University of Missouri wetlands institute named for Bass Pro Shops' Johnny Morris

The University of Missouri System Board of Curators on Thursday voted to approve naming its wetlands institute for donor Johnny Morris, founder of Bass Pro Shops.

The meeting was at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and was livestreamed.

The Johnny Morris Institute of Fisheries, Wetlands and Aquatic Systems is the new name for the Institute announced in March in a ceremony at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area on the Missouri River.

The institute will make a difference, said Christopher Daubert, dean of the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.

"It will serve as a national center of research, knowledge and best management practices impacting fisheries, wildlife, wetlands and aquatic systems," Daubert said of the institute. "Our faculty will train the next generation of aquatic systems conservationists, environmental scientists and researchers."

It's a partnership among MU, the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation.

"The institute will attract top-tier faculty, staff and students," Daubert said.

He added that Morris is deserving of the honor.

"He is internationally recognized for his commitment to natural resources and conservation," Daubert said.

Morris founded Bass Pro Shops selling fishing tackle in the back of his father's store in 1972. Based in Springfield, Bass Pro Shops employs 40,000 people in 200 stores with more than $4 billion in annual sales.

"This will be an exciting initiative that focuses on the importance of water in our state," said Mun Choi, University of Missouri System president and MU chancellor, during a post-meeting news conference.

He noted the state's two major waterways, the Mississippi River and the Missouri River.

The institute also will tie in with the Missouri School of Journalism's Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk, funded by a grant from the Walton Family Foundation, said curator Robin Wenneker.

The institute will help replenish leadership in conservation said curator Robert Fry.

"This will provide for the development of new, educated people to take over leadership from those who are retiring," Fry said.

The institute has a $30 million endowment it plans to build over the next 10 years for the continued operation of the institute.

A $1.7 million donation from the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation established the institute, supported by a leadership donation from Morris.

MU Health Care decision to end treatment for transgender youth

During the news conference, Choi and board Chairman Michael Williams addressed the MU Health Care decision to stop treatment for transgender youth, including those who already were patients.

A state law took effect last week prohibiting puberty blockers, hormones and surgeries for those under 18 seeking gender transition. It allowed for those already receiving the treatments to continue, but with a catch, officials have said.

The move has been criticized by local legislators, which Choi acknowledged.

"The liability that we saw and our ability to continue to provide treatment was a great concern," Choi said.

Less than a dozen individuals were affected and they were referred to location where they could be trreated, Choi said.

"We had no other option," he said.

It was the section of the law that allowed patients to file a legal cause of action up to 15 years after any procedure and damages of $500,000 or more that resulted in the decision, Williams said.

Roger McKinney is the Tribune's education reporter. You can reach him at rmckinney@columbiatribune.com or 573-815-1719. He's on Twitter at @rmckinney9.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Missouri wetlands institute named for Bass Pro founder Johnny Morris