University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe resigned Monday morning amid racial controversy in which students and faculty staged walkouts and hunger strikes to bring attention to the issue.
"I take full responsibility for this frustration, and I take full responsibility for the inaction that has occurred," Wolfe said in a press conference announcing his resignation.
The embattled president has faced blazing criticism from black students at the university who say that he has not done much to stop racially charged incidents on campus. As NPR notes, over the past few months the university has seen increased racially charged incidents, including one in which someone drew a swastika in a dorm bathroom using human feces.
In October, student protesters confronted the president at a homecoming parade. Wolfe, however, did not address them, and the students said that the vehicle in which Wolfe was traveling nicked at least one of them as it drove off. Since then, one student has been on a hunger strike and black football players have said that they will not play another game until he resigns. Their coach and white teammates have supported them, the news site notes.
Wolfe originally refused to resign, according to MSNBC, issuing a statement on Sunday declaring that he was "dedicated to ongoing dialogue."
On Monday morning, some faculty joined in the protests, staging a walkout. Lawmakers also joined the fray, demanding that Wolfe step down. With growing outrage from faculty, students and onlookers alike, Wolfe ultimately submitted his resignation after a meeting of the university's board of curators, according to NPR.
"Please, please use my resignation to heal, not to hate," he said.