For years the University of Missouri at Columbia enjoyed enrollment increases, hitting a record tally of 35,448 students in the fall of 2015.The winds of change have hit the Columbia campus and the decline in enrollment isn’t totally due to the student protests in November 2015, which were the result of racial issues. There are other issues, such as the high cost of higher education and a move by some students to vocational-technical training. And, nationally there are fewer college-age young men and women.Expected this fall is a total enrollment of about 30,800, with about 4,000 freshmen. In 2015, freshman enrollment was a record 6,419.The new president of MU, Mun Choi, said the university’s goal for enrollment in the future is about 5,000 freshmen and 1,000 transfers from community colleges. There should be a very close connection between MU and community colleges.While not close to the situation, it does seem that the connection should be stronger. The university’s goal to attract bright students already is paying dividends.The 2015 protests, plus the threatened “no play” by the football team, hurt MU. Those issues really damaged MU’s stature with the lawmakers in Missouri and with alumni. An institution of higher learning doesn’t recover quickly from damage of that nature.There are many new leadership faces now directing the university, and other changes have been made that should prevent, or lessen the impact, of any demonstrations in the future. The new president needs to reach out to alums and other citizens of the state — in other words, be visible to Missourians, tell the MU story.The University of Missouri has the strength to make a strong comeback. It already is a leader in many fields, especially in research. Its reputation has a solid foundation to meet any and all challenges.