Public forum held Thursday for MU chancellor search

UPDATE: UM spokesman John Fougere tells ABC 17 News they hope to announce the selection for MU chancellor by early spring or late summer. He added that the search will be done as quickly as possible and could potentially close by the end of the semester.

The MU chancellor search public forum wrapped up Thursday afternoon at Mizzou.

Members of the University of Missouri Chancellor Search committee led the forum, where members of the public shared what they hope to see in a future chancellor.

A microphone was passed around the room and more than a dozen people shared their input. Their ideas were recorded by a note taker and then displayed on a projector to ensure everyone’s thoughts were properly captured and understood.

Students, staff, alumni and leaders within the community all spoke about their hopes for the new MU chancellor.

“I think that they have to have a chancellor that has the ability to get along, that is a leader, that has experience working with an extremely diverse constituency…so they have to be able to interact with a broad diverse group of people on a broad diverse group of subjects, and I think, hopefully, that came through to the committee,” Kee Groshong, former Vice Chancellor of Administrative Services told ABC 17 News after the forum.

Right now, there is no timeline for the search.

“We will certainly have a schedule, but again, we want to get the best possible person,” Leo Morton, Chancellor at University of Missouri, Kansas City and search committee co-chair told ABC 17 News.

Currently, Hank Foley is serving as interim chancellor after former MU chancellor Bowen Loftin resigned in November 2015 following protests on campus. Foley has expressed interest in the position, but another search committee co-chair said the search is still necessary.

“For institutions such as ours, doing these types of national searches are really what should be done and it is typically, and at the end of the day you want the best person in the position so I think it’s the right thing to do,” Elizabeth Loboa, Dean of College of Engineering at MU and Professor of Bioengineering, told ABC 17 News. “Of course we really appreciate interim chancellor Foley’s leadership at this time at MU so if he applies…then absolutely he would be considered along with any exceptional candidates.”

The search committee will eventually present recommendations to UM System President Dr. Mun Choi, and Dr. Choi will ultimately choose the next MU chancellor.

The university says they will post any updates to the search here.