SIU Leaders Get More Money

 Given the number of unfilled positions at SIU and that the university still has not seen a consistent increase in attendance during Lane's term in office, a raise for top administration seems a bit pre-mature, especially since the numbers are still less than half the number of enrolled students at its peak in 1990

New SIU President

The SIU BOT will vote to confirm Daniel Mahony as the next President of the university, likely tomorrow. Prior to this he served as president at South Carolina's Winthrop University from 2015 until stepping down to take the SIU position. From his Linked In profile:

Dr. Daniel F. Mahony became Winthrop University's 11th president on July 1, 2015. In his first year Dr. Mahony called fo a campus-wide effort to develop a strategy that would build on Winthrop’s past successes, including its strong reputation, focus on students, and its willingness to adapt to the changing realities of public higher education.

Restructuring

From the description of yesterday's SIU Board of Trustees meeting, it appears the plan is to go ahead with the restructuring of the university, despite the lack of support, from what I hear, of most faculty. One of the points mentioned in support of the restructuring is the benefits other universities have seen after undergoing it. I would really like to know which universities have restructured their colleges and departments as is proposed for SIUC. I have heard this mentioned several times but have never heard an actual example cited.

One Scalp Collected

Looks as if SIU President Randy Dunn will step down next week, collect a $200,000+ severance package and get hired as a visiting professor at SIUE next January. Plans are to hire retired SIU School of Medicine dean Kevin Dorsey as interim President

SIU President Not Exactly Neutral

Good story in the Southern today regarding the trove of emails released detailing communications between SIU President Randy Dunn, SIUE' s Chancellor and the Edwardsville members of the Board of Trustees.  What I found especially interesting what the reprimand from Dunn to SIUC Chancellor Carlos Montemagno for not following the chain of command. I'm not a big fan of Chancellor Montemagno but given how Dunn had left him out of the loop, chastising Montemagno seems a wee bit hypocritical:

" I have read your attached memo,” Dunn wrote. “It is misleading at best and insubordinate at worst.”

He admonished Montemagno for sending the memo to the trustees without consulting him. Dunn said he had tried to support Montemagno’s leadership."

Carbondale Whiners

The Belleville News-Democrat does not have a very charitable take toward the SIUC members on the SIU Board of Trustees. Of course, despite the approaching parity in terms of enrollment, SIUC has far more residential students than does SIUE and also grants doctoral degrees, which SIUE does not, and which require more intensive time commitment from faculty. Granted, I got my doctoral degree from SIUC a number of years ago, but I had to wait several years to enter the program, as there were too many doctoral candidates and not enough faculty available to advise them. Some of the backlog, so to speak, had to clear out of the channel before the program could admit new students.

Dunn Update

Randy Dunn may not go on administrative leave after all. At least one member of the BOT doesn't think the executive committee has the power to put him on leave. BOT Chair Amy Sholar says that removing the President is a duty reserved for the entire BOT, not for the Executive Committee and she does not believe it an important enough action to warrant calling the entire BOT into session.  Wanna bet there is more to come?

Dunn on Administrative Leave

SIU's BOD announced today that SIU President Randy Dunn has been placed on administrative leave and the BOD is looking for an interim President to take his place for the immediate future. Apparently the trustees received some additional information in the past week regarding Dunn that caused them to take this action which appears to have caught Dunn by surprise.  Since I bet Dunn is going on a paid leave of absence, SIU will have to pay salaries for both him and the selected interim at a time with the university is not exactly flush with money.

Letter to BOT

In case you would like to read it, here is the transcript of the letter sent on April 5 by the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce to the SIUC Board of Trustees regarding the proposed shift of $5 million in funding from SIUC to SIUE:

Dear Members of the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees,
It has come to our attention that a resolution that would shift financial resources from the Carbondale to the Edwardsville campus will be considered at the April 12, 2018 board meeting. Under Resolution GG-1, $5.1 million would be reallocated to Edwardsville in FY19 and a reallocation would continue annually for four years

. Our concern is two-fold. First and foremost, the initial reduction of $5.1 million dollars is just a few months away. In addition to the immediate cut, the shift to enrollment-based funding sets a precedent for continued reallocation in the future.

While we understand SIU’s overriding priority is to provide a quality institution of learning, we cannot overlook the fact that SIUC serves as an economic engine for southern Illinois. “For every $1 appropriated by the state to SIUC, it generates roughly $7.72 of economic activity annually in Illinois.” * The translation is that the initial $5.1 million reduction would have a negative economic impact more than $39 million. Our business community cannot afford any further decline of SIUC.

