COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- A Texan who led one of the country's largest universities has been hired as the University of Missouri's new chancellor.
R. Bowen Loftin, former president of Texas A&M, succeeds Brady Deaton, who retired in November after overseeing the Columbia campus since 2004.
Missouri announced his hiring Thursday.
The 64-year-old Loftin stepped down as Texas A&M University's president in July after leading his alma mater for four years. He had planned to remain in College Station to direct an academic institute focused on homeland defense.
Loftin earned his doctorate from Rice University and spent four years as the vice president and chief executive officer of Texas A&M's branch campus in Galveston.
Texas A&M and Missouri both joined the Southeastern Conference in 2012 after leaving the Big 12 Conference together.