Missing curators could delay partner benefits vote

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A push to offer domestic partner benefits to workers at the University of Missouri's Columbia campus appears to be on hold because of two vacancies on the nine-member board of curators.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reported Monday that a former Faculty Council chairwoman wants the conservative-leaning board to hold off on the proposal until Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, fills two slots on the board.

The vacancies occurred when two Democrats left the board before their terms expire Jan. 1. The curators have one more scheduled meeting this year, Dec. 6 and 7 in St. Louis, making it unlikely new members will be appointed.

Four Republicans and three Democrats now serve on the board, which by law can have no more than five members of the same political party. Nixon faces a November general election against Republican business owner Dave Spence.

New UM system president Tim Wolfe said in February he wanted the board to decide the issue this year. Wolfe reiterated that stance Friday at a curators' meeting in Columbia.

The state's newly redrawn congressional districts also are a factor in the curator vacancies.

One of the board's vacancies is for a seat representing the 9th Congressional District to succeed Bo Fraser of Columbia, who left in 2010. But after January, that district will no longer exist, with Columbia part of a newly drawn 4th District.

Pam Henrickson of Jefferson City, the current 4th District curator, will be part of the 3rd Congressional District in January. The governor's office did not respond to several phone calls and emails seeking comment, the Tribune reported.

Leona Rubin, the former faculty group leader and longtime backer of expanding employee benefits to same-sex couples, said "there's a very good chance" the current board would not approve of the change.

"I think it would be better to have a full body vote on this than push it through," said Rubin, an associate professor of veterinary biomedicine. "One or two months is not going to make a difference in the big picture."

Supporters of such expanded benefits include Columbia campus chancellor Brady Deaton and Missouri athletic director Mike Alden. They note that more than 300 colleges and universities already have such perks in place for faculty and staff. So do many of the nation's Fortune 500 companies.

In April, the Missouri University of Science and Technology became the UM System's final campus to approve a resolution supporting domestic partner benefits.

Rubin and others have said the university system risks losing the chance to hire talented professors without the expanded benefits.

"This is not about giving up marriage. This is about equality for the employees they hire," she said. "It would be embarrassing if it failed."

Board chairman David Bradley, a Republican from St. Joseph, said the board has not discussed domestic partner benefits, nor has he talked to Wolfe about it.

"I think we need a little more discussion before we have to vote on this thing," said Bradley, who in the past has cited concerns about financial implications. The UM System has estimated that expanding benefits to same-sex couples would add about $1 million to benefit costs.

------

Information from: Columbia Daily Tribune, http://www.columbiatribune.com