 Business School Dean Lawrence DeBrock told commissioners that he
admitted the international student, who was supported by board of
trustees chairman Niranjan
Shah, to the graduate program for the
fall of 2008.Shah had e-mailed Chancellor Richard Herman, asking Herman
for assistance with the student's admission. Herman responded,
telling Shah he was following up on the request. Several days
later, DeBrock e-mailed Herman to tell the chancellor that the
student would be admitted.
DeBrock told commissioners Wednesday that
he was assured by MBA program staff that the student was qualified.
The student was not identified.
"We knew this person would be an academic success," DeBrock said.
"We weren't going to put somebody in a position where they couldn't
succeed."
The university has been at the center of a storm since the
Chicago Tribune reported in May that the school maintained a list of
politically connected applicants, known as the Category I list, and
that some underqualified members of the list were admitted
under pressure from former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, university trustees
and others.
Gov. Pat Quinn created the Illinois Admissions Review Commission
to investigate the role of political influence on the school's
admissions process.
Illinois MBA admissions director Jaquilin Wilson testified later
Wednesday that the trustee-supported student was denied admission in
three different phases of the school's process. She said the student
was denied based on concerns about a low grade-point average and
because the university had trouble determining whether the last
school the student attended was accredited.
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column]
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When asked to describe the applicant, Wilson said, "I would not say
a great applicant and I would not say repugnant."
University records and e-mails indicate Shah made inquiries on
behalf of certain applicants. Shah testified before the commission
Tuesday, saying he never pushed to admit relatives or was pressured
by public officials to support certain applicants.
University of Illinois Foundation President Sidney Micek also
testified Wednesday, saying the school's fundraising arm found it
important to forward admissions inquiries from donors.
"As we would get an inquiry, we think there's a value from the
foundation's point of view for the admissions people knowing that we
have a supporter of the university who's very important to us, for
them to have that information," Micek told the panel.
The commission convenes again Monday at the University of
Illinois campus in Champaign-Urbana.
[Associated Press;
By CARYN ROUSSEAU]
Associated Press writer David Mercer
contributed to this report from Champaign.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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