JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's public higher education institutions are mired in mediocrity and need structural changes to help them achieve excellence, a gubernatorial commission exploring ways to reorganize state government was told Friday.

Crosby Kemper III of Kansas City said none of the taxpayer-funded universities in Missouri has a national reputation, although some individual programs at those schools are held in high regard. Kemper led a task force that studied higher education issues during the administration of former governor Bob Holden.

The weak governing structure of the Missouri Department of Higher Education is partly to blame, Kemper said.

"We've had very little accountability in this state," Kemper said. "We've had no focus on excellence in my opinion."

The Coordinating Board of Higher Education, which is appointed by the governor, has nominal oversight of the department and public colleges and universities. In practice, however, individual institutions for the most part control their own affairs. The independent governing boards that are supposed to run each school have been reduced to the role of "cheerleaders" for their institutions, Kemper said.

Kemper suggested creating a strong secretary of education appointed by and accountable to the governor. That position, Kemper said, could also oversee the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which currently is separate from higher education.

Kemper made his comments before the Government Review Commission, which Gov. Matt Blunt created to spearhead the first major reorganization of state government in three decades. Gary Rust, the president of Rust Communications, which owns the Southeast Missourian, is a commission member.

No Missouri institution would come close to making a short list of the nation's top public universities, Woody Cozad of Kansas City said. Although a former member of the University of Missouri Board of Curators, Cozad criticized the structure of the four-campus UM System.

"It is perfectly designed to give us less than we want," Cozad said.

High turnover among decision makers within the system is partly to blame, he said. In recent times, system presidents and campus chancellors have tended to stay only five or six years, contributing to a lack of continuity in vision. And while members of the board of curators had commonly served multiple six-year terms, it has become the practice of recent administrations to not reappoint members, he said. As a result, policies the board establishes are quickly undone as new members join.

Cozad said there might no longer be a need for the extra layer of bureaucracy the UM System provides and suggested making the four UM campuses in Columbia, Rolla, St. Louis and Kansas City independent institutions.

Truman State University president Barbara Dixon, however, advocated for maintaining the status quo.

"We do not believe the current system is broken or dysfunctional," said Dixon, adding that a greater financial commitment for taxpayers to higher education would help schools improve.

Dixon was speaking on behalf of the Council on Public Higher Education, which represents all 13 of Missouri's four-year public institutions, including Southeast Missouri State University.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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