University of Missouri system considers fifth campus plans

MARYVILLE, Mo. -- Discussions are under way to merge Northwest Missouri State University into the University of Missouri system as a fifth campus, and officials hope legislators will approve such a merger during this year's session.

Such a move would make the Missouri system much stronger and improve efforts to offer the best education possible throughout the state, said Elson Floyd, president of the University of Missouri system, at a news conference Monday in Maryville.

"In this time of budget crisis, it is incumbent upon us to look at ways of delivering high quality education to all Missourians," Floyd said. "This is precisely what this partnership is all about."

It would be the first major campus addition for the Missouri system since 1963, when it merged with the University of Kansas City and created its St. Louis campus. Found in Columbia as a land-grant institution in 1839, the university also has a campus in Rolla.

Together, the university system has enrollment of just over 60,000 students, while Northwest has about 6,500 students. Based in Maryville, Northwest has off-campus sites in St. Joseph, North Kansas City, Chillicothe, Trenton and Kirksville.

The merger would require approval by governing boards of both institutions and by the Legislature. While expressing hope the Legislature could approve the merger this year, Floyd said, "I'm not sure we can meet that timetable."

Dean Hubbard, president of Northwest Missouri, stressed his university was not pursuing the merger because it needs financial help.

"We are not in panic mode," Hubbard said. "Northwest is not coming into this in a weakened state. I can give you 100 different measures that show we are in good shape. I think that's the time to do something."

The early response from faculty and staff, said Northwest Provost Taylor Barnes, has been mostly positive. About 300 faculty and students attended a forum Monday afternoon to ask questions about the proposal.

"A lot of students say it could really help if we have access to different programs and faculty," said Nathan Lane, a sophomore. "Most of them are for it, if it doesn't affect the big things like population and tuition."

Both Floyd and Hubbard said the prospective merger would help their institutions operate more efficiently, particularly in human resources and budgeting. They said it was too early to give specific numbers on how much the merger might save at either institution, or on any possible effect on tuition rates.

Floyd said he has had informal discussions with key legislators, and Hubbard said he would like the merger to be complete within the next year.

"If it's not in place in a year, the likelihood of it happening diminishes greatly," Hubbard said.

Gov. Bob Holden said Monday Floyd told him about the preliminary talks last week. While Holden said he couldn't commit to signing any merger legislation without seeing it first, the governor added he doesn't see a down side to the talks.

"I've encouraged all of the institutions to be more creative," Holden said from Jefferson City. "I think this really kind of opens some discussions on how we can provide educational services efficiently across the board."

Sen. David Klindt, R-Bethany, whose district includes Northwest, said he only found out about the discussions late last week. But he said he was open to the idea and that it might be good for his area.

"I think there's some very good possibilities. By first appearance, I think it could be good for Northwest Missouri and I think it could save the state some money," Klindt said.

Klindt said he thought merging the two schools could potentially save the state money by cutting some overlapping programs and services.

"We're trying to think of what any of the downfalls could be, and as of yet, I haven't come up with any," he said.

Northwest was founded in 1905 as a regional normal school, which meant it focused on educating teachers. It still has a large enrollment in elementary and secondary education programs, as well as programs in agriculture and business.

"I think it might give us access to many more resources, particularly with scholarly activity," said Duane Jewell, a professor of agricultural business at Northwest. "Our mission has always been driven by student instruction. We might have more resources for a lot more research."

Officials at several of the state's other public universities, including Southwest Missouri State and Missouri Western State College, said they had not had any discussions with the Missouri system about a similar merger.

"We already are the only public university with a very distinctive liberal arts and science mission," said Heidi Templeton, director of public relations at Truman State University. "Are we considering becoming a part of the university system? Not at all at this time."

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On the Net

Northwest Missouri State University: www.nwmissouri.edu

University of Missouri system: www.system.missouri.edu