The nine-member governing body of the University of Missouri is set to name an interim president for the university system.
The Board of Curators scheduled a 2:30 p.m. ET news conference Thursday to announce the person who will lead the four-campus system. The flagship Columbia campus has been roiled by weeks of unrest following a series of racially charged incidents.
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The announcement comes three days after the university system’s president, Tim Wolfe, and the Columbia campus’ chancellor, R. Bowen Loftin, resigned under pressure from students who said the administration’s response to the incidents was insufficient.
A source told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Michael A. Middleton, a longtime law school professor, has been chosen for the role. NBC News could not immediately confirm that report.
Middleton retired Aug. 30 after 17 years as deputy chancellor, according to the Columbia Daily Tribune. He received his bachelor’s degree from the university in 1968, the newspaper reported. Three years later, he became the fourth black student to graduate from Mizzou’s law school, according to the university’s student-run newspaper, The Maneater. Wolfe’s departure came two days after black members of Mizzou’s football teamsaid they would not play, and a week into a graduate student’s vow not to eat, until Wolfe left office. Donald Cupps, chairman of the Board of Curators, said Monday that the university system’s first chief diversity, inclusion and equity officer would be appointed within 90 days as part of a review all system policies. This is a developing story that first appeared on NBCNews.com. Please refresh for updates.
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