 Second, the funding model is decades old. Why take this action now? Just as the businesses we represent have had to make tough economic decisions, so has SIUC. SIUC is doing what is takes to grow enrollment, and therefore, revenue. Attendance at the most recent open house on the Carbondale campus was quite high. The administration and all departments have taken steps to reduce costs and eliminate duplication. SIUC has reduced its budget by more than $31 million since 2014, including the reduction of 500 employees.

SIUC is on course for enrollment growth in fall of 2019 and on target to end this fiscal year with a balanced budget. Remaining faculty and staff are committed to providing a quality education and the revitalization of SIUC.

We respectfully request that you give SIUC, and the region it impacts, time. Time, so that we might reap the results and rewards of the work currently in process. We assure you that this administration and business community are committed to seeing SIUC restored to its former glory.

2018 Board of Directors, Carbondale Chamber of Commerce

Letter to the Board

Carbondale Chamber of Commerce sent the following letter to the SIU BOD:

An Open Letter to the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees

As representatives of the Carbondale business community, we hold a keen interest in the happenings and discussions at Southern Illinois University. We are paying special attention to Chancellor Carlo Montemagno’s plans for reorganization and restructuring of the University.

As the largest economic engine not only for Carbondale but for all of Southern Illinois, what happens at the University – its successes in all areas (enrollment, research, athletics, cultural and artistic endeavors and more) as well as its shortcomings – affect us all. In recent years, the continuing freefall in enrollment has negatively impacted most of our businesses, even forcing many once-profitable enterprises out of business.

There is no doubt that Chancellor Montemagno’s plan is challenging and ambitious. We believe that the time for action is now. Reorganization must not wait for extended, lengthy discussion, reviews and inaction. With years of declining enrollments and numerous leadership changes, the University, the city and region and our businesses cannot afford any delay.

Something must be done, sooner than later. The time for study, posturing and inaction is over. We stand with the Chancellor and his proposed plan and will do everything in our ability to support him and Southern Illinois University.

Board of Directors

Carbondale Chamber of Commerce

Me, I am still not sold on the need for re-organization as the cure for what ails SIUC. Of course, my background is marketing, so I am admittedly biased, but SIUC needs to do a lot better job of marketing itself in the southern Illinois region. When you have a situation where every university in the region, except SIUC, sends representatives to a recruiting opportunity at CCHS, there is not an organizational problem, there is a recruiting problem 

Chancellor Search

Why is it taking so long for the SIUC Board of Trustees to select a chancellor for the university? As far as I can tell, the BOT has tabled the search and since the interim chancellor's contract expired, we now have SIU's president assuming the Chancellor's duties as well. The BOT had 4 candidates who met the criteria they had set, two withdrew, so you make the selection from the other two. You don't keep dithering around hoping for someone else to apply. It is insulting to the two candidates and leaves the university in a holding partern, which it can ill afford currently.

Furlough Wages Repaid

Another legacy of the Rita Cheng era, SIUC's board voted yesterday not to appeal the ruling that the university bargained in bad faith with employees and will repay the $1.7 million it owes employees that it furloughed in violation of the contract with them.

Probably a good move, given the amount mounting an appeal would cost that this makes 0-2 in decisions against the university,this time by an unanimous decision from the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board. No need to spend more money and make it 0-3.

Interim Chancellor Named

SIU's BOT named Dr. Paul Sarvela as interim chancellor yesterday, with no end date, indicating that the BOT does not plan to rush looking for a new permanent chancellor. Sarvela looks a good choice, from what little I have read about him. With 28 years of service, he should have a very good idea of how SIUC works and obviously has no plans to leave before retirement.

I hope that the BOT decides to pick someone already employed at SIUC to fill the position permanently. the last three chancellors came from outside the university and had to learn about the institution which takes awhile to do. Appointing someone from inside avoids that problem

Rita Cheng Likely to Leave

Northern Arizona University has tapped SIUC's own Chancellor Rita Cheng to take over its presidency, likely when the current president steps down next June.  through there were three candidates invited to return for a third interview, Cheng was the only one to accept the invitation, the other two choosing to remain in their positions. According to the article, she visited the campus this past Thursday for a welcoming event and the NAU Board of Regents is expected to formalize the offer the week of June 15.

