The University of Missouri Board of Curators has announced that Mike Middleton, an MU deputy chancellor emeritus, will be the interim president for the UM System.
Middleton replaces Tim Wolfe as UM System President, after Wolfe resigned his position on Monday following calls from students for his resignation and a football team strike.
Middleton says he hopes he can help the system move forward.
"I look forward to leading and participating in discussions with students, faculty, staff and alumni to drive us forward," Middleton said. "There is so much passion at the university that we can draw on to make the changes that will improve the education and experience for all members of our community."
Middleton is a MU Deputy Chancellor Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Law, having joined the University of Missouri's law faculty in 1985.
He was the deputy chancellor at MU for 17 years and retired in August. Middleton also received both his Bachelor’s and Juris Doctorate degrees at the University of Missouri, and was the third African American student to graduate from the University’s law school.
According to his bio on the University of Missouri website, Middleton also has has an extensive background in Civil Rights law.
Prior to his appointment to the University of Missouri law faculty in 1985, he serving as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, assistant deputy director of the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Health Education and Welfare, and as principal deputy assistant secretary for Civil rights at the Department of Education.
Update: UM System Interim President has now been announced.
