*The University of Missouri’s president, Tim Wolfe, resigned Monday morning in the face of a walkout by faculty members and a strike by football players who said he hadn’t done enough to combat racism on campus.
Wolfe stunned everyone with his announcement at a special Board of Curators meeting.
“I am resigning as president of the University Missouri system,” he said. “My motivation in making this decision comes from a love of Columbia where I grew up and the state of Missouri. I thought and prayed over this decision;. It is the right thing to do. .,.. The frustration and anger I see is real and I don’t doubt it for a second.”
Before Wolfe’s resignation, the faculty group issued a statement announcing plans for a walkout.
We are publicly releasing our letter to the University of Missouri System Board of Curators. @umsystem @umcurators pic.twitter.com/CqsWMAZVwK
— M.S.A. (@MSAmizzou) November 9, 2015
Wolfe’s resignation came as the system’s Board of Curators were set to hold an emergency meeting on Monday morning in Columbia to discuss the growing crisis on the Columbia, Mo., campus. The board voted in favor of accepting Wolfe’s resignation.
“I take full responsibility for what has occurred,” Wolfe said.
Students complaining about racially-fraught campus environment began protests at the university on Sept. 24, but the tense situation on campus had only recently begun to gain national attention.
More than 30 members of Missouri’s football team announced Saturday that they would no longer take part in football-related activities while Wolfe was in power. Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel canceled practiced on Sunday and wrote on Twitter that he backed their efforts to force change at the school.
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