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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has appointed a lawyer and a media company owner to the state's Coordinating Board for Higher Education.

The governor on Wednesday named Thomas Strong of Springfield and Dalton Wright of Conway to the state board responsible for overseeing the Department of Higher Education. The nine-member board includes one person from each congressional district. The appointments require Senate confirmation.

Strong is a lawyer from Springfield and has been a governor of the American Trial Lawyers Association. His term expires in 2012.

Wright is the owner of Ozark Media, which includes the Lebanon Daily Record and other newspapers and radio stations. He has served as president of the Missouri Press Association. His term on the state board expires in 2014.