 But faculty want an "orderly transition" rather than immediate
firings or resignations. They also would like a say in who Gov. Pat
Quinn appoints to the university's board of trustees, which hires
the university president and campus chancellors.The 15-member
executive committee of the faculty Senate said in a statement
Thursday that, while President B. Joseph White and Chancellor
Richard Herman aren't solely responsible for the trouble, their
involvement makes them poor candidates to clean up the mess. The
full faculty Senate is expected to vote on the statement next week.
"What we are calling for is a transition to a new leadership,"
said Joyce Tolliver, an assistant professor of Spanish and chair of
the committee. "Largely, that's based on the need to go forward and
the recognition that now the reputation of the university has been
damaged to an extent that can only be repaired with new leadership."
Still, the committee said immediate removal of White and Herman
would leave a leadership void, which Tolliver believes the two can
capably fill in the short term.
"They're still men with great experience," she said.
Neither appears ready to leave.
White was not available for comment Thursday but said this week
that he considered resigning but decided leaving would do more harm
than good.
Herman released a statement Thursday saying he expects to meet
soon with the board of trustees.
"I will serve as long as my contribution is deemed valuable," he
said.
News reports in May revealed the Urbana-Champaign campus tracked
politically connected candidates with a list known as Category I and
admitted some unqualified candidates to the school.
Quinn created the Illinois Admissions Review Commission to
examine the influence of political clout on admissions at the
university.
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The panel criticized both White and Herman, particularly Herman, who
bargained to get favored candidates into law school and, in the
commissioners' view, failed to try to stop what was happening.
The commission recommended that all trustees resign, Quinn
appoint a new board and the new board examine White's and Herman's
performances.
Seven trustees have offered their resignations, and Quinn has
appointed two replacements so far.
The faculty committee asked Quinn to consider input from a task
force of educators from U of I campuses and elsewhere when making
future appointments.
Quinn's office did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Faculty leaders don't have a timeline for White and Herman to be
replaced, Tolliver said, but believe they shouldn't leave
simultaneously. If trustees follow the faculty recommendation, the
time involved in replacing White and Herman would be determined in
part by how long the search for replacements would take, she said.
White was hired in November 2004 after his predecessor, James
Stukel, had announced in January 2004 that he would retire. Herman
has been chancellor since 2005.
[Associated Press]
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