Trustees Hamilton, Wiley protest chairman vote

By Karsten Burgstahler

Although the SIU Board of Trustees had to postponed its meeting for lack of quorum, another show still went on.

“Voices — Musical Selections by Students and Faculty from the SIUC School of Music” was scheduled for a performance during the board’s Academic Affairs committee meeting. Although the meeting was postponed, students and staff performed their pieces as some crowd members remained in their seats and others began to file through the doors. The performance stood in contrast to the board’s brief but tense meeting.

The full board convened at 9:00 a.m. to vote on a new chairman, but five trustees quickly became three after David Hamilton and Marquita Wiley walked out following a 3-2 vote against postponing the election. Hamilton became the only SIU-Edwardsville board representative after Gov. Pat Quinn did not renew three SIUE trustee’s terms.

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Hamilton said he supported electing a temporary chairman so the meeting could proceed, but he was against a permanent chair election without proper SIUE representation. Hamilton and Wiley voted to postpone while Roger Herrin, Donna Mannering and Don Lowery voted to proceed.

“I cannot justify electing a chairman when I am the only representative from one of our major campuses,” he said. “What the governor has done is take away our representation, and such a major vote can’t be held without my campus being fully represented.”

However, Lowery said the election is not something to worry about.

“Much to do has been made about the election of the chairman,” he said. “I’d just like to note that a chairman is just one vote on this board. (A chairman) doesn’t have any inherent powers greater than any other member.”

Lowery said the election would proceed the same way whether or not Quinn had appointed three new trustees to the positions formerly held by SIUE trustees John Simmons, Ed Hightower and Mark Hinrichs.

“If the governor would (nominate and confirm) three new members tomorrow, they wouldn’t know any more about the operation of the board than the five of us know now,” he said.

He said the board must do what is right for the university and put drama aside.

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“It’s time to move on and do the university’s work, and do the job and quit this nonsense that’s going on,” Lowery said. “The selection of trustees is an issue between the legislature and the governor, and everybody at this table oughta butt out of it.”

However, Wiley said she agreed with Hamilton and seconded his original motion.

“I think very strongly that it is absolutely (necessary) that we have a full compliment of the board at the time that we elect a chairman,” she said.

Robert’s Rules of Order, which are guidelines the trustees follow to hold meetings, would allow a Chair Pro Tempore to be elected so the board could continue meeting, she said. However, Lowery said he has seen the board ignore guidelines when it is more convenient for the its proceedings, so it does not necessarily need to follow Robert’s Rules, only board policy.

“You have to have the election,” he said. “This is the regular meeting. It’s the first order of business. It has to be taken care of.”

Hamilton announced his departure immediately after the vote.

“I had to do what I had to do to ensure that Edwardsville had equal representation,” he said.

He said part of the issue falls back on the Quinn’s late February appointments. If the senate had approved nominees, he said, it could have led to new trustees voting on university issues several days after selection.

“Don’t appoint people two days before a meeting,” he said. “Give them time, governor, you know how meetings operate. You’ve been in a board meeting before, I would imagine, maybe not by the way you’re acting. But governor, appoint people a month ahead of time so that they have time to know the issues. Stop playing politics with our university, and that goes for both campuses. The governor, I feel, is holding us hostage for political gain.”

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