University President B. Joseph White announced his resignation last September after a summer of ongoing clout investigations conducted by Gov. Pat Quinn’s Admissions Review Commission. Former University president Stanley Ikenberry was selected as the Interim President Designate and will take over once White’s resignation takes effect on Dec. 31.

White’s contract as president officially expires in June of 2011. He will then continue teaching in the College of Business and continue fundraising through the University of Illinois Foundation.

Throughout his time at the University of Illinois, White worked alongside former chancellor Richard Herman on the Brilliant Futures Campaign.

“He has developed a lot of relationships with alumni and University supporters,” said Don Kojich, associate vice president for Marketing and Communications at the University of Illinois Foundation. “We want to continue to take advantage and cultivate those relationships.”

Kojich said White has been “instrumental in leading these campaigns.” However, his involvement with the foundation after his resignation has not been determined.

In response to White’s resignation, the student government units from all three campuses and the Board of Trustees worked to create a Presidential Search Committee. The committee is composed of three board members, three student representatives and a variety of faculty, staff and alumni foundation members.

“The admissions scandals were a sad chapter in the history of our University, but this is a new tone,” said trustee and chair of the search committee Pam Strobel at the committee’s conference call meeting on Nov. 17. “I think it will be a great job for a great candidate.”

The committee held a public forum on each campus in the University system to hear student, staff, faculty and community input about what qualities the next president should possess. Comments from each forum have been drafted into a “white paper” that the committee and executive search firm Isaacson, Miller will use to select candidates for the position.

“The white paper gives us a very good roadmap for what the University is looking for,” said Michael Baer, vice president and director of Isaacson, Miller. “Sometimes roads are under construction or new ones get built, but there are a number of routes you can take when following that map.”

The firm will meet with the committee after networking for possible candidates. After the committee narrows the possible candidates down, interviews will be conducted first with the firm and then personally with the committee. The committee will present a group of finalists for the board’s approval in the spring semester.