getting an MRI — when a TV in the room showed U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on CNN.

"There was a whole bunch of young people behind him at a rally and I was just mesmerized," recalled Cooper, who thought: "Why would those people go out and spend their evening standing behind him because that is not where I want to spend my evening."

He asked his mother, who brushed it off, explained it was "the news" and asked someone to change the channel.

"Well, me being the kind of kid I was, I figured out our DirecTV log-in on the way home and started watching the news on my iPad," he said. "For the next two weeks, I just researched all of these political parties and the political system and I just got the bug. I kept going down the rabbit hole."

Cooper, who describes himself as a moderate Republican, started to get more involved. He found local, state and national candidates he wanted to support and volunteered, initially participating in phone banks.

"My mom wouldn't let me knock doors. She said 'If you want to do something, you can sit in the office and make phone calls,'" he said. "So, she drove me."

His involvement has snowballed ever since, and helped him land paid and unpaid positions for candidates that gave him on-the-job training. He was initially a paid canvasser, knocking on doors.

In eighth grade, Cooper met Missouri lawmaker Mike Kehoe, who has been the lieutenant governor since 2018 and is running for governor. Later, he worked for Kehoe.

"Mike gave me my first 'big boy' job. I still couldn't drive but he hired me as his deputy grassroots director for the entire state. I asked him a year and a half ago, 'Why did you hire me? I had no real experience. I had no business doing the job I did,'" Cooper said. "Mike said 'I can teach you everything you need to know about the political world, but I can't teach your work ethic ... I've seen you put your all in."

The News-Leader reached out to Kehoe, who said: “Bradley Cooper is an incredibly driven and hardworking young man with a passion for this state and the Springfield community. He has done an excellent job serving on the MSU Board of Governors, and I have no doubt Bradley will continue to succeed in his future endeavors.”

'He was a sponge'

Cooper said he was so busy working on different campaigns in high school he had not given serious thought to his college plans.

That changed when Cooper was working on the short-lived U.S. Congressional campaign for Jay Wasson, appointed to the MSU Board of Governors in early 2020. Wasson was a state representative from 2002-10 and a state senator from 2010-18.

"If you talk to him for any time at all, you'll find he's extremely bright and focused. And then you'll say 'And how old is he?" Wasson said of Cooper. "He just has a brilliance about him."

Wasson, who stepped off the MSU board in July 2022, encouraged Cooper to apply at Missouri State. "That campus and that kid were a match."

He then marveled at how quickly the new student governor became immersed.

"Within three months on the board, he knew as much or more than I did and I'd been on the board two years," said Wasson, a real estate developer and former mayor of Nixa. "He did it like he did everything else. He went to every department, every dean, asked how does this work, how does that work. It was amazing, in a good way. He was a sponge."

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Cooper said his work to expand the student governor role was only possible this year because of the "culture that Clif set."

"What Clif has done for me the past year, I will never forget. It has truly changed my outlook on life," he said. "No matter what I do in the future, I always want some part of it to tie back into higher education."

'Make it your own'

Cooper, who is majoring in sociopolitical and strategic communication, said despite his "crazy schedule," he has still managed to enjoy the student experience. He has made friends and earned straight As. "I could not have done what I've done on the board without flexible faculty members."

From the outset, Cooper knew it might be "awkward" for a faculty member to have the student governor in class. He made a decision that he'd never ask for more time on any assignment.

"Instead of asking to turn my work in late, I asked to turn it in early. Every Friday, I sit down with my professors and I'll visit about all the point possibilities for the week ahead and then I spent my weekend, Saturday and Sunday, doing all of the assignments for that week," he said. "That way, I can focus on board work during the weekdays."

Cooper said as much as he has loved being part of the MSU board, it is time for a new challenge.

"Earlier in April, I informed President Smart and the members of the board of my intent to roll off the board in May," he said. "I've accepted an opportunity with a university partner, where it would have been a conflict of interest for me to remain on the board."

Though Cooper was not able to be specific about the new role until he's off the board, he said: "I'll continue to be highly visible on the campus, at the university, and in our community."

The governor is expected to appoint a new student governor soon. Asked what insight he'd impart for the next one, Cooper said: "The only piece of advice I'm really qualified to give is 'Make it your own.'"

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri State board student member Bradley Cooper stepping down