Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1976 [PAGE 184]

EXTRACTED TEXT FROM PAGE:

1975]

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

173

served on nearly every standing committee and your wide-ranging interests have concerned all aspects of the Board's responsibility. In addition to this general contribution, you served for several years as the Chairman of the Committees on General Policy and Finance in periods of great activity for those bodies. For twelve years you were Chairman of the Nonacademic Personnel Committee — which role also carried the responsibility of membership on the Civil Service Merit Board. In recent years, you have served on the State Universities Retirement System Board, and as its President for the last three years you have sought to make secure that system's fiscal base. Throughout your tenure on this Board, you have been a consistent, confident, and determined supporter of the University's efforts to gain the resources necessary to achieve a place of excellence and distinction in the world of higher education. T h e President and other administrative officers of the University wish to join with the Board of Trustees in this tribute to you and in extending best wishes to you and Mrs. Swain. The Board of Trustees directs that this resolution be incorporated in the minutes of today's meeting to become a part of the official public record, and that a suitable copy be given you as a permanent reminder of the esteem and affection in which you are held.

To Russell W. Steger

You are now completing the full term on the Board of Trustees to which you were elected in November 1968, and the work of this Board has benefitted in many ways from your special background and talents. In your tenure on the Board, you served for five years as the Chairman of the Committee on Athletic Activities and for three years as Chairman of the Committee on Finance. Your business experience proved an invaluable asset to the work of the latter Committee, as you actively sought new approaches to the improvement of the University's financial position. Your wide knowledge and interest in sports enabled you to bring leadership to the Committee on Athletic Activities in an unsettling time. Your dedication to excellence in athletics at the University surmounted many formidable obstacles. To both committee activities, you brought the energy and zest which has characterized your entire service on the Board. Less tangible, but no less appreciated by the members of this Board, are your qualities of forthrightness and good humor which often sparked an otherwise drab discussion. Your direct comments often cut to the heart of matters under consideration and contributed to the resolution of many complex situations. The Trustees will miss your warmth and good fellowship. The President and other administrative officers of the University join with the Board in this tribute to you and in extending best wishes to you and Mrs. Steger. The Board of Trustees directs that this resolution be incorporated in the minutes of today's meeting to become a part of the official public record, and that a suitable copy be given you as a permanent reminder of the esteem and affection in which you are held.

Each of the retiring Trustees expressed in his own way his appreciation of the opportunity to serve the University and his respect and affection for the institution.