The process followed one that has gotten more common in the selection of heads of colleges and universities, keeping the names under wraps until an offer is extended and not releasing the names of those considered for but not offered the position. The SIU BOT followed a similar procedure when selecting Randy Dunn as the next president of the two universities. Those advocating for the policy of secrecy argue that knowing they had considered other positions would make it harder for those under consideration to do an effective job should they chose ultimately to remain at their original institution while those arguing for an open process believe that stakeholders should know when administrators are under consideration for other positions.

Incidentally, releasing the news on a Friday afternoon is a traditional way of quashing much discussion about it. The period leads into the weekend for most people, who are spending the time wrapping up their week's work and preparing for a couple of days off. during which little attention gets paid to the news. There will be discussion of it on Monday, to be sure, but nowise as much as if this had been announced on Tuesday or Thursday.

Chief of Staff Cole?

Heard from a reader of the blog who is in a position to know these things that new SIU president Randy Dunn wants to name former Carbondale mayor Brad Cole as his chief of staff.

Dunn can probably expect negative feedback on this as Cole served on the search committee that forwarded his name, along with 4 others, to the SIU Board of Trustees for the final decision. After, 12.88 million people in the state and you select one of the group that put you forward for the job?

Got this information second hand and will certainly be interesting if it pans out. It may not as I understand there is a lot of push back on it.

Employment Termination Clause

According to this article in the Southern, SIU has inserted an employment termination clause in Randy Dunn's contract with the university. If he leaves the presidency of SIU within 3 1/2 years, he has to pay the university $250,000.

Given Dunn's track record of leaving his last two university positions early, when I imagine he describe the position at both of them as a "dream job", I can see why the BOT would want to cover itself should he find another "dream job".

Lawsuit Against SIU BOT

Press release I just received from Dunham:

Nolan Sharkey filed a suit today naming Jesse Cler and the entire Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees as Defendants.  The suit alleges that Cler, a student at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, is seeking to be certified as the student trustee representing the Carbondale campus on the Board of Trustee.  Sharkey’s suit alleges that Cler failed to comply with the student trustee election procedures, and therefore his name should not have been placed on the ballot.  The suit further contends that the election was flawed because SIU administration and faculty improperly influenced the election.   In addition, Sharkey alleges that SIU-C Graduate and Professional Student Council refused to certify Cler’s election because the elections procedures had been violated.  The suit seeks to have the election declared void, further declaring that any votes that Cler would cast while serving on the Board should be deemed to be void.   Sharkey is seeking a preliminary injunction, enjoining the Defendants from seating Cler until while the suit is pending.   At the time the suit was filed, a date had not been set on Sharkey’s request for a preliminary injunction.  Sharkey, a law student at SIU, was Cler’s opponent in the April, 2013, election.   Sharkey is represented by Darrell Dunham, Attorney at Law, Carbondale, Illinois.

BOT Trustee Walkout

Two members of the SIU Board of Trustees walked out of this morning's meeting, leaving the board without a quorum and unable to conduct business.  Board was getting ready to elect officers, minus three members, when Marquita Wiley and David Hamilton left the room.

I am not sure if the dysfunction at SIUC has infected the board, vice versa or if the two organizations are separately dysfunctional.

Community Member on SIU Board

I do like this idea of Mayor Fritzler's about appointing at least one representative form the communities of Edwardsville and Carbondale to the SIU BoT.  As important as each university is to economy of each community, it makes sense that the community ought to have a say in the operations of the universities.  Likly not going to happen though, as taking such appointments away from the governor removes yet one more opportunity for political patronage.

Roger Herrin

Yesterday's Southern has a lengthy column on SIUC Board of Trustee's chairman Herrin, highlighting his conflicts with University President Glenn Poshard and other board members.  Given the 9% decline in attendance at the university this summer, I found this comment by Herrin interesting:

He (Poshard) knows the university isn’t doing any good, and he will ultimately have to perform,” Herrin said. “Whoever the board members may be, they are going to expect improvement. I want to take this university back to where it was. With some changes at the administrative level, we can turn it around very quickly.

Given the 20+ year of declines in attendance, I really doubt if changes at the administrative level are enough to turn the university around very quickly. You cannot easily turn around an organization with over 14,000 employees on a dime.  ITo do so would require massive shakeups in management, especially at the top level and the university shows no sign of doing that.