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Kennedy: Expect U of Illinois President’s Report

Story date: Thursday, February 02, 2012 from Illinois Public Media News

University of Illinois Board of Trustees chairman Chris Kennedy says U of I President Michael Hogan will issue a detailed report on an enrollment management plan within a month.

The plan has received a lot of attention recently after it was discovered that Hogan’s former chief of staff, Lisa Troyer, sent anonymous emails to the Faculty Senates Conference, urging them not to investigate who leaked a report critical of parts of the plan. In an email to faculty this week, Kennedy said Hogan plans to address concerns about how the university recruits, admits and offers financial aid to students.

Joyce Tolliver, who is the vice chair of the Senates Conference, said Hogan’s comments on the matter are long overdue.

“If we had had a response of that type many months ago, I think we wouldn’t be where we are today,” Tolliver said. “What I find less reassuring is that it is only through the intervention of the Board of Trustees that we have assurance that the president will take seriously the version serious concerns that have been raised by the faculty for many months.”

Senates Conference Chair Don Chambers said he hopes Hogan talks about any prior knowledge he about the messages written by Troyer.

“Chairman Kennedy has by and large, I think, solved the problems of enrollment management,” Chambers said. “That doesn’t then relate to what may in fact be a much bigger problem, the problem of ethics in terms of university leadership.”

After a meeting last week with faculty on the Urbana campus, Hogan defended his actions after learning about the emails, but he acknowledged that he is responsible since it happened on his watch.

“I’m responsible for everything sooner or later,” Hogan said. “It’s a problem – serious problem – and we have them on a regular basis. They end up on my desk, and it’s my responsibility to deal with it.”

Hogan has also stepped away from part of the enrollment management plan to re-brand the university’s three campuses as a single entity.

Meanwhile, in his letter to faculty, Kennedy said admissions decisions are being made by specific colleges. He also said decisions about scholarships and financial aid will be made at the campus level and the roles of faculty and deans will not change.