Last week, lawmakers at the statehouse in Missouri denied a budget increase to the University of Missouri over the handling of campus protests that led to the resignation of university president Tim Wolfe in November.
State lawmakers and their constituents are particularly frustrated with the actions of Melissa Click, the faculty member who famously impeded a reporter from covering the ‘Concerned Student 1950’ protest and is currently on paid leave.
According to local news reports, the university was scheduled to receive a $26.8 million budget increase under Governor Jay Nixon’s proposal. State Rep. Donna Lichtenegger, chairwoman of the House Appropriations-Higher Education Committee, proposed an amendment that would reduce Nixon’s plan for a 6 percent increase in funding to state colleges and universities, to just 2 percent, and completely exclude UM from receiving any increase in funding. Lichtenegger noted that many of the committee’s constituents wanted a sizable reduction in funding. In an attempt to compromise, Lichtenegger decided, “The best thing I could do is not to give the increase.”
Some voiced their concerns over this decision, including state Rep. Stephen Webber, who noted, “Retaliatory action by the legislature is not going to be felt by administrators.”
Student Mark Schierbecker agreed, saying, “If we are going to talk about a massive budget cut like we are already looking at, that is going to seriously hamper this institution’s ability to perform desperately needed course corrections.”
Schierbecker was one of the UM student journalists who shot the video of Click calling for “some muscle” to remove him and a fellow reporter from the protest.
“I don’t think the legislators concerns are unjustified,” he added, “or at least their initial ones. We’ve been on the wrong path for a long time.”
Schierbecker ultimately shared Rep. Webber’s concern that the legislature’s actions will not have the desired effect.
“The state legislature reminded the university to hold their faculty accountable,” Schierbecker said. “After they got what they wanted, they forgot to relent on the budget. I think they should reward accountability, so they should loosen their pockets a little.”
The bill with the spending cuts has since been moved to the House Budget Committee where more changes are likely to be made. Afterwards, the bill will appear on the House floor for debate.
