UPDATE: University of Missouri Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin will resign at the end of the year.
BREAKING: Embattled chancellor of University of Missouri's flagship campus to resign at year's end.
— The Associated Press (@AP) November 9, 2015
Loftin’s departure followed a request from deans of nine different MU departments for his dismissal.
* * * * * * * *
Earlier post—-
Missouri President Tim Wolfe resigned this morning amid campus race protests.
Several Mizzou black athletes announced late Saturday they would boycott all future football games until President Tim Wolfe resigned.
They were upset about the way the Wolfe had handled racial incidents on campus and that he defunded Planned Parenthood.
But one scalp was not enough…
Earlier today University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe resigned amid growing race protests on campus.
University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe, left, and University of Missouri Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin participate in a news conference Friday, April 11, 2014, in Rolla, Mo. (AP)
Now the deans of nine different MU departments are calling for the dismissal of Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin.
The Columbia Tribune reported:
The same day University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe announced his resignation, the deans of nine different MU departments requested the dismissal of Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin.
In a letter sent Monday to Wolfe and the UM Board of Curators, the deans said they wanted to express “our deep concern about the multitude of crises on our flagship campus” and call for Loftin’s dismissal.
The nine deans met with Wolfe on Oct. 9 and on Oct. 13 met with Wolfe, Loftin and Provost Garnett Stokes to express their concerns, according to the letter.
“The issues we raised in those meetings have continued to deteriorate into a campus crisis that demands immediate and decisive action,” they wrote. “It is the Chancellor’s responsibility as the Chief Executive Officer of the campus to effectively address these campus issues.”
Loftin, the former president of Texas A&M University, has been chancellor at MU since February 2014.
The letter is signed by Daniel Clay, dean of the College of Education; Kristofer Hagglund, dean of the School of Health Professions; David Kurpius, dean of the School of Journalism; Judith Miller, dean of the Sinclair School of Nursing; Gary Myers, dean of the School of Law; Neil Olson, dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine; Michael O’Brien, dean of the College of Arts and Science; Thomas Payne, dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources; and Barton Wechsler, dean of the Truman School of Public Affairs.
The deans said Loftin has shown failed leadership through a number of instances, including the elimination and eventual reinstatement of graduate assistant health insurance and the elimination of the vice chancellor for health sciences position. The deans claim Loftin created a “toxic environment through threat, fear and intimidation.”
The students don’t want reporters talking activists.
The students at Mizzou have built a human shield to block reporters from interviewing peaceful protesters pic.twitter.com/YCZjuvIZDL
— Benjamin Hochman (@hochman) November 9, 2015
Here on Mizzou's campus, #ConcernedStudent1950 is about to speak to the media and students pic.twitter.com/jI78B57PPg
— Benjamin Hochman (@hochman) November 9, 2015