Mun Choi

Mun Choi
Choi in 2017
11th President of the University of Missouri System
Incumbent
Assumed office March 1, 2017
Preceded by	Tim Wolfe
10th Chancellor of the University of Missouri
Incumbent
Assumed office March 25, 2020 Acting: March 25, 2020 – July 28, 2020
Preceded by	Alexander Cartwright
Personal details
Born	Choi Mun Young (1964-03-19) March 19, 1964 (age 60) Seoul, South Korea
Children	3
Education	University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (BS) Princeton University (MS, PhD)
Scientific career
Fields	Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
Institutions	University of Illinois Chicago Drexel University University of Connecticut University of Missouri
Thesis	Droplet combustion characteristics under microgravity and normal-gravity conditions (1992)
Doctoral advisor	Frederick L. Dryer
Korean name
Hangul	최문영[1]
Hanja	崔門永
Revised Romanization	Choe Munyeong
McCune–Reischauer	Ch'oe Munyŏng

Mun Young Choi (Korean: 최문영; born March 19, 1964) is a Korean-American academic. He currently serves as Chancellor of the University of Missouri and President of the University of Missouri System.^[2] Prior to his appointment at Missouri he was Provost & Executive Vice President at the University of Connecticut.^[3] He has also taught at Drexel University and the University of Illinois at Chicago. He lives in Columbia, Missouri.

For updated list of achievements at the University of Missouri, refer to the "Office of the President" on the University of Missouri System site About_the_President

Choi was born in Seoul, South Korea.^[4] Choi immigrated to the United States in 1973, settling in Akron, Ohio with his parents and three younger sisters at the age of nine.^[4] He attended Leggett Primary School in Akron, Ohio, and Trumbull Primary School in the Andersonville neighborhood and Boone Middle School in the West Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. He graduated from Stephen Tyng Mather High School in Chicago in 1983. He earned a BS degree (1987) in General Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign and M.A. (1989) and Ph.D. (1992) degrees in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University.

This article may lend undue weight to certain ideas, incidents, or controversies. Please help improve it by rewriting it in a balanced fashion that contextualizes different points of view. (October 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

On March 1, 2017, Choi became president of the four-campus University of Missouri System.^[5] On March 25, 2020, Choi agreed to serve as interim Chancellor of the University of Missouri flagship campus in Columbia (MU).^[6][7] This position was made permanent on July 28, making Choi the first to be both Chancellor of the University of Missouri in Columbia and President of the University of Missouri System simultaneously.^[8][9]

In the spring of 2020, students at MU petitioned Choi to remove a bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson, purchased and installed by MU alumni in 2001, from the University of Missouri's Francis Quadrangle. Choi instead proposed it be "recontextualized" with input from a task force.^[10] Choi subsequently rebuked reporters (who are also on the MU journalism faculty) for making what he called "inappropriate" social-media comments about Choi's refusal to remove the statue and characterized the comments as attempts to undermine the university.^[11]

In July 2020, Choi and MU's provost fired the College of Education's dean, and when faced with criticism from some faculty,^[12] Choi reportedly demanded administrative support for this decision.^[11] This removal and its aftermath, along with his response regarding the Jefferson statue, has led to the criticism that Choi brooks no dissent.^[11]

During the fall of 2020, some MU students said that Choi blocked them on Twitter after they expressed COVID-related health and safety concerns about conditions on campus.^[13] Examples of concerns relate to COVID-19 testing protocols and lack of running water in some campus bathrooms.^[13] MU alumnus Christopher Bennett threatened legal action on First Amendment grounds over Choi's blocking of student accounts.^[14] MU justified Choi's actions by stating that he "has been on the receiving end of messages/tweets that were disrespectful and not constructive [and] some contained profanity."^[13]

Under Choi's leadership, the UM System completed the Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health building on MU's campus in October 2021. The opening was attended by Sen. Blunt and then NIH Director Francis Collins.^[15] The facility received bipartisan support.^[16] Shortly after the opening of NextGen, Choi announced MizzouForward – a $1.5 billion, ten-year initiative to invest in research on campus and hire at least 150 new faculty members.^[17]

The University of Missouri System has a $6.5 billion economic impact on Missouri's economy, an increase of about $1.1 billion from a similar report in 2018.^[18]

A faculty survey of Choi conducted in May 2022 found his performance "unsatisfactory", with the majority believing that Choi should not retain his position.^[19]

Research expenditures at the University of Missouri rose to a record $432 million in 2022^[20] and $462 million in 2023.

In 2023, Choi was named to the Southeastern Conference Executive Committee for 2023–2024. He will serve as vice president in 2025.^[21] He is also chair of the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities’ Commission on Food, Environment, and Renewable Resources.^[22]

Also in 2023, a survey showed that Missourians by wide margin think the state is better off with Mizzou here.^[23] For the fall 2023 semester, University of Missouri first-year student enrollment grew 3% and first-year retention reached an all-time high of 91%.^[24]

Mizzou was included in TIME Magazine's 2024 list of Best Colleges for Future Leaders.^[25] Student outcome rates also rose to 95.4%. Choi credited the increase with preparation students receive at MU.^[26] State funding for the University of Missouri increased 7% for 2024.^[27]

Mizzou faculty opinion of Choi vastly improved in 2024. The survey from May 2022 was conducted and the faculty's average scores from the 2024 report improved across all survey categories. In all but 4 of the 19 areas, most rankings by faculty of Choi were a 5, or outstanding. ^[28]

An article published in The Chronicle of Higher Education highlighted how President Choi has regained campus confidence. ^[29]

Announced July 23, 2024, the Universities D.E.I was dissolved due to a drop in Nationwide legislative mandates. The Inclusive campus, is expressed in the umsystem.edu about page, "A key outcome of the system structure is that resources are leveraged systemwide to create efficiencies, which in turn, free campus resources to be used for core mission areas and strategic priorities and helps to keep the cost of education affordable and a college degree attainable for all Missourians." (about-us page).

• History of the University of Missouri
• Elmer Ellis, the only other person to lead both the University of Missouri and the University of Missouri System (not at the same time)

• Office of the President
• Office of the Chancellor