New faces populate UI Board of Trustees

Christopher G. Kennedy, chairman of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, left, speaks to University of Illinois President B. Joseph White, right, during the Board of Trustees meeting held in the Illini Union on Thursday, Sept. 10.
Trevor Greene The Daily Illini

Editors Note: This story was published in the Fall 2009 semester in review edition.

After the admissions issues surged through the public this summer, Gov. Pat Quinn asked all members of the Board of Trustees to resign in light of the situation.

All but two trustees, Frances Carroll and James Montgomery, voluntarily resigned following Gov. Quinn’s request. Two members, Lawrence Eppley and Niranjan Shah, had already resigned at this time.

The remaining trustees were not forced to resign by the University because they did not want to enter into an unnecessary legal battle, Quinn said.

Illinois Senate President John Cullerton introduced a “fumigation bill” after learning that the remaining trustees would not be fired. The bill would have removed hundreds of employees from the state of Illinois that were appointed by Govs. George Ryan and Rod Blagojevich. However, the bill was not called for vote.

Christopher Kennedy, president of Merchandise Mart Properties, and Lawrence Oliver, chief counsel for investigations at the Boeing Company, were the first new appointments made by Gov. Quinn in late August.

Quinn later swore Edward McMillan back into the board in September, along with new appointments Karen Hasara, Carlos Tortolero, Timothy Koritz and Pam Strobel.

Carroll and Montgomery remained on the Board.

Hasara is a University of Illinois alum and former Mayor of Springfield. Tortolero is the founder and president of the National Museum of Mexican Art and alum. Koritz is an anesthesiologist at Rockford Memorial Hospital and alum. Strobel is former executive vice president and chief administrative officer of Exelon and University of Illinois alum.

Tortolero said he believes the new board has had a very successful beginning.

“I think we have a group of good people, dedicated people, smart people, who are trying to make all three campuses as best as possible,” he said.

Tortolero also said that he does not want the board to be remembered for the scandals.

“Dealing with this crisis we inherited and dealing with it in a very professional way is the best thing we’ve done this semester,” he added. “This is only the first three months; I hope years from now this is all forgotten.”

On Nov. 23, State Rep. Naomi Jakobsson, D-103, introduced House Bill 4688, which will increase the board of Trustees’ members from 12 to 15. If passed, the bill will increase faculty representation in the board by adding one representative from each campus.

The bill would also create a committee to assist the governor with the selection process and reduce conflicts of interest when selecting new members.