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UM System curators to discuss combining system president and MU chancellor roles

The Board of Curators will meet Tuesday in a special meeting to discuss and make a vote on merging the two roles, a decision that if finalized in favor of a merge, would cause a large shift the system’s governing structure and priorities.

During a Friday meeting last week, the UM System Board of Curators looked at six potential models for restructuring, four of which included the consolidation of the system president and MU chancellor roles.

The decision to consolidate is likely to be voted on in a Board of Curators meeting tomorrow, Tuesday, July 27, according to a Monday news release from the UM System.

A vote in favor of the merge would significantly affect the system’s governing structure and priorities, which could result in a fully integrated system centered around the MU campus, also referred to as a “flagship model,” reports the Columbia Missourian.

Curators at Friday’s meeting revealed the conversation on merging is not something new, but has been brought to the forefront as COVID-19 has continued to impact the university financially.

The four models would remove the interim designation from Mun Choi as MU chancellor. They would unite that position and his permanent role as UM System president “more or less permanently,” said Terry MacTaggart, a senior consultant at the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, who presented the models to the board Friday.