President Choi earns high marks of approval in latest faculty review

July 23, 2026
Contact: Travis Zimpfer, [email protected]

A vast majority of surveyed University of Missouri faculty approve of President Mun Choi's leadership and overall performance as chancellor of the state's flagship university, according to the MU Faculty Council's latest administrative review.

Nearly 700 faculty across Mizzou responded to the Faculty Council survey that asked them to rank Choi from 1 (unsatisfactory) to 5 (outstanding) in several categories related to his performance as chancellor.

The Faculty Council conducts an administrative review of the chancellor every two years. This year's survey is Choi's third review, following others in 2024 and 2022.

In 2026, 80% of respondents indicated that President Choi's performance was outstanding, good or satisfactory compared to 68% in 2024 and 38% in 2022. Tenure/tenure-track faculty most frequently rated Choi as outstanding in 18 of 20 separate categories; non-tenure track faculty most frequently rated him outstanding in 17 of 20 categories.

"It's an honor to serve the Mizzou community alongside our world-class faculty, whose commitment to student success, breakthrough research and meaningful engagement makes an indelible impact in Missouri and beyond," Choi said. "I'm grateful to the Faculty Council for conducting another extensive review and to all who offered feedback on how we can make Mizzou an even stronger university. I look forward to continuing our shared work to advance our land-grant mission and achieve excellence."

Faculty gave some of their highest marks for Choi's work as an advocate for the university to the legislature (average rating of 4.11 out of 5), for the campus community (3.94) and to the general public (3.91).

"The strongest recurring theme is that respondents view Chancellor Choi as highly effective in advocating for Mizzou with the Missouri legislature, state government, Board of Curators and external political stakeholders," the report noted.

In addition to his high marks in university advocacy, Choi also received an average rating of 3.65 in overall performance, up from 3.45 in 2024 and 2.26 in 2022. He also received high ratings for his planning (3.82) and overall vision for the university (3.70), academic affairs (3.86) and recognizing the excellence in faculty teaching (3.66), scholarship (3.90) and service contributions (3.69). (See table below for more details.)

Under Choi's leadership, Mizzou has achieved a ranking as the 4th best value among all the nation's flagships, based on U.S. News and World Report data. In addition, the university's retention rate has increased to a historic high of 93%, the graduation rate to 77%, and more than 95% of graduates begin their careers or continue their education within six months of earning a degree. Research expenditures have reached a record $553 million in FY 2025 (an 89% increase since 2017 when Choi came to the University of Missouri), a milestone that places Mizzou among the fastest-growing research institutions in the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU). Additionally, the university serves the state by contributing more than $5 billion to Missouri's economy every year.

Choi also has shown his commitment to hiring world-class faculty. Since becoming chancellor in 2020, he has hired over 800 new faculty in tenure/tenure-track and non-tenure track ranks. In 2021, he launched MizzouForward - a transformative $1.5 billion investment in faculty and student excellence. As a result, more than 80 award-winning professors have come to university, bringing with them innovative research projects and scholarship.

"President Choi continues to excel in his roles as both president of the UM System and chancellor of the state's flagship campus," said Todd Graves, chair of the University of Missouri Board of Curators. "The board has the utmost confidence in his leadership, his tireless advocacy for the university and his work to ensure the university serves the people of our great state."

From the report: