While many students may have made their way home for the summer, events on MU’s campus continued, and changes were made in how MU allocates its funding.
One such change was a new financial model that MU unveiled, the implementation of which will begin July 1, 2020. This model will change how tuition from undergraduate and graduate students are allocated in order for those funds to go directly to the schools in which a student studies. The exact makeup of this allocation will be determined based on the credit hours in which a student is enrolled for each school.
In the new system, any MU departments that do not directly create revenue for the university, such as the Office of the Chancellor, the Office of Finance and the Office of the Provost, will formulate their own budget requests. These requests will then be overseen by an independent oversight committee made up of MU students, faculty and staff.
“The work of this committee will have an impact on MU far into the future, and I am extremely grateful for everyone’s diligence,” MU Chancellor Alexander N. Cartwright told the MU News Bureau. “We are committed to making sure we continue to use every resource entrusted to us in a fiscally responsible manner. This new model helps us maintain that good work.”
Another development that occurred during summer break was that the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources received an $8.6 million grant from the National Institute of Health in order to create a new biomedical research center. The NIH grant began on June 1 and will be distributed annually through 2024.
The research center, known as The Swine Somatic Cell Genome Editing Center, is developing biomedical treatments for human conditions such as cystic fibrosis by testing these techniques on swine. These treatments will be based around gene editing.
“As new gene-editing tools come down the pipeline, this center will develop more efficient processes to apply them to disease treatments,” Kevin Wells, co-lead researcher on the NIH grant and an associate professor of genetics in MU’s Division of Animal Sciences, told MU News Bureau.
Additionally, MU announced the appointment of a new Vice-Provost for Student Affairs in William Stackman. Stackman, an MU alumnus, has served in roles at the University of Illinois, Notre Dame, Texas A&M and Temple. Most recently Stackman served as the vice president of student services at Notre Dame.
Other events that took place at MU over the summer included the Fun Family Fishing Nights, the MU Tiger Treasures Rummage Sale, the Lego Camps and more. With many students returning to campus in the fall, there will be many events to look out for in the weeks and months to come at MU.
_Edited by Laura Evans | levans@themaneater.com_
