Following the chancellor through tragedy

By Juana Summers

Published April 20, 2007

On a warm day in April, it isn't uncommon to see students perched on the bases of the Columns or playing a game of catch in the middle of Francis Quadrangle. Benches are full of people hoping to relax for a few minutes between classes, or some people hoping to avoid classes completely.

But it is a rare day that one sees Chancellor Brady Deaton and his wife, Anne, taking a stroll around the Quad with the public.

The chancellor's walk was not spur of the moment, but instead part of a planned program developed by Julie Middleton, wife of Deputy Chancellor Michael Middleton, and Anne Deaton.

"It was something really wonderful to promote staff and wellness around staff," Anne Deaton said.

After their noontime walk, the couple retired for lunch at their on-campus residence. It was the first lunch the pair has shared this semester, Anne Deaton said.

Not your average morning

By 1 p.m., the Deatons' idyllic day was anything but ordinary.

Anne Deaton received a phone call from David, one of the family's four children. When she returned from pacing around the hallways with the phone attached to her ear, tears were in her eyes.

She asked that they take a moment of silence and say a prayer for the students killed at Virginia Tech that day.

The Deatons bowed their heads as the chancellor prayed for the sustenance of the Blacksburg, Va., community.

A few moments before, the couple had been reminiscing about the time they spent in that community when Brady Deaton worked at Virginia Tech for 12 years, beginning with research and teaching positions.

The chancellor said he is close friends with Virginia Tech President Charles Steger and immediately thought to contact him and other close ties he had at the school.

Anne Deaton suggested he wait because the phone lines were too busy after the tragedy.

She described the community as similar to the MU community in that "there was always something going on." But even in a beautiful place like Blacksburg, tragedy could occur. Through tears, the chancellor's wife remained optimistic.

"Out of tragedy, we can really make something," she said.

Anne Deaton said she had previously been impressed with the outreach efforts, commonly led by students, for national and international crises with Hurricane Katrina as a recent example. She said she hoped students would internalize this tragedy and do something productive.

After some of the initial shock of the events in Blacksburg wore off, the lunch returned to its jovial nature. The Deatons talked about the history of their house and their efforts to make themselves accessible to the MU community — a community they feel close to.

"We open the house to a lot of student activities and student leadership groups," Anne Deaton said.

During the fall semester, they played host to several student groups and open houses and hope to house more. They also invited students from various honor societies to visit them at home.

The Deatons have lived in the Chancellor's Residence on the Quad since July 2006.

"I really feel like this was meant to be a home," Anne Deaton said. "I hope a chancellor and his family always live here."

Part of the care and concern that goes into Brady Deaton's job as the chancellor of the university comes from his added role as an MU parent.

"Three out of our four children went to Mizzou," he said. "They were as competitive as if they graduated from any school."

Anne Deaton said they were a close family, and she and her husband had many opportunities to visit their four children. The formal living room in their home is filled with pictures of each of their now-adult children with their spouses.

Each year, the Deatons attend a family reunion with more than 60 members of the family including their children and grandchildren.

"It's much more than just a picnic," Anne Deaton said.

An invisible line

There is no separation between Brady Deaton, the MU chancellor, and Brady Deaton, the father of four and husband of Anne. Instead, the two men are unified as the same concern goes into family life as it does to the administrative tasks of managing a large university.

Even at the small, cozy lunch table, thoughts about his job pervade conversation occasionally. He has been chancellor since 2004, and his job, as he describes it, is centered on the academic success of students.

"Every dollar you spend should be in the furtherance of the academic integrity of the university," he said.

The Deatons also maintain a close relationship with diversity efforts on campus through the Chancellor's Diversity Initiative and also their individual efforts.

A week ago, the Deatons visited a black church in St. Louis where the Legion of Black Collegians Gospel Ministry performed.

This week, the chancellor also planned to visit West Boulevard Elementary School in Columbia where students from the School of Education are working as student teachers. Fifth-grade students at the school, with the aid of MU students, created a museum about westward migration, which Brady Deaton planned to tour.

He hurriedly left as he had other meetings to attend, but it was clear that the tragedy in Blacksburg, Va., was still on his mind.

Working with the chancellor

In the workplace, Brady Deaton maintains the same cool and crisp demeanor. Although he won't be found without his suit jacket when he is leading one of countless meetings, he still remains personable.

At the beginning of Tuesday's General Faculty Council meeting, he took the time to sit in one of the first rows of Ellis Auditorium to speak with a faculty member for five to 10 minutes before beginning the meeting.

Again, when the meetings start, Blacksburg, Va., is at the forefront of Deaton's mind. Here, too, there is a moment of silence to honor the 32 people who were killed.

Like a parent, a strong educator or perhaps, more aptly put, a good leader should, Deaton reassured the faculty that the campus was safe, and that there were plans in place to protect both students and faculty if a similar event were to occur.

But as the meeting continued, the chancellor began informing the community about the state of the university — financially and academically.

Throughout the meeting, he continued to cultivate this communication among the members of the present faculty. He simply wants to keep people talking.

"I'm really hoping to hear some input from you guys," he said.

Although he certainly had countless more appointments and family responsibilities, Deaton was not the first to jet out of the door when the meeting ended. Instead, he hung behind after removing his microphone and indulged members of the faculty by simply listening to what they had to say.