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Nixon nixes Ponder's appointment to MU Board of Curators

Jay Nixon
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KBIA

Michael Ponder’s tenure with the University of Missouri Board of Curators is over — at least for now. Governor Jay Nixon appointed the Cape Girardeau attorney to the board last month before the start of the 2013 legislative session, but he still needed Senate confirmation for his appointment to become permanent.  Nixon formally reversed Ponder’s appointment Wednesday night when it became apparent that he would not win Senate confirmation by Thursday deadline.

President Pro-tem Tom Dempsey said the Senate wants more time to discuss Ponder’s actions when he served on the State Board of Education.

"One was related to his involvement or non-involvement in the decision to distribute the money in the school funding formula," Dempsey said. "Another question related to the pursuit of Race to the Top funding and adoption of the common core standards."

Dempsey said if they can get more answers regarding Ponder’s tenure with the Board of Education, they’d be willing to reconsider his nomination to the Board of Curators.

Missouri Public Radio State House Reporter Marshall Griffin is a proud alumnus of the University of Mississippi (a.k.a., Ole Miss), and has been in radio for over 20 years, starting out as a deejay. His big break in news came when the first President Bush ordered the invasion of Panama in 1989. Marshall was working the graveyard shift at a rock station, and began ripping news bulletins off the old AP teletype and reading updates between songs. From there on, his radio career turned toward news reporting and anchoring. In 1999, he became the capital bureau chief for Florida's Radio Networks, and in 2003 he became News Director at WFSU-FM/Florida Public Radio. During his time in Tallahassee he covered seven legislative sessions, Governor Jeb Bush's administration, four hurricanes, the Terri Schiavo saga, and the 2000 presidential recount. Before coming to Missouri, he enjoyed a brief stint in the Blue Ridge Mountains, reporting and anchoring for WWNC-AM in Asheville, North Carolina. Marshall lives in Jefferson City with his wife, Julie, their dogs, Max and Mason, and their cat, Honey.
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