The University of Missouri said Tuesday it welcomes Sen. Kurt Schaefer's proposal for an outside group to review MU operations.
"The Board of Curators and the leadership of the university routinely review our operations and processes to make sure that the university is as efficient, transparent and accountable as possible," Steve Knorr, University Relations vice president, told the Senate's Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions and Ethics Committee.
"We are constantly working to improve our policies, and we are always receptive to the input of the General Assembly."
Noting last fall's protests at the Columbia campus and, especially, the slow response to lawmakers' calls for MU to fire assistant professor Melissa Click after her confrontations with student reporters and police, Schaefer, R-Columbia, told the committee "the rules have gotten so out of balance that, really, you don't have an administration that's responsible for the fiscal and management aspects of the university. They should be responsible for that, and faculty should be responsible for academics."
Schaefer introduced the resolution March 1. If the House and Senate agree, the Legislature would create an eight-member "University of Missouri System Review Commission to study MU statewide operations thoroughly, including the system's rules and regulations, administrative structure, campus structure, auxiliary enterprises structure, degree programs, research activities and diversity programs."
Auxiliary enterprises involve the university's outside research contracts for agriculture, medicine and other study areas, Schaefer said.
"These things actually, really, need to be evaluated by an outside entity," he explained. "I think we've gotten to a point where there's a lot of stagnation at the university.
"Ideally, the curators would do this - but I think we're at the point, now, where somebody on the outside needs to look at this."
He doesn't expect any lawmakers to be on the committee, which would have until the end of this year to complete its study and file a report with the university and the Legislature.
House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, and Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard, R-Joplin, each would name four of the panel members.
Sen. Jason Holsman, D-Kansas City, questioned that part of the plan.
"To have all members appointed by the majority leadership, without having minority input, I think will be a problem," he said.
However, Schaefer responded, the goal is to have a "blue-ribbon"-type panel.
"This thing has to be done right away - and some long, drawn-out process and fighting over who these people are is not going to serve our best interests," Schaefer said. "To tell the truth, I don't think that there's going to be a lot of controversy about who these people are.
"I think these need to be people who are supportive of the university - but not blindly supportive - have shown statewide expertise in academics or management of business, or something like that ... who are above reproach, want to solve problems."
Schaefer noted the Legislature will pay for the committee's operations, including staff and outside legal help.
Also, he noted his resolution provides that "next year, the General Assembly, in appropriating money for the university, can evaluate whether or not they followed or did not follow the recommendations of the committee."
The committee took no action Tuesday on Schaefer's proposal.