COLUMBIA, Mo. – The University of Missouri Board of Curators met Wednesday in a hastily called special meeting behind closed doors in an executive session that lasted for just over four hours as rumors swirled around campus and the state that they were set to fire Mizzou Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin at the urging of system President Tim Wolfe, after hiring Loftin less than two years ago.
I’m being told @UMPrez is holding a Curators mtg in an attempt to fire @bowtieger for his “role” in shutting down PP #moleg @Rep_TRichardson
— Caleb Jones (@calebmjones) October 21, 2015
Adding to the strange atmosphere was that the chancellor was not on campus, as he was attending an American Association of Universities conference in Washington, D.C. scheduled months ago while everyone from university employees to legislators were discussing his fate.
The only topics a curator’s meeting can discuss in an executive session include final personnel decisions, lawsuits, university contracts and the purchasing of property for the university. David Steelman was the only member of the board who voted to keep the meeting from going into a closed, executive session.
While an official announcement on any personnel decisions made would not have to be made public until Saturday and no members of the board, as well as MU President Tim Wolfe, would speak on the record or make a comment about the meeting, sources have confirmed to The Missouri Times that the chancellor still has his job.
While this meeting was perhaps the most high-profile show of a divide between Wolfe and Loftin, the rift between the two is common knowledge in the Capitol and at the university. One university source, on the condition of anonymity in fear for their job told the Times, “If Wolfe can’t fire Bowen today while he is out of town and has put so much time into it, that means Loftin may have the board on his side”.
Loftin has received both scorn and praise recently from multiple fronts. When the university came under scrutiny from the Senate Committee on the Sanctity of Life for MU Health Care’s involvement with Planned Parenthood, Loftin testified at a hearing shortly after cancelling what he called “outdated contracts” between the University of Missouri and Planned Parenthood (although the School of Social Work retained their own contract with the women’s health organization).
After those contracts were cancelled and MU Health Care revoked the unique “refer and follow” privileges of Dr. Colleen McNicholas, the doctor who began performing medical abortions at the Columbia Planned Parenthood facility in August, a contingent of pro-Planned Parenthood activists across the state and students on campus said Loftin had cowered to political pressure from Jefferson City. On the other hand, many elected officials praised Loftin for, in their opinion, following the law.
“I fought to get the University of Missouri out of the abortion business,” said Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, the chair of the Sanctity of Life Committee. “Bowen Loftin was fair and helpful in that fight. If the board of curators wants to dive back into it again, then I will be there to stand up for the unborn again and make sure they obey the law.”
Other lawmakers and politicos made their voices heard as well, largely to support Loftin.
Let’s see how that works out for him. https://t.co/nhk0XahNye — Scott Fitzpatrick (@FitzpatrickMO) October 21, 2015
While @UMPrez may stand with Planned Parenthood, #IStandWithLoftin Thank you @bowtieger for getting @Mizzou out of the abortion business!!
— Jonathan Ratliff (@jonathanratliff) October 21, 2015
Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, drove all the way from her district to speak in support of the chancellor, but was denied after being told by Chairman of the Board Donald Cupps it was not standard procedure for the public to speak at meetings. She praised Loftin’s actions to combat racism on the University of Missouri campus as reason to keep the chancellor onboard.
“The racial diversity sensitivity training is something that is most definitely needed here, not only here on this campus, but throughout the system,” Nasheed said. “I do believe that it’s the right thing to do when race relations are at an all-time low here in the state of Missouri.
“I think to attack him or call for the board to fire him would be appalling… At the end of the day, he’s doing a great thing, he’s a man of great character, and he’s moving this campus forward in the most productive and progressive way.”
Nasheed also relayed to reporters that Cupps said the board would not even be discussing firing Loftin.
“He basically said that it’s rumors floating around,” she said. “That’s a good thing. It would be a political suicide to fire the chancellor because he’s trying to do the right thing. I know he spoke out against racism on campus. They probably are upset because he aired their dirty laundry… He stared the ugly elephant in the eye and actually said those words that no one really wants to say, that there’s racism on this campus, and we need to deal with it accordingly. For him to be reprimanded because of that, it’s not going to fare well. Not with myself, not with other African-Americans and legislators.”
While the Board of Curators refused to let Nasheed speak at the meeting, they did allow her to deliver a letter to the curators.
Nasheed also said Loftin was behind the recent decision for the university’s nursing school to make new contracts with Planned Parenthood to complete clinical rotations.
“He initiated that,” Nasheed said. “He’s a man that is looking to work across whatever lines that there are.”
Nasheed, a supporter of Planned Parenthood, criticized Loftin’s decision to cancel the initial contracts, but added that he had helped the school make strides since the start of the semester.
“We’re not always going to agree on everything,” she said. “I think with the racial sensitivity training and diversity program that he’s looking to put into place with the race relations here on campus, it’s something that I can stand behind him on.”
