MU Faculty Council endorses indoor masking, coronavirus vaccine mandate

Watch the faculty council meeting in the player below.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The University of Missouri Faculty Council voted Thursday to ask MU chancellor to require everyone to wear masks indoors on campus and to get the coronavirus vaccine.

One motion asks President Mun Choi, who is also the UM System president, to renew current requirements that include masks in classrooms but revise them to require everyone to wear masks indoors at all times. Another motion asks Choi to require vaccinations for students and staff.

Currently, the University of Missouri System's mask policy allows fully vaccinated people to be unmasked at indoor university events. The curators voted on Sept. 13 to put the policy in place until Oct. 15. The rules still require masks in classrooms but not outside.

"That (the board of curators) revise the mask policy to require that everyone wear face coverings meeting current campus standards in every indoor public space on campus, including classrooms, meeting rooms, hallways, and office spaces where an individual cannot close their door," the council's statement said.

The faculty council requests are based on findings of a survey of faculty members.

The board of curators also passed a resolution banning vaccine mandates on campus, but the faculty council's survey shows most faculty members want students and staff to be vaccinated. The council will ask the board of curators to impose a vaccine policy for students, staff and faculty similar to the policy adopted by MU Health Care.

"A recent survey of faculty shows that 85% of Faculty think that members of the University community should be vaccinated against Covid-19 and 74% of Faculty support requiring vaccinations against Covid-19 for all employees and students who do not have a medical or religious exemption," the council's statement said.

MU reported 16 active student cases as of Tuesday, a drop of one from the day before. The campus has logged 226 student cases since the start of the fall semester, according to a university tracking website. The campus has one active case among faculty and eight among other employees.

Check back for updates to this developing story.