U of I Urbana Academic Senate Passes Resolution Calling on Pres. White & Chancellor Herman to Go

Because of the admissions scandal, the president and Urbana campus chancellor at the University of Illinois should go ---- once "new leadership" is in place. That's the main advice to the Board of Trustees, offered in a non-binding resolution passed by the Academic Senate at the Urbana campus in a special meeting Monday.

The vote was 98 to 55, after Senators heard from president Joseph White and Chancellor Richard Herman, the two administrators named in the resolution.

White says he had no direct role in the admissions scandal, and had often fought to protect the university against political pressures from the Blagojevich administration. "The notion that I would submit to pressure or apply pressure for admissions or anything else in order to please the high and mighty is dead wrong", he told the Senate.

Herman admitted making mistakes in the admissions process, but asked for a second chance. "Give me the opportunity", he asked the Senate, "to convince you, the Board of Trustees and the public, that my body of work is worthy enough to consider that I be given the opportunity to continue in our cause. Every day, our future accomplishments will be my atonement."

But the resolution says that in addition to admissions reform, the Board of Trustees must hold White and Herman accountable to save the U of I's reputation. Political Science Professor Paul Diehl does not serve on the Academic Senate, but argued for the resolution at the special meeting. Diehl cited instances of intervention in the admissions process in support of a relative, direct orders to admit individuals over faculty judgment, and a 300-thousand dollar "payoff" to the law school as compensation for taking under qualified students --- all as reasons why White and Herman should depart.. "There's certain types of transgressions", said Diehl, "that are just so egregious that they don't merely tip the scale, but they make it come crashing down."

The resolution welcomes invitations from some new trustees for greater Board consultation with the Academic Senate. That's all that survived from a substitute motion that would have called for a review of White and Herman's performance, but would stop short of calling for their removal.

Senate Executive Committee Chair Joyce Tolliver says they proposed that motion after new trustees including Board Chairman Chris Kennedy showed an interest in greater faculty input, during a meeting last Friday with Academic Senate representatives.Tolliver says the level of faculty input proposed would be "unprecedented". But she says she understands the Senate's preference for the original resolution. "It was the consensus of the Senate that it was necessary to make a strong statement", she explained.