MU faculty council discuss search for new chancellor

The University of Missouri is moving forward in its search for a new chancellor.

The MU Faculty Council met Thursday to discuss what qualities they would like to see in the next university leader.

Faculty members expressed their desired characteristics in a candidate to a representative from the UM System’s Human Resources Department and to the Chancellor Search Committee co-chair.

“Ultimately, we need a chancellor who’s going to help the faculty do what we’ve been hired to do,” said Ben Trachtenberg, a search committee member and the faculty council chair. “So asking the faculty what we think is a good way to get there.”

Some qualities desired by members of the faculty council included being able to effectively listen, having previous success at a university similar to MU, being willing to advocate for the university as well as being savvy about race relations and diversity.

“I could come up with a list a mile long and ultimately the different people on the committee are going to have things that are less important to them,” Trachtenberg said. “We’re going to come up with some names that are the most attractive to the group.”

On Dec. 29, the university announced its 22-member Chancellor Search Committee, which is chaired by University of Missouri-Kansas City Chancellor Leo Morton and MU College of Engineering Dean Elizabeth Loboa.

An open forum will be held on Jan. 26 for community members to give suggestions to the committee chairs. Trachtenberg said the entire search committee will meet for the first time following the forum.

Trachtenberg said there’s no official deadline for when the chancellor search needs to be complete, but said the committee is aiming for sometime in the spring or early summer.

“We’re going to take as long as it needs to get it done.”