The SIU Board of Trustees voted unanimously in favor of the $9 student media fee, which will fund the student-run newspaper, the Daily Egyptian, during a special meeting Tuesday in Edwardsville.

Board Chairman Randal Thomas said the board never intended to let the 98-year-old publication go out of business.

“The board passed on the [student media fee] early, and we did so because we felt we needed more information,” he said. “We needed some assurances of what the DE was and what its future was.”

Roger Herrin, chair of finance committee, said the board did not mean to “stir up a hornet’s nest” by previously tabling the fee at the May 8 meeting.

“We never intended to kick the can down the road, but simply have time for our new president to evaluate this,” Herrin said.

President Randy Dunn asked William Freivogel, director of the School of Journalism, to form a working group of industry professionals after the May meeting to assess printing costs and advertising rates. Dunn said the swat team’s report provided the board with well-researched information that it needed to create the fee.

Freivogel said he is excited for the future of the newspaper and is proud of everyone involved.

“[The fee] creates the financial stability for the Daily Egyptian needed to pursue new revenue as it moves into its second century of operation,” he said. “I think we are in a lot better shape than two months ago when the fee was put off. We got lots of good revenue ideas from the swat team Dunn asked us to form. We got the enthusiasm of the Daily Egyptian alums who saw that the paper could be in trouble and came to our aid.”

The trustees also approved a $9 increase to the athletic fee, which was passed by a 5-1 vote. The increased fee is now $315.

Mario Moccia, director of athletics, said the fee increase was needed to continually improve the athletic department.

“We found that in FY ’14 travel expenses increased over 20 percent and we expect a similar increase this coming year,” Moccia said. “Scholarship cost for tuition and room and board continue to increase and with our commitment of fully funding all our athletic to remain competitive, we do that for each team on the scholarship.”

Dunn said the athletic fee was tabled at the May 8 meeting because the board needed more information on how the athletic department is dealing with increasing expenditures while revenue is flat.

The athletic fee helps pay for operational costs and Saluki Way, which was proposed by then Chancellor Walter Wendler is 2005. Moccia was named director of athletics in 2006.

Don Lowery said he is worried about continually rising student fee costs.

“I am concerned how we could not budget the money to fund the maintenance cost of Saluki Way and I think that given my perspective from what I see going on, I don’t feel that passing a fee to the student body is an appropriate major at this point,” Lowery said.

Dunn said the board has considered several individuals for interim chancellor, which will be discussed at the July 24 board meeting at the School of Medicine in Springfield.

“At this point [the board] is still looking at some options, but anticipate movement on that pretty soon,” Dunn said. “I’m going to be starting discussions with some individuals even coming out of today’s meeting and I would hope that in fairly short order we’ll get that figured out.”

Kayli Plotner contributed to this story.