COLUMBIA, Mo. – Word from two members of the University of Missouri system’s Board of Curators states that system president Tim Wolfe has renewed his efforts to get Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin fired in an attempt to keep his job.
Wolfe tried a similar tactic in October with an impromptu meeting of the board while Loftin was out of the state, but he was ultimately unsuccessful.
State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, D-St. Louis, attended that meeting to speak to the board on behalf of Loftin but was ultimately rebuked with the explanation that the public is not usually allowed to speak at those meetings.
Nasheed, a leading African-American voice in the Capitol, said any attempt to push blame onto Loftin was “unacceptable” and reiterated her, and many of her colleagues’, call for Wolfe to step down.
“First and foremost, our academic institutions are there to serve and educate our students, and it’s clear that Tim Wolfe should resign as President of the University of Missouri system,” Nasheed said. “That’s the only way the university can get back on track.”
“The rumors I’m hearing is that some want to use the crisis Tim Wolfe created to fire Bowen Loftin as a scapegoat. This is unacceptable, and I call on the Board of Curators to do the right thing for the college and end their meeting today by meeting the demands of the students and remove Tim Wolfe.”
While both members of the administration have been admonished by various groups on campus over the past few months, Wolfe has drawn the ire of the Concerned Student 1950 movement which has received international attention for their efforts to oust Wolfe. The student group has highlighted various ways in which Wolfe has not responded to calls to create a safe learning environment for students of color after racial slurs have been directed at black students in a few instances this semester.
So far, Concerned Student 1950 has not called for any actions to be taken against Loftin.
