Three days after an investigative commission called on all politically appointed trustees of the University of Illinois to quit, the board chairman announced his resignation today, amid a scandal over the admission of politically connected applicants who were unqualified academically. According to the Chicago Tribune, which has uncovered a host of examples of students getting admitted because of who they knew, not what they knew, the board chairman, Niranjan Shah, sought advantages for both relatives and friends. His resignation comes days before the investigative panel is expected to release a final report on the affair.
RSS
Follow The Ticker through your favorite RSS reader.
7 Responses to Board Chairman Quits at U. of Illinois Amid Scandal Over Favoritism in Admissions
11319762 - August 3, 2009 at 8:06 pm
The only surprise here is that the Chair tendered his resignation. Influence peddling is the normal course of events in Illinois politics, and now they’ve brought this to Washington as well.
willynilly - August 3, 2009 at 9:45 pm
Thank God. One more political hack out of higher education system. Who appointed this guy, the ex-hair do Governor?
johnfarley - August 3, 2009 at 11:28 pm
This is why we need elected trustees. When the governor appoints them, they are the governor’s hacks. No matter whether the governor is a Democrat or Republican, especially in Illinois.
crunchycon - August 4, 2009 at 9:58 am
When the trustees were all seated through election, the Board was an extremely partisan group, similar to congress, where issues were decided along party lines, and it was a disaster for the University. That was why the system was changed to have the governor appoint them. There is a bill in the Illinois legislature, in committee I believe, to have half the Board members elected and half appointed by the governor.
davi2665 - August 4, 2009 at 10:58 am
Where is the accreditation agency for the University of Illinois. They are so far from the norm that they are unworthy of being accredited at this point. At the very least, they should be placed on probation until the entire board is cleaned out and replaced with members who have at least a modicum of integrity. Perhaps a probationary status, or better yet, being disaccredited, would send a loud message to those who think selling places in a university is a “normal business practice”, as a U of Illinois official stated. If that is so, then perhaps an investigation of this practice across the university spectrum should be undertaken to get these self-serving leeches out of higher education.
jsorber - August 4, 2009 at 12:46 pm
“..because of who they knew, not what they knew..” Sounds like perfect preparation for becoming Titans of Capitalism.
crunchycon - August 4, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Do you know what kind of numbers they are talking about here??? it NOT a lot of students. And do you honestly believe your universities aren’t doing the same thing with legacies and politically connected applicants? The difference is that your univ.s don’t have a written policy. That was U of I’s downfall.