House higher ed. chairman to speak to governor's U of I commission on Tuesday

Will call for trustees' resignations

[July 20, 2009]  Illinois State Rep. Mike Boland, chairman of the Illinois House of Representatives Committee on Higher Education, who early on had called for an independent investigation, will give his views on the University of Illinois admissions scandal to the Admissions Review Commission summoned by the governor.

Boland, an educator by profession, has described his reaction upon learning of the scandal as shocking in its magnitude, with over 800 names on the "clout list," reaching into the law school and possibly the medical school as well.

"The injustice done to countless applicants who were passed over for admittance by less qualified applicants with political clout is appalling," Boland said. "The destruction of the faith of students and parents that they or their children study hard and play by the rules and meet the criteria and will be dealt with fairly cannot be calculated," he continued.

"This was even an injustice to some of those given favorable treatment, in that they may not have been able to succeed at the U of I, whereas they may have been successful at another institution of higher learning." Boland emphasized that factor, noting his own experiences teaching at a community college and private Catholic women's college.

Boland will list his recommendations for reform, including his call for the resignation of the trustees involved in the "clout list" scandal.

"The most disturbing thing to me was that throughout the decades that this was going on, there were no heroes for the university, no one who stood up and shouted 'NO!'" Boland concluded.