University of Missouri Review Commission meets for second time

The University of Missouri Review Commission met Wednesday for the second time. The group was put together by state lawmakers and tasked with reviewing the university system and making any necessary recommendations for addressing the problems they find.

The eight-member commission divided itself into four groups: Governance and Accountability; Diversity; Distance Learning and Research; and Workforce Readiness.

Commission member Dave Spence called the commission a “friend group.”

“We’re here because we care about the university,” Spence said. “This is not working against anybody. It is working with curators, it is working with the chancellors, with the faculty, and coming up with common-sense ideas on what makes sense for the university going forward.”

Interim Chancellor Hank Foley also spoke at the meeting. Foley didn’t shy away from the trouble Mizzou has seen in the last year. The student body is down 5 percent overall since last year. The freshman student body is down in size, a decline in revenue the university will have to deal with for at least the next four years. Foley said the university has made budget cuts and dipped into reserves to deal with the shortfall.

But Foley also seemed optimistic. He said this year’s freshman class is one of the best academically the university has ever seen. He also said despite a tough November and December, the university raised $170 million in development.

Commission Vice Chairman Gary Forsee asked Foley what he’d like to see the commission accomplish. One thing Foley said was rekindling the confidence and pride in Mizzou among all Missourians.

Forsee was system president from 2007 until 2011.

Forsee said the university is in the middle of a challenging time. Smaller graduating classes coupled with the protests on campus and enticing offers from universities in neighboring states contributed to the lower freshman class enrollment.

“This is a time where the brand and the university needs the state support for us to be strong and be able to attract the best students, teachers, faculty and researchers.”

Tuition changes in neighboring states also led students away, something Forsee said the University of Missouri may have to think about in the future to stay competitive.

“We’ll have to figure out how to respond to that to be sure that we’re offering Missourians the best chance to come to one of our four-year public institutions and certainly one of University of Missouri’s four campuses.”

In July, Gov. Jay Nixon stripped the commission of $750,000 worth of state funding.