COLUMBIA, Mo. - In a letter to prominent supporters, former University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe lashed out at curators who tried to "dig up dirt," at a chancellor who made a mess of MU and then manipulated blame on Wolfe, and at an athletics director and football coach who "threw gasoline on a small fire."
Wolfe resigned in November without conditions. In the letter, he makes clear he wants money as part of the separation.
He wrote he'd made proposals to the UM System Board of Curators and attempted to hash out differences through mediation, to no avail.
"All negotiations with the board have stopped and I'm left with the options of either accepting a small fraction of the total compensation that I could have made I had stayed through the end of my contract, or to litigate which would involve going public with the reasons as to why I was the target of Concerned Student 1950," Wolfe wrote.
Concerned Student 1950 is a student activist group formed in the fall to raise awareness of racial tensions on campus and protest a perceived lack of response from the administration to racially charged incidents and discrimination.
Wolfe's contract for the first three years of his presidency called for $450,000 in annual compensation and up to $100,000 in performance-based incentives each year. In August 2014, the Board of Curators extended Wolfe's contract through June 2018, and Wolfe's base salary reached $459,000 in the 2014-15 school year. Wolfe would have made $477,544 for the 2015-16 school year.
In his letter, Wolfe wrote the Board of Curators has offered to pay him only what he would have received if he'd been fired without cause.
In that circumstance, Wolfe could receive all deferred compensation accumulated in previous years and an additional sum not more than half of his annual base salary, according to his original contract.
In the letter, he contrasted his situation with those of former MU Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin and Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel.
Loftin's resignation agreement with the Board of Curators granted him 75 percent of his former salary in a new role coordinating university research as a tenured physics professor and allowed him to keep the $135,000 bonus he received when he was hired.
The initial terms of the deal the curators approved for Pinkel's new position in the athletics department would pay Pinkel $350,000 in 2016 and 2017 and $250,000 in 2018.
Wolfe's letter was emailed Jan. 19 to all the members of the "Missouri 100," a group of prominent UM System supporters, and other supporters. On Jan. 21, it was forwarded to administration officials in the four campus system. Interim Chancellor Hank Foley distributed it to his staff; it has been circulated among legislators in the General Assembly.
Wolfe blamed Loftin for the majority of unrest at MU last year and accused him of working with state Sen. Kurt Schaefer, R-Columbia, to shape Loftin's testimony to the Sanctity of Life Committee concerning the university's relationship with Planned Parenthood.
"That is inaccurate," Loftin said Wednesday morning at his residence on Francis Quadrangle. Loftin said he provided Schaefer with information and letters when requested and appeared to testify before the committee when requested, but he did not work with Schaefer to cater his testimony.
Wolfe also alleged the reason student protesters' criticism focused on Wolfe was Loftin's doing - once the former chancellor felt his job was in danger in late September, Loftin began shifting the focus of student protest group Concerned Student 1950 to Wolfe.
"Our students are highly intelligent, and I have a deep respect for them. To think that I could manipulate them in any way is unbelievable," Loftin said.
The former president's motivation to resign was largely because of safety concerns, Wolfe said. The UM System called on diversity and inclusion consulting experts after officials learned about a "pending event" on Nov. 9, the day Wolfe resigned.
According to Wolfe, the consulting experts "along with the FBI, Missouri Highway Patrol, Columbia Police Department and MU Campus police were aware of a significant Ferguson protester" and a threat that more protesters were arriving at campus that day.
MU Police Chief Doug Schwandt was not immediately available for comment about security concerns around the time of Wolfe's resignation.
Columbia Police Chief Ken Burton said Wednesday his department "was made aware via intelligence sources that people who were significantly involved in the Ferguson, Missouri, protests" as well as protesters from outside Boone County might be coming to join the MU protests. He said the information was shared with Columbia Police in case MU Police and the Missouri Highway Patrol needed support in providing security on campus.
DeRay McKesson, a civil rights activist and a member of the Black Lives Matter movement, said in a text conversation that he tweeted in solidarity with the MU protesters Nov. 9 but didn't arrive on campus until Nov. 10 - after Wolfe resigned. He said he knew of a few protesters from St. Louis on campus before Nov. 9 and said he knew that other protesters were headed to campus.
John Fougere, a UM spokesman, said in an email that employees at University Hall and the old Alumni Center were given "permission to work from home, if they felt that there was potential that their work would be distracted" on the day Wolfe resigned.
Wolfe also criticized Missouri athletics director Mack Rhoades, Pinkel and Loftin for failing to communicate with system officials as football players announced a boycott Nov. 7 until graduate student Jonathan Butler ended his hunger strike.
On Nov. 9, Pinkel tweeted a photo of the team, including white players and coaches, saying "The Mizzou Family stands as one. We are united. We are behind our players. #ConcernedStudent1950 GP."
Wolfe announced his resignation hours later amid national attention. In his letter, he wrote, "The football team's actions were the equivalent of throwing gasoline on a small fire. Coach Pinkel missed an important opportunity to teach his players a valuable life lesson."
Wolfe suggested the university might lose $25 million in tuition and fees in the upcoming academic year, as well as up to $500 million in state funding. This is a much worse consequence than the $1 million penalty that the university would have been required to pay for missing a game against Brigham Young University, Wolfe wrote.
The $25 million figure Wolfe cites is in line with current UM System officials' estimates of lost tuition and fees for next year. MU Chief Operations Officer Gary Ward told Regional Economic Development Inc. board members earlier this month the university expects enrollment to drop by as many as 900 students next year, according to the Columbia Daily Tribune. Interim UM System President Michael Middleton told the Tribune that the university could lose between $20 million to $25 million in tuition and fees as a result.
The letter accused a few members of the Board of Curators, which makes up the governing body of the UM System, of calling on "subordinate staff and faculty members to dig up dirt and use their Curator role to further personal agendas."
Wolfe criticized the hiring of current Interim President Michael Middleton, who he said "failed miserable (sic) in his capacity as the long time leader on diversity issues on the MU campus."
Wolfe also accused Schaefer of pressuring him to take away MU Law School associate professor Josh Hawley's right to an unpaid leave of absence while running for attorney general.
UM System Spokesman John Fougere issued a statement Wednesday morning, stating:
"We are aware that former President Tim Wolfe recently has made public to some university supporters a letter containing his thoughts about the events of last autumn and his desire to reach what he regards as an acceptable financial agreement between himself and the university.
"Since Mr. Wolfe resigned voluntarily last November, discussions have been on-going aimed at reaching an acceptable post-resignation agreement, including the use of a well-regarded and well-known mediator. After discussions which included mediation on December 18 left Mr. Wolfe's situation unresolved, discussions have been on-going including another mediation recently. Our position has been that any agreement would have to be consistent with the legal constraints within which a public institution such as the university operates."
See also:
Curator resigns; board suspends MU professor; interim chancellor addresses 'State of the University'