Meet and greet in Brady Commons

Brady Deaton talks with students to foster exchange of ideas.

By Nathan Winters

Published Feb. 19, 2008

Chancellor Brady Deaton and other members of the administration greeted students in the Brady Commons hallway outside the University Bookstore during the noon hour Monday.

“We do this to make ourselves generally available to students,” Deaton said.

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Cathy Scroggs and Deputy Chancellor Michael Middleton were also meeting and greeting with students as well.

“They are all very enthusiastic and surprised to see us,” Middleton said. Scroggs also said students she met were surprised to see them.

Deaton said most of the questions he got were about different areas of study within MU and very few questions were asked about campus safety after the shooting at Northern Illinois University.

He said many people asked about campus safety Sunday night at the vigil for the victims of the shooting.

Some of the students, like junior Alex Ferrell, who stopped to meet with the Chancellor, had already met him before.

“I went to a southwest (Missouri) alumni conference with some employees of the alumni association and the chancellor because I was from the area,” Ferrell said in an e-mail. “The alumni association thought that it would be beneficial for a student from the area to make the visit down as well.”

Sophomore Chris Desamero said took advantage of the meet and greet because he was unable to meet the Chancellor at a MU College of Business event he and Deaton had attended before.

“I wanted to meet him before,” Desamero said.

Desamero also said Deaton told him that the Chancellor was going to try to do these meet and greets on a regular basis.

“Deaton said he is trying to do this every semester,” Desamero said.

The timing of Monday’s meet and greet also coincided with a Meet Mizzou Day organized by the MU Admissions Office for prospective students.

Deaton said many prospective students had stopped to chat with himself, Scroggs and Middleton.

Ryan Foley, an Oak Park High School junior from Kansas City, Mo., and his mother stopped by to meet with Deaton as well.

“He really asked me more questions, which was awesome because he showed interest in me,” Foley said.

Deaton said the mood of the students he spoke with was very positive.

“This creates an ongoing dialogue with students,” Deaton said.