Board of Curators appoint new interim president

Sources confirm Mike Middleton will become the new interim president for the University of Missouri System. The Board of Curators is set to officially make the announcement during a 1:30 p.m. news conference Thursday.

Middleton is currently deputy chancellor emeritus and professor emeritus at the MU law school.

The board ended a closed executive session meeting Wednesday night without any decisions made.

Members of the board voted around 4:40 p.m. Wednesday to go into closed session.

Around 7:30 p.m., ABC 17 News learned the MU Board of Curators would break for the night. UM System spokesman John Fougere said then the board would announce its next meeting on Thursday.

An interim chancellor and vice chancellor of inclusion, diversity and equity have been named. Dr. Hank Foley will take over as MU’s interim chancellor on January 1, as outgoing chancellor R. Bowen Loftin will take a new position in the UM System. Chuck Henson will serve as the UM System’s brand new vice chancellor of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity.

The last search for a president took nearly 11 months in 2011, with the Board of Curators eventually hiring Wolfe amongst 100 other candidates. Fougere said the search cost the UM System $237,217.

During the 2011 search, UM System General Counsel Steve Owens served as interim system president, most notably leading the system’s Columbia campus from the Big 12 Athletic Conference to the Southeastern Conference. Owens took his old position in February 2012, when Wolfe started as president.

(Editor’s note, 11/12, 9:23 a.m.: This story features updated information about the Board of Curators’ Thursday news conference.)