University Of Missouri President & Chancellor Resign, Football Team Returns After Race-Relations Protests

The University of Missouri’s president, Tim Wolfe, and its chancellor, R. Bowen Loftin, have announced their plans to resign their posts following protests from black student leaders – including members of the football team – over racial tensions at the university.

Missouri President, Chancellor Resign

Black student groups at the University of Missouri, led by the Concerned Student 1950 organization, have been calling for Wolfe’s resignation on the grounds that he has failed to adequately address the issue of racism on campus. A graduate student named Jonathan Butler went on a hunger strike, and 30 members of the school’s football team refused to play until Wolfe stepped down.

On Monday, Wolfe said that he took “full responsibility for the frustration” felt by the students, and that he hoped in his absence that students and staff can “heal and start talking again to make the changes necessary,” reported CTV News.

Loftin, shortly after Wolfe’s announcement, said that he would step down from his chancellorship at the end of the year.

Following the announcements, students celebrated the on-campus victory that came about as a result of a weeklong sit-in on the university’s plaza. In addition to Wolfe’s resignation, the organized body has sought a 10-year plan for welcoming more marginalized students, as well as hiring more minorities to work at the university’s counseling center.

Racial tensions have been high over the last year at the University of Missouri, particularly in the aftermath of Michael Brown‘s shooting death in Ferguson, Mo., which is about 120 miles away from the campus.