MU professor renamed civil rights committee chair

COLUMBIA — MU Professor Michael Podgursky will continue his position as chairman for the Missouri State Advisory Committee for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights for two more years, according to a press release from the commission.

Podgursky was appointed chairman of the 13-member committee two years ago, and his reappointment comes in the middle of the committee’s reviews of K-12 education in Kansas City and St. Louis.

“These advisory commissions are supposed to monitor developments and give information to the national commission,” Podgursky said. “The idea is to elicit input.”

The committee’s hearings in schools throughout Kansas City and St. Louis aim to determine if kids have equal opportunities or if civil rights issues exist in schools, he said.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights was formed to investigate complaints and collect information regarding discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability or national origin, according to its website. Advisory committees have been formed in each state and the District of Columbia to study issues on a local scale.