Student Protesters Voice Support for New Missouri President

Student protesters at the University of Missouri who were instrumental in forcing the resignation of the school system’s president have voiced support for the newly appointed interim president.

On Thursday the university system appointed Mike Middleton, a former student, law professor and administrator at Missouri, as its new leader. As a student in the 1960’s, Middleton himself presented school administrators with a list of demands aimed at improving black life on campus, including hiring more black faculty and creating a black culture center, the Columbia Missourian reports. Later, he became the first black professor at Missouri’s School of Law.

Concerned Student 1950, a group of student protesters who have organized many of the demonstrations at Missouri this fall, said on Twitter that they were excited about Middleton’s appointment.

Mu Policy Now, another campus group composed of graduate students, issued a letter to Missouri’s board of curators endorsing Middleton. “Given the recent turmoil, Deputy Chancellor Emeritus Middleton is a strong transitional figure,” the letter reads. “He has a great depth of experience and knowledge relevant to institutional issues currently affecting all four campuses.”

Middleton succeeds Tim Wolfe, who resigned Monday amid pressure to step down from students and faculty.

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