Rep. Kem Smith calls for clarity in MO Western recruitment

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – State Rep. Kem Smith, D-Florissant, is calling for more transparency from the leadership of Missouri Western State University amid recent allegations of discrimination in the institution’s recruitment efforts.

The allegations stem from an email message allegedly sent by a department director which outlined a list of specific schools from which the university was no longer actively recruiting. If such an allegation were true, it would represent an abandonment of the institution’s core mission, to provide “a student-centered learning community preparing individuals for lives of excellence through applied learning.”

“While I appreciate university leadership retaining an outside attorney to perform an ‘unbiased and thorough investigation,’ merely stating that the investigation was concluded is hardly sufficient given the weight and public impact of the allegations,” Smith said. “The public’s trust in this institution has been shaken and the burden is on its Board of Governors to restore it.”

The results of the investigation stating that no wrongdoing took place carry little weight given that the public now knows that harm did take place. For a period, an unknown number of students in these St. Louis County, St. Louis City, and Kansas City area schools have been irrevocably denied the college consideration they worked so hard to achieve.

This matter should not be considered “closed” until the University’s Board of Governors provides a full public explanation of the incidents that led up to the edict to end recruitment at select schools, as well as a published statement reaffirming a commitment to working with all students.

If more information is not available to the public yet because of any new, ongoing investigation, Rep. Smith said the board should, at the very least, provide the public with more details and updates on when that information will be available.