More UIUC Scandals, Gollin Does Nothing

[Armando Ramos]

Niranjan falls on his sword.  

Will the U of Illinois Conflict of Interest Officer Melanie Loots do the honorable thing?    Don't hold your breath waiting for that.  Maybe she can get Niranjan a nice side of pork ribs as a going away present?

U. of I. board chairman quits amid scandal
August 3, 2009 9:27 PM


Days before a state panel is set to blast him for his heavy-handedness in University of Illinois affairs, board Chairman Niranjan Shah resigned his powerful post Monday while accepting some blame for his role in a far-reaching admissions scandal.

An Oak Brook businessman and prolific political donor, Shah becomes the second university trustee to step down amid allegations that he overstepped his authority in meddling with undergraduate and graduate applications. Trustee Lawrence Eppley resigned last week, saying he wanted to restore public confidence in the Urbana-Champaign campus.

Shah's departure leaves behind a fractured board grappling with an uncertain future. The remaining seven governor-appointed members will be urged to submit their resignations when the Illinois Admissions Review Commission releases its report this week.

"I don't know who else might decide to resign, so it leaves the board in limbo,"  trustee Frances Carroll said. "My concern is we won't be able to do the business of the university if everyone is resigning."

Shah and fellow board members came under scrutiny following revelations of clout lists that gave well-connected applicants an admissions edge at the state's most selective public university. Records show that Shah's sway also influenced housing and employment decisions involving his relatives and at least one employee's child.

In a statement released shortly after his resignation, Shah said such actions were acceptable in the past, but acknowledged they are more difficult to condone in  the current political climate.

"When I became a Trustee ... many of the stakeholders in the University of Illinois system -- Trustees, university administrators and staff, legislators and others -- operated under a set of rules and norms that seemed appropriate at the time," Shah said in a prepared statement. "Today, I recognize that those rules are changing with the times, and I think that change is a very good thing."

Shah told the commission that many of his most aggressive requests were written by a secretary at his Chicago-based engineering firm who embellished his intentions. He also pointed a finger at Chancellor Richard Herman and previous U. of I. President James Stukel, blaming them for facilitating his meddling rather than telling him it was wrong.

Pledging his commitment to a smooth transition, Shah indicated he would step down in 90 days or when his successor is appointed. Gov. Pat Quinn released a statement saying the search will begin immediately.

U. of I. spokesman Thomas Hardy said the school's operations will be unfazed by the resignations.

"We will be in a bit of transition period here, but we have gone through transitions in the past and have remained strong," he said.

If Shah hadn't resigned, he likely would have been asked to step down. The state panel intends to recommend this week that all trustees quit, allowing Quinn to decide who should stay. The commissioners had focused on Shah, saying he may have violated the Illinois Ethics Act rules against nepotism.

After learning of his resignation, Commissioner Maribeth Vander Weele said: "Clearly it was the right thing to do. Trustee Shah's actions were the most egregious of any trustees' [actions]."

Having grown up in an Indian village without electricity or running water, Shah testified that he prized his trustee position because it embodied his father's belief that education was the only route to equality. He went on to establish himself as one of the state's leading engineers and a powerful figure in political circles.

"His resignation is consistent with the Niranjan Shah that I have always known,"  trustee David Dorris said. "In difficult times, he has chosen to do what he believes is in the best interest of the University of Illinois."

Shah joined the board in 2003 after being appointed by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich. He became chairman in January, the first Asian-American to hold the post.

He previously was a member of the state Board of Regents until  it dissolved in 1995 and was a trustee of Northeastern Illinois University.

Shah hosted a fundraiser at his home for Blagojevich and dined with the former first couple in Springfield, state records show. He even spent a night at the governor's mansion.

Companies associated with Shah have received more than $30 million in state contracts since 2004 and contributed more than $53,000 to Blagojevich since 2000. His firm's records were subpoenaed last year as part of the pay-to-play probe of the former governor's administration. The firm has not been accused of wrongdoing.

It was against this political backdrop that Shah's family members and friends received special treatment from the university.

