Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1970 [PAGE 842]

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842

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

[March 18

Statement by the President of the Board I am sure that each of us has reactions to what -we have heard that are difficult for us to express. Certainly, I share that feeling. It is true that this announcement is not a surprise to the members of the Board. Last September, President H e n r y advised us of his decision. It was of course our hope that we might be able to persuade him to change his mind. W e were not successful and accordingly the decision was made that the announcement should come at the annual meeting of this Board. President Henry has spoken for himself and in terms we must respect — as we so deeply respect the man. W e can take some small comfort in the knowledge that we shall have the satisfaction of continued association with him as our president for another year. During that period we shall have many occasions to express our profound appreciation for what he has done for this University. Therefore, Dr. Henry, I hope you will understand that our comments today (and I hope each Trustee will take a moment to express himself) — our comments today are merely introductory to what we shall try to say more eloquently later. Perhaps now it would be appropriate for my colleagues to speak for themselves. Remarks by the Trustees "I have a very simple statement to make. Working with Dr. Henry over the past eleven years has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. I think it will be extremely difficult for us to find a successor who can even begin to equal the kind of job he has done for us. I greatly regret that he is not able to fulfill his term up to the point of mandatory retirement, but I can certainly understand and respect his desire to retire at an earlier date." — Mr. Howard W. Clement "My association with Dr. Henry has been very much a highlight of my own life. President Henry has done much to develop the University of Illinois into one of the greatest universities in the country. His ability to get the job done, his ability to persuade people and the ability to do the right thing has caught my attention throughout this experience. I regret that he is leaving but we have had this knowledge for the six months from September to March, and accordingly it does not come as a shock to us this morning." — Mr. Donald R. Grimes "A few things come to my mind — one thing of course is that the University of Illinois is one of the ten great universities in this country and probably one of the ten great universities in the world. This obviously is due largely to the leadership that it has had in you as President. "Seeing you put together the various points of view of the many contingencies of the University and working with the Chancellors, Administrative Officers, Faculty and others has been a source of inspiration. I hope that we as Trustees have received some inspiration from the courage and wisdom and tact you have displayed. "In general, the thing I've admired the most is your ability to keep cool in the most trying of circumstances and in the most emotional of discussions. I think that if we as Trustees can develop this ability to keep cool and not get emotional while controversial issues are considered and discussed — if we can just do this, then I think we have really learned a lot from you." — Mr. Ralph C. Hahn "Certainly for the six years that I have worked with Dr. Henry as a member of this Board I have found the association stimulating and indeed rewarding. I have great admiration for his administrative skills, for his skill as an educator, his astute leadership and for his patience. As I look back upon the changes which have come about in the University, changes in Board policy, changes in educational policy, from the special area of my concern, the disadvantaged, as well as the whole state of the University, I have seen how you have applied your outstanding personal resources to implement these changes in policy and to bring about the concrete results we sought in a non-abrasive way and therefore with results far more effective in their impact than would otherwise be the case. "In large measure, we may attribute our success in expanding educational opportunity at the University of Illinois for black students, to your dedication and skill in dealing with the many difficult and complex forces which confronted this basic objective. It was not enough that we changed policy at the level of the Board of Trustees. W e needed an able administrator to transform policy into effective program. You did the job and all shall ever be as grateful as I." — Mr. Theodore A. Jones