Issue date: 10/8/07

The St Louis Current

 

University of Missouri Interim President Gordon Lamb.

Media Credit: www.umsystem.edu Newly apoointed General Counsel Stephen K. Owens.

At the University of Missouri Board of Curators meeting last Friday, the curators engaged in a debate and faced a vote on what some considered a politically divisive issue.

A proposed supplement to the stem cell research initiative passed in 2006 by a political organization named Cures Without Cloning would limit the state in allocating money for the purpose of stem cell research. Interim UM President Gordon Lamb took a strong stance against the amendment in a press release.

The amendment reads, "No taxpayer dollars should be used to research or experiment using a human organism or any part of a human organism derived from cloning or attempting to clone a human being."

In a statement made public on Sept. 7, Lamb stated the political organization's attempt to place an amendment to the bill for stem cell research on the November 2008 ballot would strongly hinder academic research.

"And they are doing so in a way that could permanently destroy the future of research in the state and in its universities," Lamb said in his statement regarding the Cures without Cloning initiative.

"Research must have the same protection, a protection from the few who, seeking to reinforce their own personal biases, would shut down research done by highly competent and dedicated scientists." Lamb said.

UM-St. Louis Chancellor Thomas George also spoke against the issue in his State of the University Address on Sept. 18 echoing Lamb's declaration.

On Friday, at UM-Columbia, the Board of Curators took the next step in the UM system's push against the possible amendment. In a 6-1 vote, the curators passed a resolution brought forward by Curator Judith Haggard that encouraged the board to protect the University's rights to further scientific research in the field of somatic stem cells.

Curators David Wasinger and John Carnahan abstained from voting on the resolution. Wasinger and Russell voiced concerns that the board was throwing itself into a political battle that in the future could hinder the board's bias towards other situations.

Allegedly, the board was notified of Lamb's statement only after the media was informed. However, Lamb alleges that he issued copies of the statement to the curators before it was released to the public.

UM-St. Louis SGA Vice President Cadence Rippeto said the issue was abrupt, and that the meeting was going along without heated discussion until Haggard introduced the resolution.

"It seemed that all of a sudden there was a heated debate with Curator Wasinger being most outspoken about the issue," Rippeto said.

SGA President Bryan Goers said a couple of the curators were upset that the vote had been brought up unannounced.

"Russell and Wasinger really objected to the fact that it wasn't in the board materials that get sent out ahead of time," he said.

Goers said it was difficult to tell if the curators were simply backing Lamb and the system chancellors, or if they were taking a stance on stem cell research as a political issue.

"How the resolution was worded and brought up, it seemed to be supporting the president," he said. "I interpreted it as the curators supporting the previous statements."

Board documents are normally sent out ahead of the curators meeting and posted online the week of the meeting.

The curators also appointed a replacement for retiring General Counsel Marvin "Bunky" Wright who will vacate his position as of Dec. 31, 2007, according to a press release by the curators.

Stephen K. Owens will be his replacement. Owens is a partner at Stindson Morrison Hecker, LLP in Kansas City, which has 360 lawyers between eight offices. Owens' base salary was announced by the University to be $290,000 plus benefits and incentives.

Owens is a graduate of UM-Columbia, and he received his law degree from Wake Forest University in 1980. Wright has been General Counsel for the university since 1998.