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Truman State President Resigns COLUMBIA, MO (KBIA) - The Truman State University president announced her resignation this week, saying she and the school's Board of Governors couldn't find common ground. KBIA's Maureen McCollum reports:

Truman State President Barbara Dixon says it became obvious that she and the Board of Governors weren't agreeing on what is best for the university. Dixon announced Tuesday she was stepping down after five years as president. The majority of the board is new, with eight of the ten members hired in the last year. Dixon says she and the board differed in their priorities, but she didn't mention any specific disagreements. She says her most controversial accomplishment was restructuring the academic departments and creating chairs.

There's still some faculty that are really not happy with that, but that may be the most unpopular. In the long run, it might be the most important thing that was done, because we have many, many more faculty leaders and I really, strongly believe leadership needs to go down to the ground level and has to be in smaller groups, so that's another thing that I'm very proud of.

Board of Governors Chair Mark Wasinger says the board and Dixon decided it was best she resign in order for the university to move forward. He says there wasn't a specific issue they disagreed on that led to her resignation.

Just during the course of our discussions, which were cordial and very professionally handled on both sides, there were some priorities discussed and some goals that both sides felt needed to be achieved. We got to the point where some stumbling blocks occurred in our contractual dealings. Both sides felt it was best President Dixon submit her resignation.

Wasinger says hiring an interim president is imminent and he has someone in mind. He says the board will announce the decision by the end of the week and that person will serve until a permanent replacement is found.

Dixon says she's proud of her accomplishments at Truman State. She oversaw the renovations to residence halls and to a student union building. Truman State is having its first major fundraiser and she says she wishes she could see it to the end. Dixon says for the first time in forty years, she doesn't know what she'll do next but hopes to continue working in higher education.
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