Wayne Vaught, dean for the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) has withdrawn from consideration for Wright State University provost.
Public forums and private meetings that Vaught was scheduled to attend, which were set for Apr. 19 – 21, have since been cancelled, according to an email from the Provost Search Committee.
According to Seth Bauguess, director of Communications at Wright State, Vaught withdrew for personal reasons.
Like Wright State, UMKC has been struggling with financial difficulties. Kansas City Business Journal reports that just today the university announced the elimination of 17 positions. Over the past few years there have been attempts to cut $24 million from the university budget.
UMKC is one of four University of Missouri campuses located within Kansas City. During the summer of 2017, the University of Missouri system had to slash $101 million from the budgets of all four campuses, which has resulted in the elimination of nearly 500 positions.
“We are facing a period of significant budget constraints that will require us to take bold actions to become a stronger academic institution in both the short and long term,” said University of Missouri System President Mun Choi, according to a Kansas City Star report.
The next candidates will visit over the course of next week. More information about the provost search process is available on the university website.
