LOFTIN LEAVING: Mizzou Chancellor joins President in day of departures

Second high profile resignation

COLUMBIA, Mo 11/9/15 (Beat Byte)  -- Joining the ranks of the resigned at Mizzou, Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin (left) announced late this afternoon that he will leave his post at the end of 2015 to take a job "coordinating research" on campus. 

University of Missouri system president Tim Wolfe resigned effective immediately this morning. 

An early wave of popularity followed Loftin into the foray, as he took to Twitter with a friendly tag that played on his love for bow ties, @bowtiger. 

But faculty dissatisfaction with his sometimes blustery leadership style turned to downright dissatisfaction over his handling of Planned Parenthood and graduate student health insurance.

A "no confidence" vote from the Mizzou English department became a campus-wide call for Loftin's resignation today, as deans and faculty members from eight other departments also requested his departure.

Loftin created "a climate of mistrust, miscommunication, chaos, despair, and anger," the group wrote, in a letter to Wolfe Monday.

At the Board of Curators meeting this afternoon, chairman Donald Cupps announced several initiatives to combat racism on campus, in the wake of Wolfe's resignation.   Among the plans:  a first-ever Chief of Diversity and Inclusion. 

 

From Texas A&M University, Loftin joined Mizzou just 20 months ago, in February 2014.