Wolfe doesn't have an academic background. He had a business career before being named Mizzou system president. That alone would make the faculty suspicious of him but he had the misfortune to follow Gary Forsee as president. Forsee was the man who drove Sprint onto the ground before becoming the UM System president and who was, by all accounts, a disaster in that role. Replacing one business insider with another gave Wolfe his first big strike against him.
One of his early cost cutting plans involved ending health care subsidies for all the graduate assistants and pushing them onto Obamacare. It had been part of their compensation for being teaching assistants and the university cut it. The university later changed their mind but was a PR black eye and didn't make the graduate students happy.
The Missouri legislature is no happier with Planned Parenthood than any other conservative body is and they tried to force through some acts like forcing a doctor who was employed by the University from also working with Planned Parenthood, where she supposedly did abortions. They also cancelled contracts with Planned Parenthood that allowed students to get work hours there. All this wound up going to court, or threatening to go to court, and all were dropped. But there was a lot of student and faculty uproar over it and Wolfe didn't handle it very well.
And then there were the racial incidents. Mizzou, like any large institution, gets it's fair share of wackos of all colors and the unfortunate fact is that racist acts on the part of a tiny minority of students is not uncommon. I know a number of people who went to school in Columbia and they all confirm it's happened for years. Usually what happens is that the administration wrings its hands, issues a sternly worded denunciation, host some kumbaya healing sessions, and the uproar subsides. Wolfe did nothing. There have been a few incidents over the past month and a half or so and Wolfe didn't make any attempt to smooth things over. Finally he said that the university would study the situation and promised results in April. For most of the faculty and the more vocal students that was the last straw and they blew the whole thing into the sh*tstorm that cost him is job.
So had Wolfe issued some politically correct platitudes or instituted some meaningless program then he'd still have his job. He didn't. He underestimated just how upset people are. And now he's looking for work.
Thank-you for the information about what brought about this recent incident over at Mizzou. IMHO, it is more than just racial issues, it is simply being just anti-free market systems and anything conservative.
About the previous President, the one that drove Sprint into the ground,is it the same Sprint that owned Virgin Moble or is it a seperate company now?
I’ve been hearing about these racial incidents for a couple of days now. Any links which actually name people and places??