In 2007, for instance, Shah parlayed his connection with Herman to secure a high-paying university job for his future son-in-law, a Dutch citizen seeking work in the United States.

Shah has said he "encouraged" the university to hire Maarten de Jeu, "an exceptionally well qualified" applicant who graduated first in his class from an executive MBA program at Oxford University.

Two Shah relatives gained entry to the university's law school even though administrators suggested tutoring for at least one of them before he even enrolled.

Shah has denied involvement in the relatives' admission. Indeed, documents seem to indicate he did not directly pressure campus officials, but that they were aware the applicants were relatives.

In testimony before the commission, Shah also acknowledged intervening on another relative's behalf when she failed to apply for the honors program on time and did not receive her preferred housing assignment.

Records show he did not restrict his meddling to relatives.

In March 2008, Shah pushed for a student to be admitted to the rigorous MBA program, even though Herman warned of "serious concerns about his ability to handle the academics" and said the student's GPA was "below what is admissible."

E-mails show that when Shah pressed for a decision before he visited the student's family in India, the business school relented and offered the applicant a spot.

Shah leaves behind a deeply divided board that, for example, has been unable to agree on such routine tasks as approving tuition. It also loses his deep knowledge of contracts and the bidding process. Fellow trustees say Shah's engineering expertise has saved millions of dollars in construction costs.

"He was such a valuable asset,"  trustee James Montgomery said. "He's probably the only member of the trustees who has the technical skills and know-how to deal with the infrastructure work we do on a daily basis."

In the end, his apparent ethics violations proved insurmountable.

"Everyone has talents, and I'm sure he has many," Commissioner Bernard Judge said. "But the record of his involvement in ad- missions is very strong against him."

-- Tara Malone, Stacy St. Clair, Jodi S. Cohen

[ham]

Having grown up in an Indian village without electricity or running water, Shah testified that he prized his trustee position because it embodied his father's belief that education was the only route to equality. He went on to establish himself as one of the state's leading engineers and a powerful figure in political circles.

God bless America...
Even the scum from a Bombay slum can scam the great nation...wonderful...
but at least, 'up yours' KKK, Metzger, Hitler and Buchanan...the first asian american...great leap forward in your face, you hate-filled bigots...
PFFT!
AARGH!
PRRT!
AGH!

[Albert Hidel]

Hysterical!  U of I president B. Joseph White (what does the "B" stand for, Bullshitter?) said there were only 160 people on the special handling list, but the new report by the state investigative panel says there were 800.  Well, it's only a 400% difference.  Close enough for goverment work.

Conspicuous by her absence of mention in the committee report was U of Illinois "Conflict of Interest Officer" Melanie Loots.   The report recommends "creating an inspector general dedicated exclusively to the State’s universities.  An inspector general with sufficient resources and expertise in the issues unique to universities is necessary to enable robust detection, deterrence, and enforcement of violations of rules of conduct."  Clearly the unspoken truth is that the panel believes the university "Conflict of Interest Officer" wasn't cutting the mustard.  

Another knee slapper was the panel's recommendation that the university "take steps to increase the number of diverse persons in these offices and committees."  Isn't that pretty much what started the problem in the first place?  Do they want more east Indian in-laws admitted to their PhD programs without need of application?  

Interested in becoming a UI trustee after they clean house?  Here's a helpful hint.  Get your wife to write you a letter of recommendation using her maiden name and not disclosing that she is your wife.  We hear that's what works for some UI faculty in getting jobs they aren't qualified for.  

[Armando Ramos]

White Quits.  Loots Next?  Gollin Mum.

University Of Illinois President Quits Over Scandal

by David Schaper

September 23, 2009

University of Illinois President B. Joseph White resigned Wednesday in the wake of a scandal in which officials acknowledged that they admitted some students with political clout over other, more qualified applicants.

"I take this action to enable you as a newly constituted Board to select University leadership going forward," White wrote in a letter to Christopher Kennedy, the chairman of the university's board of trustees. "It has been a privilege for my wife, Mary, and me to serve the university community. We remain highly committed to the University of Illinois."

