Gov. Jay Nixon officially appointed Columbia representative Craig Van Matre to the UM System Board of Curators on Thursday.
This comes after Nixon withdrew Van Matre’s nomination last month, after Senate President Pro Term Rob Mayer, R-Dexter, held up his appointment. By pulling the nomination, Nixon preserved the ability to appoint Van Matre in the future.
“I was pleased to nominate Craig in January, and I am pleased to appoint him again now,” Nixon said in a statement. “Craig offers the experience, knowledge and professionalism to be an effective voice for the citizens of the region, especially during the selection of a new president. Although Craig’s nomination should not have unnecessarily languished for months in the Senate, I know he will make immediate and continuing contributions to the Board.”
Nixon said Van Matre will serve as an important part of the search for the next UM System president.
“I don’t pretend to understand the political situation in Jefferson City or what the complications are, so I’ve just been a spectator on all of this just like you have,” Van Matre said.
Van Matre, who is filling former curator Bo Fraser’s seat, said he wasn’t exactly sure how he felt after learning of his appointment.
“’Happy’ is not the accurate emotion,” he said. “I want to be of service and assistance to the university if I can, but it’s an enormous job. It’s the kind of thing that you don’t really appreciate until you try to start to understand all of the things that have gone on before and all of the things that are going on now. It’s going to take me a while to get up to speed.”
He said the board sees many complex issues such as the revamping of the retirement plan, and he will put in the time to fully understand these issues.
“I need to get started on understanding those issues,” he said. “It’s just one thing after another that you need to spend time at night in a room that’s quiet, reading documents that may not make a lot of sense and calling people to help you understand them. I intend to do that.”
Still, he said this will take some time. He is meeting Friday with officials from the university who will educate him on the system, as he missed the curators’ official orientation meeting in May.
“I’ve tried to watch what is going on in the press, but it’s hard to do a cram course on how to manage a university from afar,” he said. “I suspect it will take me several months to understand most of the current issues, let alone some of the ones that will come up in the future.”
Board Chairman Warren Erdman told The Maneater in May that orientation is integral for new members of the board.
“It has been recognized for some time as a best practice to have new board members participate in an orientation early in their term so they can gain a better understanding of the institution,” he said.
Once the Senate reconvenes in January, it has 30 days to confirm Van Matre – who is now serving on an interim basis – to the board. If this doesn’t happen, Van Matre will be barred from ever serving on the board in the future.
Before the Senate reconvenes, however, the board is expected to appoint the next UM System president. Van Matre will be closely involved in the search.
Van Matre will serve as a voting member of the board at next week’s meeting in Columbia, where he will join Don Cupps and David Steward, the board’s other two new members. One seat is still left open, that of David Russell. Russell’s term ended Jan. 1.
An MU alum, Van Matre now works at a law firm in Columbia.