Mizzou chancellor speaks to alumni in Cape, says university will focus on donations and research

As the University of Missouri in Columbia copes with declining state appropriations, it will focus on increasing research opportunities and gaining financial support from donors.

Chancellor Brady Deaton spoke to roomful of alumni Wednesday at Celebrations in downtown Cape Girardeau. The Southeast Black and Gold chapter of the alumni association sponsored the event. The university has about 1,900 alumni in Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Perry and Scott counties.

Deaton said faculty salaries and deferred maintenance have been hardest hit by the decrease in appropriations. He said the university has spends about $12 million per year on building maintenance. The university should be spending about $30 million for upkeep and 34 campus buildings need renovations.

In 2001 the university received $193 million from the state compared to $189 million this year. If state appropriations kept up with inflation and enrollment increases, it would have received $319 million, he said. Enrollment grew by 3.7 percent this year to 31,314 students.

The university will focus on increasing donations and research moving forward. He said soliciting support from state legislators is still a priority to maintain the purpose of a public institution.

"Private funding in no way offsets our needs from the state," he said.

During the previous fiscal year the university raised $123 million from donors. So far, the university has raised $41.8 million toward its goal of $100 million for the current fiscal year.

Research is a priority for the university to create new jobs and technology. He said the university brought in more than $203 million in research funding from external agencies in fiscal year 2008. The university accounted for 73 percent of research money coming into the state's public universities, he said.

Deaton also spoke about the university's recently unveiled program, Mizzou Advantage. The program increases funding to five interdisciplinary areas of study: food-related research, new media, food and animal health, sustainable energy and transformational technologies. The program will increase visibility, he said.

"We cannot be all things to all people," he said.

The university will invest $6 million a year into the program to hire staff and expand research opportunities. He said the program resulted in prioritization in hard economic times. It will lead to more collaboration across department lines, a weakness in higher education, he said.

abusch@semissourian.com

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