U of I Board Meets Thursday to Choose New Officers and Approve Admission Reform

The September 10th meeting of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees in Urbana will not be business as usual. The board is meeting for the first time since Governor Pat Quinn appointed six new members --- and reappointed a 7th --- in the wake of the admissions scandal. Quinn himself will make a rare appearance at the trustees' meeting. And the board is scheduled to vote on a resolution putting the stamp of approval on admissions reforms called for by the governor's Admissions Review Commission.

U of I spokesman Tom Hardy says the first directive of the resolution is the elimination of Category I --- the infamous list of applicants with political connections --- and a ban on anything resembling it.

"We've done away with Category I", says Hardy. "But this says that anything that might appear or seem to take its place --- whether you call it something else --- anything like that tracking list would be out of bounds."

The resolution also calls for setting up written criteria for admissions that are readily accessible to all, and creating a new code of conduct for admissions that will help create a firewall that insulates admissions officers from unwarranted interference.

Hardy says these are the directives President B. Joseph White gave the administration at a special meeting last month, in line with recommendations from the Governor's Admissions Review Commission. White's goal is to have the reforms in place by the start of the new admissions cycle on September 23rd.

WILL will broadcast the U of I Board of Trustees meeting live, beginning at 9, on AM 580, FM 90.9 HD 2 and HD 3, and online at will.illinois.edu. .