MU vice chancellor going to Rice

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Jim Coleman, University of Missouri-Columbia's vice chancellor for research, announced Friday that he will take a position as vice provost for research at Rice University in Houston.

"I'm leaving for a great opportunity at one of the world's best private institutions," Coleman said. "I'm not running away. I love this place."

Coleman, 46, who came to Missouri in 2003 as vice provost for research, headed an effort that last year raked in more than $174 million in external research funding.

During Coleman's tenure, the University of Missouri made strides toward becoming an economic engine for Missouri and building a national reputation as a life sciences research facility. Construction recently began on a business incubator near the university's Research Reactor and on Discovery Ridge, a research park on 114 acres.

"Jim has been a vital part of our success and we thank him for his years of service to this institution," MU provost Brian Foster said in a news release.

Coleman said Rice, with a $4 billion endowment and 2,600 undergraduate students, has the fourth largest endowment per student of any institution in the country.

"The income from Rice's endowment fund is about the same magnitude as the state's appropriation for teaching even though the student body is one-tenth the size," he said. "It's hard for MU to compete with institutions that are funded like that in the current climate that we have in the state."

Coleman's departure follows the resignation of University of Missouri system President Elson Floyd, who was named president of Washington State University in Pullman, Wash., and John Gardner, University of Missouri vice president for research and economic development, who also took a job with Washington State.