University of Illinois Chancellor Quits

HED: University of Illinois Chancellor Quits

Embroiled in an admissions scandal that has garnered national media attention, University of Illinois Chancellor Richard Herman has stepped down, the Daily Illini reports. His resignation will be effective on Monday.

Several university officials have left the school after a state commission investigation of the Urbana-Champaign, Ill.-based school discovered that the university gave preference to "unqualified applicants with connections," the New York Times reports. Herman was called the "ultimate decision maker" when it came to the applicants, according to the commission.

"Ours is a great institution with its brilliant and hard-working faculty and staff, and its smart and ambitious students, and I plan to continue to contribute to ensuring the bright future of the University of Illinois," Herman writes in his resignation letter. "Thank you for the honor to serve the university. I have enjoyed every minute, in fact, every nanosecond."

According to the Times, Herman will remain as a special assistant to the interim president until next June before he returns to teaching education and mathematics. The Daily Illini reports that the press release announcing Herman's resignation mentions only Herman returning as a professor of education.

"It's a step in the right direction and a good opportunity to start out fresh," University Student Senate Vice President David Wall tells the Daily Illini.

The Faculty Senate voted in September for Herman and University President Joseph White to step down, the Daily Illini reports. And the 98 members of the Senate who voted in favor of Herman's resignation got their wish.

"I expected it would happen," Prof. Jeff Dawson tells the Daily Illini. "In these types of cases, the needs of the university outweigh the needs of the individual. Unfortunately, it was necessary for new leadership to rebuild the reputation of the university."

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