 B. Joseph White will continue serving as president until the end of
the year. Then Stanley Ikenberry, who led the university from 1979
to 1995, will take over until university leaders find a permanent
replacement.
The head of the board of trustees, Christopher Kennedy, said a
"quick and absolute consensus" occurred to name Ikenberry to the
temporary spot. He has the leadership skills, connections and
academic credentials to help the university, Kennedy said.
Ikenberry received a standing ovation from the trustees after
they approved his hiring in a unanimous vote.
Ikenberry will begin work immediately, even though he doesn't
formally take over as president until January. Until then, he will
hold the title of "interim president designate." He will receive
$62,500 for the rest of this year and then make a yearly salary of
$450,000, a university spokesman said.
[to top of second column] |
White was brought down by revelations of political influence in the
school's admissions process.
Politically connected applicants for spots at the university's
flagship campus in Urbana-Champaign were given special attention and
tracked through a list known as Category I. News reports and
documents released by the university showed that some of those
connected applicants were admitted over more qualified ones.
Taking over in January 2005, White was the university's 15th
leader, overseeing campuses in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and
Springfield that among them have about 70,000 students and 24,000
faculty.
[Associated Press;
By CHRISTOPHER WILLS]
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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redistributed. |
