Keeping tuition affordable is the top goal of the University of Missouri’s most-recently appointed curator.
When Cape Girardeau attorney Mike Ponder joins the UM System Board of Curators during June 13 at its
Annual Meeting, he says his main goal will be keeping tuition affordable for students at Missouri’s four state universities. He says another key objective is to focus on research. Although the University of Missouri– the state’s largest public university – has seen enrollment increase in the past few years years, Ponder says he is against capping enrollment: “As a university system, we are beholden to the citizens of our state and again, we want to make that as accessible to our citizens as possible. So I think capping admissions is the wrong way to go,” Ponder said.
Ponder’s appointment is subject to approval by the State Senate, and it won’t be the first time the Senate
considers Ponder. Gov. Jay Nixon first appointed Ponder last January, but the Senate did not confirm him at that time. If he is confirmed, Ponder will serve on the Board of Curators until the end of 2018. The board is responsible for overseeing the four state-run campuses in the UM system.
