This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/09/university-of-missouri-president-resigns-tim-wolfe-racial-intolerance
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| University of Missouri president and chancellor resign amid race protests | University of Missouri president and chancellor resign amid race protests |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Two top officials of the University of Missouri resigned Monday under pressure about a lack of responsiveness by university administrators to racist incidents on the Columbia campus and intense pressure from the student body. | Two top officials of the University of Missouri resigned Monday under pressure about a lack of responsiveness by university administrators to racist incidents on the Columbia campus and intense pressure from the student body. |
| The president, Tim Wolfe, announced his resignation at a news conference Monday morning. He was followed several hours later by the university’s chancellor and effective chief executive, R Bowen Loftin. | |
| “I am resigning as president of the University of Missouri system today,” Wolfe said. “I have thought and prayed about this decision. It’s the right thing to do. The response to this announcement I’m sure ranges from joy to some to anger for others. | “I am resigning as president of the University of Missouri system today,” Wolfe said. “I have thought and prayed about this decision. It’s the right thing to do. The response to this announcement I’m sure ranges from joy to some to anger for others. |
| “The frustration and anger that I see is clear, it’s real, and I don’t doubt it for a second.” | “The frustration and anger that I see is clear, it’s real, and I don’t doubt it for a second.” |
| Loftin announced on Monday that he would be stepping down from his position at the end of the year. He will remain at the school in a new role involving research. | Loftin announced on Monday that he would be stepping down from his position at the end of the year. He will remain at the school in a new role involving research. |
| Faculty and deans of nine different departments had called for Loftin – a former president of Texas A&M university who has held the position since February 2014 – to resign in a letter sent to the board of curators, according to the Columbia Daily Tribune. | Faculty and deans of nine different departments had called for Loftin – a former president of Texas A&M university who has held the position since February 2014 – to resign in a letter sent to the board of curators, according to the Columbia Daily Tribune. |
| Related: Mizzou's black players should be proud: they have put values over football | Related: Mizzou's black players should be proud: they have put values over football |
| The pressure on Wolfe to resign increased at the weekend as the school’s football team, with the support of its coaches, said it would not play until he stepped down. Hundreds of students joined a protest Sunday night over what they said was neglect – and even tolerance – by the school of flagrantly racist behavior. | |
| The protests began after the student government president, Payton Head, who is black, said in September that people in a passing pickup truck shouted racial slurs at him. In early October, members of a black student organization said slurs were hurled at them by an apparently drunken white student. And a swastika drawn in feces was found in a dormitory bathroom. | The protests began after the student government president, Payton Head, who is black, said in September that people in a passing pickup truck shouted racial slurs at him. In early October, members of a black student organization said slurs were hurled at them by an apparently drunken white student. And a swastika drawn in feces was found in a dormitory bathroom. |
| The protests were organized by a student group, Concerned Students 1950, named for the year the university first admitted African American students. One graduate student, Jonathan Butler, staged a weeklong hunger strike. | |
| Wolfe admitted that the university had erred and asked that his resignation provide a moment for healing. | Wolfe admitted that the university had erred and asked that his resignation provide a moment for healing. |
| “The question really is, why did we get to this very difficult situation? It is my belief that we stopped listening to each other. We didn’t respond or react ... and we forced individuals like Jonathan Butler to take unusual actions, and immediate steps, to affect change. | “The question really is, why did we get to this very difficult situation? It is my belief that we stopped listening to each other. We didn’t respond or react ... and we forced individuals like Jonathan Butler to take unusual actions, and immediate steps, to affect change. |
| “This is not, I repeat not, the way change should come about.” | “This is not, I repeat not, the way change should come about.” |
| Wolfe, who spoke in a shaky voice and ended his statement in a struggle against tears, said: “I take full responsibility for this frustration, and I take full responsibility for the inaction that has occurred.” | Wolfe, who spoke in a shaky voice and ended his statement in a struggle against tears, said: “I take full responsibility for this frustration, and I take full responsibility for the inaction that has occurred.” |
| “I ask everybody … use my resignation to heal, and start talking again, to make the changes necessary, and let’s focus on changing what we can today, and in the future. | “I ask everybody … use my resignation to heal, and start talking again, to make the changes necessary, and let’s focus on changing what we can today, and in the future. |
| “My decision to resign comes out of love, not hate.” | “My decision to resign comes out of love, not hate.” |
| Wolfe offered an implicit criticism of the tone of the protests and their reception on the university side. | Wolfe offered an implicit criticism of the tone of the protests and their reception on the university side. |
| “We have to respect each other enough to stop yelling at each other, and start listening,” he said. “We need to quit intimidating each other.” | “We have to respect each other enough to stop yelling at each other, and start listening,” he said. “We need to quit intimidating each other.” |
| Students celebrated the news of Wolfe’s resignation with cheers. Within moments, student organizers were heard asking “What do we do now?” And “our work is just beginning.” | |
| Butler, who ended a weeklong hunger strike on Monday, told CNN that the university still has a long way to go to make minority students feel welcome. | |
| He said the university system’s governing board needs to listen to more minority faculty and student voices. Members of Concerned Students 1950 said Monday they want a say in choosing Wolfe’s replacement and wanted to meet with the university’s governing board and the state’s governor. | |
| Missouri governor Jay Nixon called Wolfe’s resignation “a necessary step toward healing and reconciliation” on the campus. | Missouri governor Jay Nixon called Wolfe’s resignation “a necessary step toward healing and reconciliation” on the campus. |
| Football coach Gary Pinkel said on Monday that the team’s decision over the weekend arose out of concern for Butler. | |
| “I got a call about Jonathan and the players were very very concerned with his life. I did the right thing and I would do it again,” Pinkel said. | |
| “I didn’t look at consequences. I supported my players when they needed me.” | |
| The school’s athletic director, Mack Rhoades, also reiterated his department’s support of the protests. He he had “mixed emotions” to the resignation of Wolfe, whom he called “a caring man”. | |
| “Our student athletes decided to get involved and quite frankly we supported them. We do everything as an athletic department to make sure these athletes are leaders. And they were leaders.” | |
| The University of Missouri system has about 35,000 students enrolled with an annual budget of about $2bn. The Division 1 Missouri Tigers football team plays before sold-out home stadium crowds of 76,000. | The University of Missouri system has about 35,000 students enrolled with an annual budget of about $2bn. The Division 1 Missouri Tigers football team plays before sold-out home stadium crowds of 76,000. |
| The Associated Press contributed to this report. | The Associated Press contributed to this report. |