The University of Missouri System, which was rocked by race protests last year that toppled two of its leaders, caused its biggest donors to retreat and dampened interest among prospective students, will spend more than $1 million to audit its diversity policies.
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That $1.1 million audit is part of $2 million in funds the UM System plans to spend on diversity initiatives, including the hiring of a chief diversity officer and systemwide task force, the Missourian reported earlier this week.
IBIS Consulting Group will conduct the comprehensive audit, interviewing students, professors and staff on all four campuses in the UM System, according to a news release.
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“This assessment will help us understand where we stand in comparison to our peer institutions and best practices in higher education,” said Michael Middleton, the interim president, who assumed the position in November after the protests forced the resignation of Tim Wolfe.
In late April, Heat Street requested a comprehensive breakdown of Mizzou’s new expenditures on diversity, equity and inclusion, but it has not yet received a response, despite numerous follow-ups.
Several Mizzou students told Heat Street that while a handful of racist incidents on campus in recent years disturbed them, they do not believe there’s a systemic problem.
Other student activists said the administration had been willing to work with students to address racism, adding that the protestors last fall—which included a seven-day hunger strike by graduate student Jonathan Butler—did more harm than good. They added that the protests not only disrupted normal campus operations, including the cancelation of classes, but also hindered longtime collaboration between student organizations and university officials to improve diversity and create opportunities for minority students.
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Evonnia Woods, a black graduate student and activist, took to Facebook in April to express her frustration with Concerned Student 1950, the group that led the protests, and the aftermath of the demonstrations.
“I’m still coming to terms with the fact that 11 students arose in the name of us all, garnered widespread attention as THE movement, while not allowing room for critique or alliance politics. … I challenge you to think about what has ‘actually’ been accomplished and at what expense. Our student movement was hijacked,” Woods wrote.
Brian Brooks, a professor and associate dean emeritus of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, has long overseen the recruitment of minority students. He told Heat Street earlier this month that he had talked to many of his black students, including those from poor neighborhoods. The vast majority told him they had not encountered widespread racism on campus. Some reported isolated incidents, Brooks said, but “just like anywhere else.”
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“My sense is we had made a lot of progress on this campus in making it a friendlier environment for African-American students,” Brooks said. “So it was painful to someone like me, who’s spent the last 25 years trying to make this a more welcome place. [Last fall] so many mistakes were made by so many people, and when this happened, it just got blown out of proportion. … I think a lot of students were stunned by what went on, and would say this was [led by] a small group of malcontents.”
Even before the protests, Mizzou grappled with recruitment problems after neighboring Illinois, a major source of students, decreased its in-state tuition. The controversy on campus last fall, followed by enormous backlash from parents, donors, alumni and prospective students, exacerbated these problems.
Compared to last year, at least 1,470 fewer freshman have enrolled for the next school year, the University of Missouri reported in May.
Berkley Hudson, chair of the Faculty Council Committee on Racial Relations, said he’s hopeful the college will use its rocky past year to become a stronger institution.
“The campus as a whole isn’t racist,” he said. “But is there racism here? Yes. Did Concerned Student 1950 have some legitimate issues? Yes.”
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But Hudson said that this change can’t be accomplished without honest discussion and disagreement, adding that the protests last fall may, at times, have had a chilling effect on speech. At times, he said, “I’m concerned that people aren’t willing to listen. We just react.”
“The answer is more speech, not less speech,” Hudson said. “You have to have healthy dissent. That’s what a university is: a model for debate and argument, not name-calling. … I think there’s no better place in the world to sort this out.”
— Jillian Kay Melchior writes for Heat Street and is a fellow for the Independent Women’s Forum and the Steamboat Institute.
