The University of Missouri plans to announce its next chancellor on December 5th, in the Donald W. Reynolds Alumni Center.
Former chancellor Brady Deaton retired on November 15th, and had served as chancellor of the university for 9 years. Many faculty members anxiously await the announcement of the new chancellor, especially those who have worked under multiple chancellors.
Professor of Biochemistry Frank Schmidt said he’s seen two types of chancellors at MU over the years.
“One is one that you expect to kind of keep the ship of state going on a steady course and the other is the kind you bring in to kind of rock the boat and make some major changes," he said. "And in fact, if you look at what happened over the last nine years there have been some substantial changes.”
Schmidt says big improvements such as an increase in enrollment and MU’s move to the Southeastern Conference are the highlights of Chancellor Deaton’s term.
Professor Clyde Bentley worked as the Vice Chair of the Faculty Council under previous chancellor Richard Wallace, while Brady Deaton was the provost. Bentley was responsible for doing the performance evaluations for both men, and said it was interesting to see someone move from the position of provost to chancellor.
“Because Provost is kind of the academic foreman," he said. "You know, the person who’s actually really the chief operations officer of all the faculty and staff that are making things move, where the chancellor’s job is more on policy and the big picture. That was an interesting move for him to be able to step up in the same school from doing the day to day work and then him being the face and voice of the university.”
Bentley says the new chancellor isn’t from within the University of Missouri system, but he nonetheless will have big shoes to fill.
KBIA will carry the university's announcement live tomorrow morning from 11:00 a.m.
