UI Trustee Dorris Says He’s Ready to Resign

University of Illinois Trustee David Dorris says he's ready to step down from the board, as Lawrence Eppley did yesterday (Tues) amid the school's admission scandal. But Dorris says his resignation and more need to be accompanied by a concrete plan from Governor Pat Quinn for filling the vacant board seats. The Bloomington attorney says wants to hear from the Governor about keeping a quorum on the board so it can make university decisions. And Dorris says the publicity garnered by the admission of politically-connected applicants has been too connected to the trustees, which he says was responsible for a small portion of the so-called 'Category I' list. Dorris suggests that U of I President Joseph White resign over the admissions scandal, and that the university implement a defined admissions policy.

"We need an ombudsman that's effective that can give the public answers where we can refer them to when we get inquiries,' says Dorris. "We'll say look, here's who you call, you'll get an answer. That was not in place during the time that I was a Trustee. When we would get inquiries or questions about admssions, I was told the procedure we use was that inquiries you get, refer them to (Chancellor) Richard Herman."

Dorris defends Chancellor Herman, who says the volume of inquiries he received was unfair. He also suggests the U of I implement a code of conduct for Trustees, and a way to discipline those who interfere with an administrator's ability to do their job. As for selecting future trustees, Dorris suggests the university put together an independent organization to examine records of candidates, and name them to the board. He's not in favor of plan that would allow the U of I's Alumni Association to select six trustees, saying they would wield too much power.