COLUMBIA, Missouri, October 28, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – University of Missouri-Columbia Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin was the subject of a closed-door “personnel” meeting of the school's Board of Curators Wednesday.
Mizzou has been embroiled in controversy because of its contracts with Planned Parenthood and its assistance in helping an abortionist gain a license. After coming under fire from state legislators, the school finally cut ties with the nation's largest abortion business last month, saying contracts were outdated anyway.
State Rep. Caleb Jones (R-Columbia) confirmed the rumor that the meeting was an attempt by Missouri System President Tim Wolfe and the board to fire Loftin. The meeting lasted four and a half hours, but afterward no one shared any of the board's conclusions.
The school's ties to Planned Parenthood became the focus of a state investigation when undercover videos revealed that the abortion giant peddles in aborted baby parts, organs, and even intact babies. Planned Parenthood officials were filmed discussing the practice of illegally altering abortion procedures so as to keep the organs “live.”
Cutting ties with Planned Parenthood has garnered criticism from pro-abortion activists and praise from pro-lifers. State Sen. Kurt Schaefer (R-Columbia) commented, “I applaud the chancellor for being instrumental in getting the university out of the abortion business. He showed leadership on this.”
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Further muddying the waters is the announcement by the university, also on Wednesday, that it had extended clinical privileges to three nursing students to work with Planned Parenthood, unrelated to abortion services. Sen. Schaefer responded to the news: “If the board and the system is trying to get back into the abortion business, that would be very troubling to me.”
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that a couple of other controversies accompany Chancellor Loftin. Some students have complained that he hasn't been proactive enough on the issue of campus racism. In September, student body president Payton Head said men in a pickup yelled racial slurs at him repeatedly. More recently, students complained that a man confronted them with a racial slur while a campus safety officer looked on.
Loftin, who has been at the helm of Mizzou since early 2014, posted a video condemning the incident and acknowledging that racism is “alive and well” on Mizzou's campus. Also, the university announced that all incoming freshmen, along with faculty and staff, would be required to undergo training programs centered on racism.
But criticism of Loftin continues.
State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed (D-St. Louis), a supporter of Loftin, admitted that the chancellor openly admitting that racism is “alive and well” at Mizzou probably displeased the president and his board. “I know that he's probably in some hot water for how he openly confronted the issue of racism on campus,” Nasheed said. “What university wants their chancellor to come out and say what he said?” Nasheed asked. “I'm sure the board was furious.”
Another chancellor controversy centers on an Obamacare rule that the university says required it to take away health insurance from graduate student teachers who conduct research, grade papers, and conduct research. Mizzou was one of the first universities in the country to implement the rule in that way.
The rescinding of health insurance for graduate student teachers caused an outcry of criticism against the chancellor. In response, Loftin apologized and restored benefits to the graduate student teachers.
Before coming to Missouri, Loftin was president of Texas A&M University. His current base salary at Mizzou is $450,000.