January 23, 2017

By Fiona Murphy

One student each from the Missouri Students Association and Graduate Professional Council will serve on the MU chancellor search committee.

MSA President Sean Earl and GPC Director of State of Affairs Michael Hendricks were chosen by interim UM System President Mike Middleton and President-designate Mun Choi to represent undergraduate and graduate students.

This is not the first time students will serve on a search committee. Last year, MU student Patrick Graham and UM-Kansas City student Rakeem Golden were representatives on the presidential search committee.

“It is important to include input from all members of the university community when undertaking something as important as the hiring of a new chancellor, whether it is faculty, staff, alumni and of course students,” UM System spokesman John Fougere said in an email.

The Executive Board of GPC nominated Hendricks with two other GPC members to become the active representative for the committee.

“I was selected by the president’s office to be the graduate and professional student body representative in the search process,” Hendricks said.

As the undergraduate student representative for the chancellor search committee, Earl aims to prioritize MU Libraries and diversity initiatives.

Students voted last year to [reject the fee](http://www.themaneater.com/stories/2015/11/18/mu-students-fail-library-fee/) that would have charged students to maintain campus libraries. After Ellis Library reduced its hours, a student petition with over 2,000 signatures called for the previous hours to be reinstated.

“Over the last couple of months, we have heard a huge concern about the future of MU Libraries, diversity and inclusion initiatives, and permanent leadership in MU administration,” Earl said in an email. “These are some of the preliminary issues I will be inquiring about with the candidates.”

The first open forum on the search process for students, faculty and alumni will begin at 10 a.m. Jan. 26 in the Reynolds Alumni Center. It will be livestreamed on the [UM System website](www.umsystem.edu).

“My hope is there will be multiple forums to accommodate the busy schedule of our students,” Earl said. “Hopefully, I can convince them to hold one in the Student Center to make it more convenient for the students.”

Hendricks said the first meeting will establish the timeline involved with the selection process for the committee members.

“The bulk of our responsibilities will be confined within the specific meeting times,” Earl said. “The meetings should not interfere with regularly scheduled MSA meetings, but I cannot know for sure until all schedules are finalized.”

_Edited by Emily Gallion | egallion@themaneater.com_