University of Missouri prepares employees for possible federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate

An executive order requiring organizations with federal contracts to require workers to get vaccinated may be coming soon to the University of Missouri, UM System President and MU Chancellor Mun Choi wrote Tuesday in an email sent throughout the system.

Formal action will require a vote of the UM System Board of Curators, which previously voted to prohibit vaccine mandates except where they existed already. 

The board's next regular meeting is Nov. 18 at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Several higher education institutions have adopted mandates for faculty, staff and employees based on the executive order for organizations with federal contracts.

Private employers with federal contracts also are requiring workers to get vaccinated. Those include 3M, where local workers have staged protests.

The email notes the UM System holds many federal contracts.

"In recent weeks, the UM System has been reviewing the details and processes that would be needed to comply with the new rules at each of its universities," the email states. "We have also been monitoring the national situation and evolving legal interpretation of how these new rules are carried out, as well as any legal challenges."

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Implementing a mandate would be complicated by Gov. Mike Parson's order banning state agencies from requiring workers to get vaccines.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt last week joined a 10-state coalition suing to block the federal requirement. 

"We will work closely with the offices of the governor and the attorney general to ensure that any plans we implement will satisfy the key points included in the governor’s order,” the statement reads. "Any decision or plan for how the University of Missouri will move forward will require a vote of the Board of Curators."

Faculty reacts to email

In a survey of MU faculty conducted through the MU Faculty Council, 85% of respondents said they thought all faculty, staff and students should be vaccinated.

There wasn't a specific question on the survey about a vaccine mandate, but last month, the Faculty Council in a vote of 19-8 approved a resolution asking the Board of Curators to require vaccines for all faculty, staff and students.

The debate was lively, according to the meeting minutes.

At the same meeting, the Faculty Council approved by an 18-9 vote a resolution asking the Board of Curators to extend its mask requirement in classrooms and meeting rooms. Instead, the board let it expire.

The University of Missouri is an outlier, with more than 800 colleges and universities adopting requirements for proof of vaccination, wrote Rabia Gregory, MU associate professor of religious studies, in an email

The UM System is positioned between political pressure and maintaining a safe working and learning environment on campus and is using that to avoid making a decision, wrote Gregory, who is also a member of the Faculty Council.

"Campus leadership must decide between the possible financial consequences of not implementing the federal vaccine mandate, potential litigation at the state level for imposing mandates, and health risks to employees, students and their families," Gregory wrote. "Rather than making a decision, they are waiting for decisions made by external forces at the state and national levels. In postponing a decision, they are asking us to take significant risks for our own health and the health of our families."

It's clear from the survey results that most on campus favor everyone getting vaccinated, said David Singh, Curators Distinguished Professor of physics and astronomy.

"This email is not a commitment for a vaccine," Singh said. "To me it's disappointing that the university would take that position."

It was hoped that the Faculty Council resolution would give Choi information he could use with the Board of Curators, said Singh, another member of the Faculty Council.

The email also suggests that the UM System may be willing to defy the federal executive order if Missouri politicians oppose it, Singh said.

If the UM System takes that approach, he would oppose it, he said.

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The statement asks that those who are fully vaccinated upload their proof of vaccination if they haven't done so already.

"It’s important for all faculty, staff and student employees to know they may be affected by the new requirements by Dec. 8," the statement reads. "Students who do not work for the university are not included under this order."

The UM System communication is meant to give employees time to get vaccinated if they aren't already vaccinated, it states.

The statement is signed by Choi; Mauli Agrawal, chancellor of University of Missouri-Kansas City; Mohammad Dehghani, chancellor of Missouri University of Science & Technology; and Kristin Sobolik, chancellor of UMSL.

rmckinney@columbiatribune.com

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