After more than two decades of service, Brady Deaton's time as the University of Missouri's chancellor has come to an end. Friday marks the end of Deaton's tenure. He will now look to begin working for the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development, a position that he was appointed to by President Barack Obama in 2011.
Chris Kelly, Missouri state representative, commended the leadership that Deaton has displayed while at MU.
"Managing campus is difficult,” he says. “Faculty members have tenures and they are brilliant people but they're also strong-willed and to try to get them to come back and compromise and reach the common interest of the institution is a difficult task."
Kelly says it's Deaton's understanding of the university's role as a research institution that makes him a great advocate for MU.
Deaton arrived in Columbia in 1989 as a professor of agricultural economics. It was then that he began his journey that would ultimately lead him to the school's top position.
Thomas Payne has worked alongside Deaton as the dean of College of Agriculture Food and Natural Resources. Payne says he is optimistic about the state of MU's future with a new chancellor.
"I think everyone is excited about going forward based on the developments that Chancellor Deaton put in place,” he says. “I think everyone's positive, I just don't anticipate setbacks."
As Deaton moves on, several things will remain for years to come that can be attributed to his time at MU like the switch to the SEC and the movement to create an all-inclusive "OneMizzou."
Payne says he appreciates the love the Deatons always expressed to those around them.
"Brady and Anne made us feel like a Mizzou family," he says.