U of I president resigns after scandal

[September 24, 2009]  CHAMPAIGN (AP) -- University of Illinois President B. Joseph White resigned Wednesday following reports that the school admitted politically connected applicants over more qualified ones at its Urbana-Champaign campus.

White said he sent a resignation letter to Christopher Kennedy, the chairman of the university's board of trustees.

"I take this action to enable you as a newly constituted Board to select University leadership going forward," White wrote in the letter. "It has been a privilege for my wife, Mary, and me to serve the University community. We remain highly committed to the University of Illinois."

According to a university news release, White will remain with the central Illinois school to teach and raise funds. His resignation is effective Dec. 31.

News reports first surfaced in May that 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. Those reports and documents later released by the university showed that some of those connected applicants were admitted over more qualified ones.

Among the e-mails was one from ousted Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich backing an applicant. White forwarded the e-mail to Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Richard Herman. That applicant, initially denied admission but later accepted, turned out to be a relative of Tony Rezko, the convicted political influence peddler who is a key figure in the federal government's investigation of Blagojevich.

White has said he didn't know at the time who Rezko was when he sent along the e-mail in 2005. Six members of the university's board of trustees also were replaced this summer over the scandal.

Gov. Pat Quinn, who earlier Wednesday said he expected White to resign, said he didn't ask for White's resignation.

"This is totally voluntary," the governor said. "It's time for our university to continue to move on."

Kennedy, who was only appointed to the board after the resignations over the summer, said White's decision makes the job of finding a quality replacement easier.

"If we had a fight on our hands which involved lots of different constituents with sort of diametrically opposed views, it wouldn't have made it a very attractive place to work," he said.

Last week the university's Faculty Senate said White and Herman should be replaced over their roles in the admissions troubles, while White had previously indicated he hoped to keep his job.

Herman did not return calls or e-mails from The Associated Press seeking comment. Neither the Senate chair, assistant Spanish professor Joyce Tolliver.

White replaced James Stukel as university president in January 2005 after serving as dean of the business school at the University of Michigan and, previously, as an associate professor.

The Detroit native was the university's 15th leader, overseeing campuses in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield that between them have about 70,000 students and 24,000 faculty. The university is considered one of the country's top public schools.

In addition to more than two decades at the University of Michigan, White brought private-sector experience to Illinois. He was a vice president at Cummins engine Co. from 1981 through 1987.

[Associated Press; By DAVID MERCER and DEANNA BELLANDI]

Bellandi reported from Chicago.

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