Top Of The Morning News: Wednesday, December 14, 2011

KCUR

Published December 14, 2011 at 7:29 AM CST

Timothy Wolfe will take over as University of Missouri System President February 15, 2012.

Timothy Wolfe Named New University of Missouri President
Environmentalists Seek To Protect Ozark National Scenic Riverways
Pros And Cons Of A Mayoral Takeover Of Schools

Timothy Wolfe Named New University of Missouri President

The University of Missouri System has a new president. Columbia native and Mizzou alumnus Timothy Wolfe was announced as an on-campus ceremony Tuesday. Wolfe spent 20 years working at IBM and recently worked as president of the software company Novell Americas. Despite his lack of experience in academia, Wolfe says he has a passion for higher education. Read the story here.

Environmentalists Seek To Protect Ozark National Scenic Riverways

A statewide coalition of environmental groups and advocates has submitted five thousand signed petitions to the National Park Service, urging the agency to do more to protect the Ozark National Scenic Riverways in Missouri. The coalition says overdevelopment, overuse, and excessive vehicle traffic are taking their toll on the Ozark's Current River system. The National Park Service is expected to release a new draft management plan for the Ozark National Scenic Riverways by the spring of 2012. Find out more here.

Pros And Cons Of A Mayoral Takeover Of Schools

Kansas Citians have been wringing their hands about the future of the Kansas City Missouri School District for decades. On December 1, 2011, Mayor James proposed a mayoral takeover of the district, which would mean eliminating the elected board. About a dozen cities around the country have moved to some kind of mayor-led governance model in the past 20 years, including Chicago, Boston, New York City and Washington, DC. Detroit tried it for six years and then returned to a system led by an elected school board. KCUR’s Sylvia Maria Gross has more here.