Tim Wolfe’s blame-casting email dodges his own role in University of Missouri upheaval

Former University of Missouri System president Tim Wolfe has sent an email telling supporters he believes the system is in crisis and he wants to play “a significant positive role” in its future.

But the incendiary nature of the email makes that possibility highly unlikely. It includes injudicious attacks on the Board of Curators and the interim system president, Michael Middleton, that seem likely to create even more of a crisis of confidence for the struggling system.

At the same time Wolfe’s missive — which could be classified broadly as a settling of scores — does bring to light some disturbing issues.

Wolfe resigned the president’s post on Nov. 9 as the University of Missouri tried to cope with mounting racial unrest, a walkout by most members of the football team and calls for the removal of MU Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin.

The “confidential” email, sent last week and apparently intended for “a select few friends,” provides Wolfe’s take on the tumultuous events and expresses “grave concerns about the future of the university.”

If Wolfe thought his bombshell-laden letter would remain confidential, he hasn’t paid much attention to the nature of communications these days. The Columbia Tribune got ahold of the email and made it public on Wednesday.

One of Wolfe’s concerns is his own severance package. He is at an impasse with the university system’s Board of Curators over the amount and terms of a compensation package.

As he notes, Loftin, who resigned under pressure on the same day as Wolfe, was able to remain at MU as a tenured professor making three-fourths of his former salary. And former football coach Gary Pinkel, who retired a few days later for health reasons, received an offer to remain with the athletic department at a salary of almost $1 million over three years.

Wolfe’s desire for some compensation is reasonable. But Missouri lawmakers, who are angry at the university system for a myriad of reasons, aren’t likely to tolerate anything from the Board of Curators they consider excessive. Wolfe’s email probably won’t help his cause.

In the email, Wolfe confirmed reports that state Sen. Kurt Schaefer, a Republican from Columbia who is chairman of the Senate’s appropriations committee, tried to get the university to deny a leave of absence for MU law professor Josh Hawley. Like Schaefer, Hawley is seeking the GOP nomination for Missouri attorney general.

Wolfe also said Schaefer asked him “to get in the middle” of MU’s tenure decision on Hawley. He said Schaefer coached Loftin prior to Loftin’s testimony before an anti-abortion committee that Schaefer chaired over the summer and leaned on at least one member of the Board of Curators to protect Loftin’s job as chancellor.

In an interview with the Tribune, Schaefer denied the allegations. But Senate leaders should take them seriously.

Schaefer has used his position as appropriations chairman to bully the university and state agencies. The public deserves to know exactly how much power he tried to wield, and how.

Wolfe’s allegations give weight to calls for Schaefer to resign his appropriations chairmanship. The senator appears unable to separate his political ambitions from his duty to objectively craft the state’s budget.

Wolfe portrayed the Board of Curators as ineffective and willing to “cave into politicians and special interest groups with agendas that are contrary to the mission of the university.”

He criticized the selection of Middleton as interim chancellor, saying Middleton had “failed miserably” in his role of promoting diversity and inclusion initiatives as an MU administrator.

“I believe the University of Missouri is under attack, and current leadership from the board on down is frozen,” Wolfe said, saying he feared cuts in state appropriations and a drop in enrollment.

The nine-member governing board, which has one vacancy, does need to project strong leadership at this time. The selection of a permanent successor to Wolfe is crucial.

But Wolfe’s hand-wringing is notable for his unwillingness to accept much responsibility.

He acknowledges in the email that he made a mistake by hiring Loftin as MU chancellor and also by trusting the curators to “support my decisions.”

But he says nothing about his refusal to meet with black students when they wanted to talk about racial incidents on campus and instead deflects blame to Middleton.

And he contends that Loftin, Pinkel and MU athletic director Mack Rhoades “failed to communicate” with him or other system officials when the football players announced they wouldn’t participate in games or practices until the administration met certain demands of black students. If that’s the case, it indicates that Wolfe didn’t have control as system president.

Wolfe’s departure was abrupt, and his search for validation is understandable. But trying to build support at the expense of the people who are holding the system together is not the path to redemption.

This story was originally published January 27, 2016 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Tim Wolfe’s blame-casting email dodges his own role in University of Missouri upheaval."