Interim president announces search for permanent chancellor

University of Missouri System Interim President Michael Middleton announced today that the UM System will begin a nationwide search for the position of chancellor at the University of Missouri-Columbia (MU).

“Our Columbia campus is an integral part of our university system and I believe that its success contributes significantly to the success of the entire state. Dr. Choi has made it clear that establishing permanent leadership at MU is an early priority of his presidency,” Middleton said. “Today we will begin the process of selecting the next great leader of MU by launching a national search which is the customary approach for a prestigious public, land-grant AAU institution.”

“We believe in the tradition of shared governance, and the position of chancellor at MU demands that we honor that tradition by instituting a national search that is clear in its structure and process,” Choi said. “A detailed, comprehensive national search befits MU’s status as one of the nation’s top public universities,” he said.

The board of curators officially announced Choi as the 24th president of the UM System on Nov. 2.

The UM System will engage Isaacson, Miller, a national search firm, to aid in the search process. Isaacson, Miller similarly served the university’s board during the search for the new UM System president.

The UM System will assemble a search committee that represents MU’s campus constituencies, and then recommending finalists to Dr. Choi.

Statement from Hank Foley:

“I have been honored and privileged to serve as interim chancellor of Mizzou this past year. The team we’ve built to lead Missouri’s premier public university is strong and uniquely positioned to continue to move MU in the right direction. The opportunity to work alongside our tremendous faculty, staff and students – to grow research, seek new funding models and improve our best-in-class programs — is an honor I’d cherish.

“While it is my hope to continue serving as chancellor, I understand that a national search for a permanent chancellor of this university is necessary, and I applaud and support President Middleton’s and President-designate Choi’s choice to do so. I look forward to participating in the process.”