After a year-long search, the University of Missouri system will soon have a new president.
During a ceremony in Jefferson City Wednesday, the university’s board of curators named Mun Choi as the new president.
Choi has been the provost of the University of Connecticut since 2012. Before, he was dean of the engineering school and a professor of mechanical engineering, according to a University of Connecticut website. He was also the associate dean of research at Drexel University.
He will be the first system president in ten years to have a background in academia. He will also be the university’s first Asian-American system president.
Choi will replace Tim Wolfe, who resigned last November amid a wave of student protests and a hunger strike. A student group, Concerned Student 1950, called for Wolfe’s removal and accused him of failing to act after racist incidents at MU.
The same day Wolfe resigned, Columbia’s chancellor Bowin Loftin also announced he was stepping down.
One of Choi’s first major tasks will be hiring a new chancellor. Choi's first day is March 1.
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Ariel Rothfield can be reached at Ariel.Rothfield@KSHB.com.
