University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe announced a short time ago that he will be stepping down effective immediately amid protests and controversy on the Columbia campus.
Protests have been growing over the last 48 hours over perceived inactivity on the part of the university with regards to reported racist activity on campus. Graduate student Jonathon Butler has been on a hunger strike for nearly a week in an effort to bring light to what he described as growing racial tensions at the school. Butler says in August he found a swastika in human feces on a wall inside the dorms. He says he reported it to the school but claims the school did no investigation. Black organizations at Missouri say they too have reported incidents of students openly using racial slurs on the overwhelmingly white campus, with no results coming from the school’s administration.
University of Missouri President Resigns Amidst Protests
The protests gained a head of steam over the weekend, when they garnered support from the University of Missouri football team. The Tigers vowed not participate in any upcoming football activities, including this Saturday’s game against BYU, until Wolfe resigned or was removed by the administration. Head coach Gary Pinkel posted a picture on Twitter Sunday morning of the players locked arm in arm showing support for the protests. By Sunday night, other athletic department officials joined the football team in support of the protests.
In a brief statement a short time ago, Wolfe said the divisiveness that has grown on campus was the reason for his stepping down. “We didn’t respond or react. We got frustrated with each other and have forced individuals to use unusual steps to affect change. This is not the way change should come about. I take full responsibility for the frustration and inaction” Wolfe said he believed he was doing what is best for the university. “My decision to resign comes out of love (for the university), not hate. Use my resignation to heal and start talking to one another.”
There has been no statement from Butler with regards to his hunger strike or from the athletic department with regards to the status of the football players and their role going forward. The 57-year-old Wolfe had been president of the University of Missouri system since February 2012.
