MU Chancellor Announces Retirement Plans; UM President to Consolidate

MU Chancellor Announces Retirement Plans; UM President to Consolidate

July 24, 2003

COLUMBIA, Mo. University of Missouri-Columbia Chancellor Richard L. Wallace has announced his intention to retire effective August 31, 2004, after 38 years of service to the University of Missouri. "I am proud to have played a small role in the transformation of a good state university into one of the nation's great land-grant research institutions," Wallace said. "During this year of transition, I look forward to working with University of Missouri President Elson S. Floyd and MU Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost Brady Deaton as we look for new ways to address the serious fiscal challenges that lie ahead while preserving the quality of our educational programs." Wallace said he also plans to focus his remaining time as chancellor on fundraising initiatives.

Wallace was appointed an assistant professor of economics and community health and medical practice at MU in 1966. He served in a variety of academic and leadership positions on the MU campus, including professor of economics, chair of the Department of Economics, associate dean of the Graduate School and associate provost. He also served as associate vice president and vice president of academic affairs at the University of Missouri System from 1985-96. He was named interim chancellor of the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1996 and became chancellor in 1997.

During Wallace's time as chancellor, MU experienced record-breaking enrollment, sharply increased federal research support, and national awards for the quality of its undergraduate programs. Wallace recently completed a term as president of the Missouri Council on Public Higher Education, which includes the state's four-year colleges and universities.

"Chancellor Wallace has served the University of Missouri with distinction for nearly four decades," UM System President Elson S. Floyd said. "Richard is a recognized leader in higher education, and his contributions will have a positive impact on the lives of Mizzou students and alumni for years to come."

Floyd announced that he would use the transitional year to explore consolidation of administrative positions and functions between the UM System and MU, including combining the positions of UM President and MU Chancellor when Wallace retires next year.

"The University of Missouri System as it is currently organized has added value to the statewide system of higher education since 1963," Floyd said. "It remains an ideal organizational model for the delivery of higher education programs in our state; however, in view of recent budget reductions and our continuing commitment to quality, we are focusing on consolidation."

During the past two years, the University has absorbed cuts in state appropriations and mid-year withholdings totaling $126 million. In fiscal year 2004, which began July 1, the University will be faced with additional reductions of $32.4 million.

"We have reduced administrative overhead about as far as we can given our present structure and missions," Floyd said. "Bold steps must be taken if we are to position the University to address budgetary constraints in FY05 and beyond." Floyd said that mounting fiscal pressures, coupled with Wallace's decision to retire next year, presented the University with a window of opportunity to consider adopting a new model for higher education to better serve the needs of the state's citizens.

The UM System Board of Curators has authorized the president to conduct a comprehensive review of organizational entities within the UM System and the MU campus and to make such changes as he deems necessary and in the best interest of the University to streamline or consolidate administrative positions and functions of the two organizations. Floyd said that the organizational structure initially would remain intact, with reporting relationships of administrators remaining unchanged.

"My primary objective in considering consolidation is to create a university organization that is relevant to our times. We will streamline University operations while preserving the quality of the educational enterprise and the unique strengths of each of our four campuses and University Extension," Floyd said.

Chancellor Wallace's biography is attached.

Contact: Mary Jo Banken

Director, MU News Bureau

(573) 882-6212

BankenM@missouri.edu

Richard L. Wallace, Chancellor, University of Missouri-Columbia (MU)

On November 14, 1997, Richard L. Wallace was appointed chancellor of the University of Missouri-Columbia, his campus home since 1966. His leadership of MU has been notable for strategic planning; an open budget process; the fastest growth rate in federal research support in the Association of American Universities; a focus on the life sciences; increases in the size, academic accomplishment and diversity of entering classes; significant growth in private fund-raising; and partnerships with other institutions.

Chancellor Wallace began his collegiate career as a student at Northwestern University where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in journalism in 1958. He went on to earn a doctorate in economics from Vanderbilt University in 1965. After working as an instructor and assistant professor of economics at Florida State University from 1961-1966, Dr. Wallace was hired as an assistant professor of economics and community health and medical practices at MU. He quickly rose through the ranks to associate professor and then professor, with research and teaching interests related primarily to public utility regulation and health economics. From 1975-1996, he also chaired the planning committee for a national symposium on public utility regulation.

While climbing the academic ladder at MU, Dr. Wallace also proved himself an able administrator. From 1967-1970, he served as chair of the Department of Economics. Two years later, he became director of the Business and Public Administration Research Center, serving concurrently as assistant dean for research in the College of Administration and Public Affairs until 1974.

From 1975-1978, Dr. Wallace was associate dean of the Graduate School with responsibilities that included academic computing, graduate fellowship programs and the school's budget. He served as interim dean of the Graduate School for a year before returning to the role of associate dean when he also assumed responsibility for the Office of Research until 1982.

Dr. Wallace's growing reputation for leadership next led to an appointment as interim dean of the College of Arts and Science from 1982-1983, during which time he developed a computer-based information system and academic plan for the college. In 1983 he became associate provost, a position he held for two years in which he was a key player in University planning and program review.

His next administrative destination was the University of Missouri System Office of Academic Affairs where he was associate vice president from 1985 to 1989 and vice president for academic affairs from 1989 to 1996. In that role, he was responsible for UM policies on academic programs, personnel, planning, and the promotion of quality in research and scholarship. He was named interim chancellor of the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1996 and chancellor in 1997.

During his years as chancellor, Dr. Wallace has remained committed to a vision of enhancing MU's standing among the nation's leading land-grant, research universities. But one of his proudest accomplishments during this time is the adoption of a set of campus values that have become a centerpiece of the University community. Now enshrined on Francis Quadrangle, those values are respect, responsibility, discovery and excellence. Other significant accomplishments in which Chancellor Wallace takes great pride-- and for which he gives the faculty full credit--are MU's receipt of the nationally prestigious Hesburgh Award for excellence in general education and recognition by the National Science Foundation for involving undergraduates in research.

Chancellor Wallace has served on many University, community and national boards and councils. Currently, he is MU's representative to the Association of American Universities, is chairman of the Missouri Council on Public Higher Education, and is on the board of directors for the First National Bank and Trust Company. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Big 12 Conference and on the NCAA Division-I Committee on Athletic Certification.

The recipient of numerous honors, Dr. Wallace has received the Faculty Service Award from the National Continuing Education Association and the J. Rhoads Foster Award for outstanding contributions to the public utility regulatory process. He has been honored as Communicator of the Year by the Mid-Missouri Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America and awarded an honorary doctor of philosophy degree by Chonnam National University in Korea. In 1998, he was inducted into Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism Hall of Achievement.

Chancellor Wallace and Patricia, his wife of 45 years, are the parents of two Mizzou graduates, Sandra Wallace and Lisa Evans, and the grandparents of two future Tigers, Bradley and Brittany Evans.