Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1946 [PAGE 620]

EXTRACTED TEXT FROM PAGE:

1945]

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

A-2

Willard, which we will prove, which I will read to you as a preliminary statement. On July 19, 1944 the Secretary wrote to Dean Benner as follows: "At a meeting of the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, in executive session, on July 18th, the President of the University presented the following statement: " 'Under the statutes of the University Deans and Directors are appointed for a term of two years, usually coinciding with the biennium. This term appointment in no way affects the tenure of such officers as professors. It limits, however, their tenure as administrators to a period of two years. "'In connection with the submission of the University budget for 1944-1945, I wish to advise the Board that I have informed Dean Thomas E. Benner of the College of Education that he will not be recommended for reappointment as Dean of the College at the expiration of his present two-year term as Dean. This action will not affect his tenure as Professor of Education. " 'I am bringing this matter to the attention of the Board of Trustees now, since Dean Benner's name is carried in the budget for the second year of this biennium without any change in his status and in accordance with his present contract, but I shall recommend that his status be changed on September 1, 1945, in accordance with the action proposed above. " 'This is submitted as a matter of record in connection with the 1944-1945 budget and for the information of the Board. " 'Some of the Trustees who had previously been interrogated by representatives of the press about this matter asked the President to repeat the above statement in an open meeting of the Board in which newspaper reporters were present, and this was done.'" That constituted a year's notice by President Willard to Dean Benner that President Willard would not recommend him as Dean of the College of Education after the expiration of his contract, on September 1, 1945. It also made a formal record upon the minutes of this Board that such recommendation, negative recommendation, was pending before the Board of Trustees. That recommendation still stands and was confirmed a week or ten days ago by President Willard, who wrote to the Board another letter, in which he said that that negative recommendation still stood. Now, Dean Benner requested a hearing before the Board of Trustees and that hearing was granted by the Board and is now about to start. The issue upon this hearing is whether or not this Board will accept or reject that recommendation by President Willard that Dean Benner be not continued as Dean of the College of Education after the expiration of his present two-year term as Dean. It does not affect his tenure as Professor. The sole issue is whether Dean Benner is to be reappointed Dean of the College of Education, or, rather, whether the recommendation that he be not appointed, be accepted or rejected. Now, in any hearing upon this issue it is my conception that the Board of Trustees will examine the merits of President Willard's recommendation. After examining the merits of the recommendation I assume that the Board will see fit to determine whether it will be accepted or rejected. If the recommendation should be accepted, then in normal course President Willard, when he makes his recommendations for all Deans for the next biennium, would make a recommendation for a new Dean of the Department of the College of Education or for an acting Dean. If the recommendation is rejected then that would not result. Now, I assume here that the issue is whether or not that recommendation of President Willard that Dean Benner not be reappointed Dean of the College of Education is arbitrary, without foundation, not in the interests of the University, or whether on the contrary that recommendation does have foundation, is not arbitrary, and is justified in the interests of the University. I make that statement rather carefully, of what I understand the issue to be and what I will direct my evidence toward, partly for the reason that there has been so much publicity about a letter of June 3, 1944, which was signed by nine Deans, and which reads as follows—it will be introduced in evidence (this was directed)—addressed to the President: "We wish to bring to your attention an observation which in time has given rise to a firm conviction that the College of Education lacks effective leader-