Ninth member elected to Citizens Police Review Board
MU employee Mary Bixby will sit on the Review Board.
Published Nov. 6, 2009
The Columbia Human Rights Commission selected the ninth member of the Citizens Police Review Board on Tuesday night.
Mary Bixby, vice chairwoman of the commission, was nominated and selected through a voting process of her peers. Bixby said she is delighted to be a part of the Review Board.
"I got on the Human Rights Commissions in the first place to ensure that people are treated equitably," Bixby said. "This is going to further my desire to be a direct service to the city of Columbia."
The Human Rights Commission acts in an advisory capacity to City Council on human rights issues, a brochure offered by the commission stated. Duties of the commission include providing community educational programs and investigating complaints of discrimination.
Bixby said as a part of the Review Board, she plans to represent the human rights commission and the philosophy behind the commission's work.
"The Human Rights Commission has no authority to make judgment on people's situations, which is different from the Review Board, who will make judgment," Bixby said. "(The Review Board) will directly impact people's lives."
Bixby has worked at MU for 30 years as a learning resource specialist at the learning center, which is located at the Student Success Center on campus. Bixby said she expects the first meeting of the Citizens Police Review Board to be very soon.
"We are going to have more work this first year than in the following years," she said. "We will learn as we go along."
Starting Jan. 1, people can start filing complaints to the Review Board. Bixby said she knows of many members on the board and thinks they are a good mixture of people.
"We have a huge amount of work to do," Bixby said.