COLUMBIA, Mo. – After nine months of searching, the University of Missouri system has selected a top administrator from the University of Connecticut to take over the role as president.
The Missouri Board of Curators finalized the details to hire Mun Y. Choi, a provost at UConn, during the closed portion of their meeting Monday afternoon. A search committee had been tasked with choosing a new system president by the end of 2016.
Choi was named as the 24th president during a ceremony at Capitol Plaza in Jefferson City Wednesday morning.
Choi – I am honored and humbled to serve as the 24th president of the University of Missouri System. pic.twitter.com/UAfIPSnDuo
— UM Curators (@umcurators) November 2, 2016
The UM System has been led by interim administrators, including Interim President Mike Middleton since racially charged protests rocked the University of Missouri’s flagship campus in Columbia last November.
The hiring of Choi fills a leadership position that has been empty at the four-campus system since former president Tim Wolfe and former chancellor R. Bowen Loftin resigned on the same day last November. The two left their posts amid a hunger strike and student protests, having been criticized for their handling of racial and other issues on the Columbia campus.
The protests gained attention across the nation when the Mizzou football team threatened to not play a game if the administration did not respond to students’ complaints.
Several state lawmakers criticized the university before and after Wolfe and Loftin stepped down, threatening to make cuts to funding.
Everything seemed to hit a breaking point when assistant professor Melissa Click was not immediately fired for her conduct during a confrontation involving a student photographer. It was captured on video and went viral in a matter of hours. Three months later, Click was dismissed from the university.
All of those events led the UM system to focus their efforts and money into hiring diversity leaders and increase the number of minority professors at Mizzou.
Middleton, a former Mizzou Deputy Chancellor, served as interim president, while Hank Foley has served as interim chancellor.
With Choi’s hiring, Pam Henrickson says that they have found someone who will value diversity in higher education.
“Dr. Choi is known as a person of immense energy and passion, integrity and innovation,” she said. “He is committed to values of diversity and inclusion and practiced it while at UConn, as student diversity increased steadily under his watch.”
One of Choi’s first major tasks will be hiring the next chancellor at Mizzou. Though the president names the chancellor, the curators must approve the candidate’s hire.
According to the University of Connecticut’s provost webpage, Choi had been the school’s provost since 2012. Before that, he served as the dean of the engineering school and a professor of mechanical engineering. The 52-year-old earned his doctorate in mechanical and aerospace engineering from Princeton.
The hiring of Choi is significant in the fact that it’s the first academic to take on the role of system president in nearly a decade. The previous two presidents came from business backgrounds. Wolfe came from a software company, and previous UM System President Gary Forsee’s was a former Sprint CEO.
Choi said that his background in academia may make him more receptive to students, faculty, and staff than someone who lacks that background, though he reiterated that the business aspect of running a $3.1 billion enterprise like the University of Missouri required a mind for business.
“Having the background that I’ve had, serving as a faculty member who has been involved in funded research, teaching classes, performing outreach activities in the community has been very supportive of my development as an administrator,” Choi said. “So I understand the aspirations and struggles of faculty members. I understand what it’s like to provide an outstanding education to our students.”
The last president with a background in academia was Elson Floyd, who left in 2007. He passed away in 2015.
Hiring someone with an academic background was important to the faculty.
“That is something the faculty has said repeatedly: that it was important for the next president to have a deep knowledge of how a university works,” Professor Ben Trachtenberg, president of the University of Missouri faculty council said in an interview with the Associated Press. “Obviously, someone who has been a provost and has done other academic work has gained an affinity for the academic mission. I’m looking forward to meeting him.”
Several political figures in the state welcomed Choi following the announcement.
Governor Jay Nixon released a statement, saying:
“The selection of Dr. Choi is a great choice at a key time for the University of Missouri System. He brings to the university system a record of unparalleled academic credentials with master’s and doctorate degrees from Princeton, internationally recognized research as an aerospace engineer, and impressive institutional achievement and leadership at the University of Connecticut. As an AAU institution, the University of Missouri already has a long and proud history of academic achievement and ground-breaking research, and Dr. Choi will bolster those strong credentials. I am confident he will succeed in leading this outstanding university system, and I look forward to meeting with him later this morning.”
Congrats to Dr. Mun Y. Choi on his position as @umsystem president. I’m optimistic about the future of the UM system under his leadership. pic.twitter.com/f8qXzh3wR5
— Blaine Luetkemeyer (@RepBlainePress) November 2, 2016
U.S. Representative Vicky Hartzler (R, Missouri’s Fourth Congressional District) released the following statement:
“It is my honor to congratulate Dr. Mun Choi on his selection as University of Missouri System President. Dr. Choi brings an impressive wealth of experience in higher education that will serve him well as he assumes the helm. As I welcome Dr. Choi, I join Missourians across our state in extending heartfelt thanks to interim President Mike Middleton who has performed admirably since assuming that role in November, 2015.”
Columbia-area representatives also reacted positively to the news.
(1/2) Welcome to new @umsystem President Dr. Mun Choi! #MIZZOU #MidMOForward pic.twitter.com/7jdrfoX2rt
— Caleb Rowden (@calebrowden) November 2, 2016
“I am excited to welcome Dr. Choi to the University of Missouri,” Rowden said in an extended statement. “While the last year has been a challenging one, I believe our best days are ahead of us. All of us who believe in the value of UM must come together and articulate a forward-facing narrative, highlighting the many incredible things our great university does on a daily basis. I look forward to working with Dr. Choi in the years to come to lead the University of Missouri to a place of prominence in education and preeminence in research.”
“I’m very excited to have Dr. Choi in Missouri. His experience and success in higher education speaks for itself. I am confident that the University of Missouri-System is headed in the right direction,” Rep. Kip Kendrick, D- Columbia, said in an email. “His success working with lawmakers in Connecticut is important to note. I look forward to working with him to increase support for the University of Missouri System and improve the Flagship University’s standing as a national leader in research, while creating the highest standard for academic quality and affordable education for all Missouri students.”
Choi is scheduled to begin on March 1, 2017.
Travis Zimpfer contributed to this report.
Benjamin Peters was a reporter for The Missouri Times and Missouri Times Magazine and also produced the #MoLeg Podcast. He joined The Missouri Times in 2016 after working as a sports editor and TV news producer in mid-Missouri. Benjamin is a graduate of Missouri State University in Springfield.