For the past several years, the university kept a "clout list" of student applicants to its flagship Urbana-Champaign campus. These applicants had some heavy hitters — a politician, donor or alumnus — advocating on their behalf. Admissions staffers said they were often pressured to admit students on the clout list even when their grades and test scores didn't measure up.

A state investigative panel recommended that University of Illinois' trustees resign, and all but two did. Pressure also had been mounting on White and Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Richard Herman, who has not resigned.

White, who has been university president since 2005, said he will step down at the end of the year.

"President White is doing what's best for the university and, I think, the people of Illinois are grateful to him," Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said Wednesday. "I talked to him the other day. He told me what he plans to do, and I commend him for taking steps necessary to move the university forward."

Quinn said he did not ask White to resign, adding that the university is doing what is necessary to put the scandal behind it.

"We've completely reformed the admissions process at the University of Illinois. ... And I think the university is going forward, and I think that's what we want to do," he said.

On the sprawling Urbana-Champaign campus, many of the more than 40,000 students seemed eager to move on.

Student Kurt Bulicek said White is doing the right thing by resigning.

"He's either A, incompetent because he's unaware of what's going on; or B, he's involved with it ... aware of it, and he lets it go on," he said.

Freshman Gloria Frank said she is bothered that some of her classmates might not deserve to be at the school.

"We all, who are here, who didn't get that opportunity to have a political person behind us — we fought to get here," she said.

Scott Jaschik, editor of the online publication Inside Higher Ed, says admissions staffers at other public universities also occasionally face pressure to admit connected students.

"But the extent of it at Illinois — the way people who were clearly unqualified were getting in, in some cases — most people seem to think this was at a whole new level of admissions misconduct," he said.

Clearly unqualified?  Sounds like a diploma mill to me.  

Unaware and incompetent?  Sounds like the Gollin Family to me.

[Herbert Spencer]

Herman Quits Too.  Loots Next?  Gollin Mum.

As Jack Nicholson said in "Mars Attacks," two out of three ain't bad.  But shouldn't the "Conflict of Interest Officer" really be the one who takes the fall when there is an embarrassing national "Conflict of Interest Scandal"?????

Richard H. Herman resigns as chancellor of Urbana-Champaign campus

October 20, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

URBANA, Ill. — University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Richard H. Herman will resign his campus leadership position effective Oct. 26, and will join the University faculty, where he will continue to work with the campus’s Illinois Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (I-STEM) Initiative.

Herman submitted his letter of resignation Tuesday to Board of Trustees Chair Christopher G. Kennedy, who accepted it for consideration by the trustees. The Board’s Executive Committee is scheduled to meet Friday to act on Herman’s resignation and a revised employment agreement.

Herman said that serving as provost and chancellor of the Urbana campus has been the great privilege of a 40-year career in higher education, but that he is stepping aside to enable a newly constituted Board of Trustees to select new university and campus leadership.

“Ours is a great institution with its brilliant and hard-working faculty and staff [with some notable exceptions], and its smart and ambitious students [except for the trustees' in-laws and friends of Blago], and I plan to continue [or at least think about starting] to contribute to ensuring the bright future of the University of Illinois,” Herman wrote in his letter to the Board. “Thank you for the honor to serve the University. I have enjoyed every minute, in fact, every nanosecond. [And that's really why you hired me wasn't it--so I could enjoy myself?  So what if I bungled the administrative stuff?  And I would have enjoyed every nanosecond of spending that $300K bonus too.]”...

BTW, can anyone guess what now deposed U of I President B. Joseph White's last official act (or one of them, at least) was?  The Sphincter knows.  So does Robin Kaler.  It pertains to a four-letter term that begins with an "F."

[Dickie Billericay]

BTW, can anyone guess what now deposed U of I President B. Joseph White's last official act (or one of them, at least) was?  The Sphincter knows.  So does Robin Kaler.  It pertains to a four-letter term that begins with an "F."

Hey, Bill Buckner, the game ain't over until you have the ball in your glove and your foot on the bag.