Cartwright will inherit the responsibility for handling Mizzou’s ongoing public perception problem.

The school and its leaders are plagued with ongoing criticism 18 months after a series of protests centered largely on issues of race rocked the Columbia campus.

Those issues were compounded with a student-led hunger strike, a boycott from the football team, issues around benefits for graduate students and a series of administrative departures after the resignations of Wolfe and Loftin.

While the protests were a contributing factor to Loftin’s departure in particular, he also had a strained relationship with university leaders, including Wolfe. Days before he stepped down, one academic department took a vote of no confidence in him. Nine out of 13 campus deans also issued a letter calling for his dismissal.

Many of these issues have drawn ire from elected leaders as well as the public. The university system and all of public higher education has taken some hits in public funding in recent years.