MIZZOU NEWS

Honoring Carnahan

MU dedicates south quadrangle in memory of late governor

By Nate Carlisle

Note: This Sept. 13, 2003, article has been republished with permission from the Columbia Daily Tribune.

With the lifting of a cloth, a University of Missouri-Columbia landmark took a new title yesterday as the south quadrangle took the name of the late Gov. Mel Carnahan.

Carnahan’s survivors, including his widow, a daughter and two sons, were on hand as MU dubbed the open space “Mel Carnahan Quadrangle: Honoring Leadership in Public Service.” Carnahan family members lifted a veil to reveal a plaque commemorating the man who many call “the education governor.”

Gov. Bob Holden and MU officials also attended the ceremony.

“Whether he was serving on the school board in Rolla or serving as governor, he always put education first,” said former U.S. Sen. Jean Carnahan.

Democrat Mel Carnahan was in his second term as Missouri governor campaigning for the U.S. Senate on the night of Oct. 16, 2000, when a small plane piloted by the Carnahans’ son, Randy, crashed near Goldman, killing the governor, his son and Chris Sifford, an aide to the governor.

Mel Carnahan was vying for the seat held by U.S. Sen. John Ashcroft. Voters elected Mel Carnahan posthumously, and then-Gov. Roger Wilson appointed Jean Carnahan to serve in his place. She lost a special election last November to Republican Jim Talent.

Six weeks after the plane crash, the Missouri Students Association Senate passed a resolution suggesting the Carnahan Quadrangle.

The student organization cited Carnahan’s work in passing the 1993 Outstanding Schools Act, which increased funding for education.

“His vision was one that all young people could acquire the skills and knowledge necessary for success,” said Tiffany Ellis, the MSA Senate speaker at the time of the resolution. “By implementing that vision and raising public consciousness of education he improved the lives of countless young people and laid the foundation for a strong economic future for all Missourians.”

MU Curator Sean McGinnis said the south quadrangle is an appropriate place for Mel Carnahan’s namesake because it represents the progress MU made in the 1990s. What was formerly the southwest corner of the quad is the site of the recently completed Cornell Hall, home to the MU College of Business, a project for which Mel Carnahan helped secure funding.

The quad’s east side is flanked by the MU School of Law, from which Mel Carnahan graduated in 1959.

“This transformation and the progress and growth of this institution happened on his watch, but more importantly and more significantly it happened because of his watch,” McGinnis said.

Facing economic constraints in recent years, state lawmakers have reduced funding for elementary, secondary and higher education, including MU.

Yesterday’s dedication ceremony was held the same day the Missouri General Assembly ended its special session without considering Holden’s call for increasing education funding by closing what he’s termed corporate tax loopholes.

Jean Carnahan said her husband would be disappointed at the education cuts but that a bipartisan approach is needed to find solutions to funding problems.

“It’s important that we build a coalition of Democrats and Republicans who believe in education across the state and are willing to fight for it, because it never comes easy,” she said. “You always have to get out and struggle for every nickel you get for education. It shouldn’t have to be that way, but that’s the way it is.”

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Last Update: November 15, 2007