JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon says he doesn’t want to be president of the University of Missouri System.

Nixon told reporters Tuesday that he’s not seeking the position and won’t accept it if it’s offered to him.

The University of Missouri governing board is searching for a new president. The former president resigned in November amid student protests on the Columbia campus over what some saw as administrators’ indifference to racial issues.

Mike Middleton is leading the university system on an interim basis.

Nixon, a Democrat, is barred by term limits from seeking re-election. His final term ends in January.