Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1990 [PAGE 213]

EXTRACTED TEXT FROM PAGE:

1991]

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

201

vital role in the life and future of the city are right. We must and we will. T h e new chancellor will need our help and support as he confronts these and other challenges. It is therefore my pleasure, Mr. President, to place before this board the nomination of James J. Stukel as the next chancellor of UIC. Jim Stukel is a superior academic administrator and campus leader. Time and again he has demonstrated an ability to make difficult decisions under pressure. He enjoys a reputation of honesty and fairness that serves him well both on and off the campus. He has and will continue to work aggressively to build bridges between the campus and the communities it serves, with the city, with corporate leadership, alumni, and others. He has the right balance of managerial skills and academic instincts, and the ability and predisposition to bring about the needed changes on campus. Jim comes with the endorsement of the faculty search committee appointed to advise me on this matter, and I am pleased to recommend to you his appointment for your consideration and action.

Comments by Trustee Nina T. Shepherd

I would like to take a minute to make a few comments and to express my heartfelt thanks to the many hundreds of people who took the time to write letters or otherwise communicate with me and probably all the members of the board. These messages came from many of our outstanding faculty members at both Urbana and Chicago, the staff and nonacademic employees from both campuses, and alumni from every corner of the State and around this country. Students, parents, and other citizens demonstrated a commitment — their own commitment — to the highest of academic standards and to the integrity of the academic process at the University of Illinois. Through this I have been reminded once again that it is a privilege to serve as a trustee of this great institution. At this time I would like to give my special and personal thanks to the continued strong leadership of President Ikenberry and to both President Ikenberry and Chancellor Stukel for their tremendous grace under pressure, and to Governor Edgar for his support. This State is truly blessed to have a governor who is a statesman and we are proud of your extraordinary leadership. Now is the time for all of us to look forward to working together to maintain and enhance the excellence of this great University. Thank you all for all you have done.

Comments by Trustee Gloria Jackson Bacon

T h e vote I cast today is a protest against a process which I believe to be fundamentally flawed; for I believe that its aim was not necessarily to get the best person for the job, but rather was to insure that a particular candidate was selected. I vote not against James Stukel, whom I believe to be eminently qualified for the position, but against a process which continues to shut out more than 20 percent of the State's population of those like me — Black (minorities) and female — from all top-level positions in the faculty and administration at the University of Illinois. I hope and trust that the governor's presence here today signals the end to the discriminatory practices which have been a fundamental part of the operation of this institution which receives more than $600 million from the taxpayers of Illinois. I do not doubt that James Stukel will do a good job as chancellor of UIC; but the question will always remain — was there someone who would do a better job that our search process excluded. Finally, despite all the objections to the process which I have voiced, should Jim Stukel receive a majority of the votes, he can count on my full and unrestricted support. I will be governed by the will of the majority, but at this point I vote NO.

Comments by Trustee Judith Ann Calder

Today I will pass and not cast my vote. Jim Stukel is highly qualified, decent, and compassionate, and married to a terrific woman and professional very much in her