By Sarah Ashworth, KBIA
Columbia, Mo. – Plans to fold Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville into the University of Missouri system are off.
Northwest Missouri President Dean Hubbard said Friday that he and UM system President Elson Floyd do not plan to pursue the merger this legislative season.
The two leaders met in Kansas City Thursday to discuss future priorities.
UM system spokesperson Joe Moore says both Hubbard and Floyd want to be clear to legislators that funding each of their respective schools is the top priority.
"The University of Missouri's sole priority this year is going to be financial health, and so Dr. Hubbard and Dr. Floyd do not want any additional distractions as we pursued fully funding our operating and capital budgets," Moore said.
Moore says the two schools will continue to work together, and the University will aid Northwest as it becomes involved in bio-pharmaceuticals, as part of the Maryville school's recent agreement with the California pharmaceutical company, Ventria Bioscience.
The merger would have meant the first major campus addition to the UM system since 1963, when it merged with the University of Kansas City and created a St. Louis campus.