Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1946 [PAGE 970]

EXTRACTED TEXT FROM PAGE:

1946]

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

963

Trustees of the University of Illinois on Saturday, although I shall be happy to attend the meeting if held in Chicago on Saturday morning, January 5. It is my understanding that the primary purpose of the meeting is to discuss the directorship of the Division of Special Service for War Veterans, and for that reason I address myself to you on that subject, with the request that this letter be read at the meeting and incorporated in the minutes of the meeting by Mr. Cunningham, as Secretary of the Board of Trustees. Last spring, after Dr. George D. Stoddard had accepted the appointment as President of the University of Illinois tendered him by the Board of Trustees, to take office upon the retirement of Dr. Willard on July 1, 1046, it was recognized by the Board of Trustees, Dr. Stoddard, and President Willard that there would be many matters of policy, appointments to key positions, and changes in administrative procedure necessitated by changing conditions upon which action should be taken even though such action extended beyond the period of President Willard's incumbency, and with the spirit of full understanding and cooperation, in order to avoid confusion, it was agreed that all matters involving appointments, changes in policy, or administrative procedure extending beyond July 1, 1046,- should be submitted by President Willard to Dr. Stoddard, and only such matters as had their joint approval would be submitted to the Board of Trustees for action by the Board. Both President Willard and Dr. Stoddard have in the main fully cooperated in that procedure to the best interest of the University. When President Willard at the November meeting of the Board of Trustees suggested the appointment of Colonel Hannah as Director of the Division of Special Service for War Veterans I inquired as to whether the appointment had been submitted to Dr. Stoddard and had his approval. It appeared that this had not been done, and accordingly I suggested that the matter be referred to Dr. Stoddard and that action on this, as well as several other matters then under consideration which would extend beyond President Willard's incumbency, be deferred until the December meeting of the Board, with the understanding that Dr. Stoddard, who had returned from the special mission to England for the United Nations Organization, come out to Illinois for several days, meeting with Dr. Willard and other University officials on the campus prior to the December meeting of the Board of Trustees and be present at the meeting of the Board in December to give the Board his recommendations on those specific matters. Pursuant to the action taken at the November meeting of the Board President Willard wrote Dr. Stoddard fully under the date of December 1, submitting the names and qualifications of Colonel Waldo Shumway, Colonel Charles R. Frederick, and Colonel H. W. Hannah, together with a brief summary of the functions of the Director of the Division of Special Service for War Veterans. Dr. Stoddard did come out to Champaign and spent several days with President Willard on the campus for the purpose of discussing with him and others at the University the several matters upon which he had been requested to make his recommendations to the Board, pursuant to the agreement on policy and procedure referred to above. At the regular Board meeting on December 11 at the University Club in Chicago, at which both President Willard and Dr. Stoddard were present, in addition to Harry Cunningham, Secretary of the Board, Mr. Lloyd Morey, Comptroller for the University, Dr. Coleman Griffith, Provost, and William E. Britton, Counsel for the Board of Trustees, both Dr. Willard and Dr. Stoddard reported on the several matters of appointments and policy upon which action had been deferred for reasons stated above. It is my recollection that Dr. Stoddard recommended an interim appointment for Colonel Hannah until such time as the release of Colonel Frederick could be obtained from military service, at which time Colonel Frederick should be appointed Director and Colonel Hannah returned to his position in the College of Agriculture. President Willard voiced no objection to that recommendation, and accordingly I made the motion approving Dr. Stoddard's recommendation that the Board act accordingly. It now appears that Dr. Willard had previously offered the permanent appointment as Director of the Division of Special Service to Veterans to Colonel Hannah. It is to be regretted that this was done without first submitting the matter to Dr. Stoddard and the Board of Trustees or, having been done, the