Deaton supports Alden, Hearnes Center Fee stays put
Deaton affirmed Athletic Director Mike Alden's decision.
Aug. 26, 2008
(Click graphic to enlarge)
Chancellor Brady Deaton has spoken.
In an Aug. 6 memo, Deaton ended a 10-year campaign intended to move $750,000 of student fee money from an account used for Hearnes Center maintenance into the Student Fee Capital Improvement Committee. Deaton's agreement with Athletic Director Mike Alden's decision will keep the money in the Hearnes Center repairs account.
In 1972, MU began collecting an $8 student fee to pay off a loan used to build the Hearnes Center. Although the debt was paid off in 1995, MU continued to collect the fee until 2004.
The Board of Curators voted to allow the fee in 1969 with the understanding that it would only be used to pay off the construction loan. The document stated all costs of operating and maintaining the building would be provided from other funds, not from the Hearnes Center fee.
The money collected from 1995 to 2004 totals about $1 million, and in May 2007 the Hearnes Center Advisory Committee voted 8-5 to transfer three-quarters of that money to SFCIC in an effort to return the money to the students. The Missouri Students Association and the Graduate Professional Council supported the proposal.
SFCIC advises the vice chancellor for student affairs on the allocation of funds to student organizations, faculty and students.
Transferring the $750,000 to SFCIC would be a way to give the fee back to the students, especially since it never should have been collected post-1995, former MSA Vice President Andrew Cafourek said in a previous Maneater interview.
Despite the committee's vote and recommendation, Alden denied the proposal in October, saying in a memo that it was the "right thing to do." Alden did propose to give SFCIC 50 percent of the interest accrued from the account, which is about $12,000 to $15,000.
Former MSA President Rachel Anderson and Cafourek appealed Alden's decision to Deaton shortly after receiving Alden's decision. Ten months later, Deaton sent a memo agreeing with Alden.
"It's obviously not the worst idea, because SFCIC gets some money," MSA President Jim Kelley said. "But, it's certainly not the best idea in terms of our interests as well."
Kelley said he would be meeting with students and faculty that showed interest in the proposal to see where to go from here in an effort to give that money back to students.
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