University of Missouri president says he cut student groups’ funding ‘to protect the institution’
University of Missouri President Mun Y. Choi gave his State of the University Address in March 2022 (photo courtesy of the University of Missouri).
UM System President Mun Choi said he was responsible for the university’s funding cuts to several multicultural student organizations, citing concerns over Department of Justice investigations into other universities in a Wednesday faculty meeting.
“It wasn’t an easy decision, but I decided that I needed to protect the institution, so that’s the decision that I made,” Choi said in the meeting.
On April 3, university administration informed leaders of student organizations that all multicultural umbrella associations will lose direct funding from the University of Missouri’s Division of Student Affairs. These organizations will be reclassified as Registered Student Organizations, or RSOs, starting in July.
Affected groups include The Legion of Black Collegians, Association of Latin American Students, Asian American Association, Queer Liberation Front, Four Front and Filling in the Space. LBC also lost its student government status.
At the faculty meeting, Choi cited a July 2025 memo from the DOJ that said universities must follow Title VI, Title IX and the 14th Amendment in order to receive federal funding. He said an internal investigation indicated that previous Mizzou funding was not in accordance with these policies.
“In discussing with our team, including our general counsel’s office, our initial review indicated that we are not in compliance with Title VI because we’re providing specific benefits to certain groups based on demographics,” Choi said.
Choi also referenced DOJ investigations into Columbia University and the University of California System over allegations of Title VI violations, adding that Columbia lost $400 million in funding following an investigation.
In response to the funding cuts, students gathered for a town hall meeting on April 6 to express their concerns about the decision. Allen Auditorium in the Arts & Science building reached capacity with attendees, and over 400 people tuned into the livestream on Instagram.
Funding for RSOs comes from requests to the Organization Resource Group. Under the new funding model, these organizations will face a single event cap of $1,500 and a yearly cap of $3,000, though Choi said there may be an opportunity for this cap to be raised.
All of these funding changes are part of a larger update to the Division of Student Affairs’ student organization classification system.
In the audio recording shared at the town hall, Angela King Taylor, vice chancellor of student affairs, provided examples of the three new classifications.
Most of Mizzou’s 600 student organizations will be classified as RSOs, meaning their funding comes from requests to the ORG office.
The second classification is Sponsored Student Organizations, including groups affiliated with the university. These organizations operate through students but have guidance from the organizations’ assigned university administrator. King Taylor pointed to the Graduate Professional Council and the Missouri Students Association as examples of Sponsored Student Organizations.
The last classification is University Programs, which includes organizations created by the university for “the benefit of the students and the institution,” according to Mizzou’s Get Involved website.
“So think Welcome Week leaders, Campus Activities Programming Board … So ‘true’ university programs,” King Taylor said.
The university said in an email that most organizations will not change classifications, and those who will change are being contacted.
This story was originally published by KOMU. It can be republished in print or online.
