Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1954 [PAGE 1354]

EXTRACTED TEXT FROM PAGE:

1954]

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

1351

the Dean of the College of Medicine, I recommend the appointment of Dr. Donald T. Caseley, presently Medical Director of St. Luke's Hospital, Chicago, as Medical Director of the Research and Educational Hospitals and Associate Dean of the College of Medicine, beginning July IS, 1954, and continuing through August 31, 1955, at an annual salary of $17,000 (on Y basis). The tenure of this appointment is consistent with that of other administrative officers of similar rank (deans of colleges, directors of schools, institutes, and bureaus) who are appointed biennially. It is desirable to have such appointments coincide with the fiscal biennium; hence Dr. Caseley's initial appointment is for the remainder of the current biennium. I recommend approval of this appointment.

On motion of Mr. Hickman, this appointment was approved.

REORGANIZATION OF THE UNIVERSITY PLACEMENT BUREAU (9) In 1944 the Board of Trustees approved a recommendation of a Special Committee that a University Placement Bureau be established under the Dean of Students with a branch in Chicago. This plan was implemented by the appointment of Mr. Harold S. Dawson as Placement Director with his principal office in Urbana-Champaign and a branch office and a secretarial assistant at the Illini Center, Chicago. Mr. Dawson resigned this position in February, 1954. About a year prior to that time, President Stoddard had initiated studies ot the Bureau and in March, 1953, appointed a special committee for this purpose. That Committee submitted a preliminary draft of a report several weeks ago which was sent to the deans of all colleges and also to other officers and the Placement Committee of the Alumni Association for review. Based on the comments received, the Committee has now submitted a final report, copies of which have previously been sent to the members of the Board, and a copy has been filed with the Secretary. The report indicates that although much good service has been rendered in the past, the program is in need of considerable reorganization and development. Not all of the placement work of the University is carried on through this office. In fact, the greater part of it is distributed among the various colleges. The Committee concludes: "The evidence in hand appears to support the desirability of separate placement operations, while at the same time it reveals the disadvantages of a lack of systematic coordination of the activities under a University policy." The Committee recommends the following as a statement of policy: "The University of Illinois recognizes the desirability of offering a coordinated service to facilitate the placement of its students and alumni in positions so that the maximum values of its educational program may be realized both by graduates and by employers. A basic tenet of this policy is that the service is primarily an activity of the University as a whole and, secondarily, that of its constituent parts. "The placement services should be available to seniors, graduate students, and alumni. "The placement services of the University should be available to all employers, small or large, whether located in Illinois or elsewhere." To provide means for more adequate coordination and more complete service, the Committee recommends the establishment of a Coordinating Placement Council appointed by the President and consisting of selected representatives from those departments of the University most concerned in placement work and the Alumni Association. It recommends that the service continue under the general supervision of the Dean of Students, with a Coordinating Placement Officer located at Urbana-Champaign and a full-time Chicago Placement Officer. These persons would be appointed on the recommendation of the Coordinating Placement Council with the concurrence of the Dean of Students. The Council is to act as an "overall planning and advisory body," its purpose being to "coordinate the placement services of the University." This report was the result of extended and careful review and discussion with all persons concerned in the University placement service, and it is my belief that the carrying out of its recommendations will represent a major step forward in the improvement of these services. Since some additional cost is involved, it is not possible to say just how rapidly the changes can be put into effect in detail until a more careful study of the expense involved can be made.