####Fundraising campaign

MU administrators announced a $1.3 billion fundraising campaign on Oct. 8 during an event at Mizzou Arena. The fundraising campaign, dubbed “Mizzou: Our Time to Lead” is the largest in the university’s history. Money raised will help increase MU’s endowment, develop “signature centers and institutes” which have individual endowments of $10 million or more, and kickstart the construction of several new buildings, part of what MU is calling a “campus renaissance.”

####Loftin responds to racial injustice

Less twenty-four hours after racial slurs were hurled at members of Legion of Black Collegians Homecoming during their rehearsal at Traditions Plaza on Oct. 5, Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin responded by posting a video of himself personally condemning acts of racial prejudice on campus. In a lengthy written statement, Loftin announced the university’s plan to hire a Vice Chancellor for Inclusion, Diversity and Equity, the re-evaluation and diversification of faculty recruitment methods and the promise of a Campus Climate Survey meant to gather information about race issues on campus.

In addition, Loftin announced the university’s plan to develop diversity and inclusion training for all faculty, staff and students. All incoming students will be required to complete diversity training. Students will be barred from enrolling in classes unless they successfully complete the training.

####Graduate student unionization

The Forum on Graduate Rights announced their plans for unionization during a forum in Keller Auditorium on Oct. 1. Graduate students hope that through collective bargaining, they will be able to secure dignified working conditions, acquire strong protections and benefits, and represent the full diversity of the graduate student population. The Coalition of Graduate Workers, formerly the organizing committee of the Forum on Graduate Rights, hopes to acquire the 2,000 signatures needed to hold an official election to authorize their union as soon as December 2015.