SIUC Provost Sheryl Tucker is stepping down after three years in the role, but the announcement came months after the decision, prompting scrutiny among faculty about administrative transparency. In an April 15 email, the search committee assigned to find her interim replacement announced it had resigned, citing compromised transparency and credibility in the process.

According to documents obtained by the Daily Egyptian, Tucker planned to announce her departure in early November 2025, but SIUC Chancellor Austin Lane told her in an email not to do so, saying that he would announce the departure after her contract ends in June 2026. While Lane said this was protocol, members of the Faculty Senate, the representative body of SIU faculty, expressed concern about what holding off on an announcement would mean for current initiatives and the search for a new provost. 

A search committee for an interim provost was established on March 18, 2026, but after four members were added on April 8, the committee decided to resign “en masse.” In a letter sent to Lane and distributed by email Wednesday morning to SIU faculty and civil service LISTSERVs, they wrote that the late addition “compromised the transparency, credibility, and integrity of the search process.”

Tucker joined the university in July of 2023. As provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs, she reports directly to and collaborates with the chancellor to oversee various academic activities, “from faculty development and academic budgeting to technology, assessment, program review, and international student affairs,” according to her office’s website. 

David Johnson, budget committee chair of the Faculty Senate, said Tucker’s departure from office was left an open secret, leading to widespread distrust on campus. 

“Some knew she was on her way out; others didn’t, leading to confusion about who was in charge of what,” Johnson wrote in a statement to the DE. 

It is unclear at this time why Tucker decided to leave the role. She confirmed in a text to the DE that she would remain a professor of chemistry at SIU, but she declined to comment further. Lane did not respond to multiple requests for comment, deferring to the campus’ chief communications officer, who provided a written statement. 

Tucker’s departure was open secret on campus for months

Johnson, a professor of languages, literatures, cultures and international studies, said he learned of the provost’s departure in early December 2025. He brought these concerns to the spring 2026 Faculty Senate meetings. During the Q&A session at the March 17 meeting, which Lane and Tucker attended via Microsoft Teams, Johnson asked Lane why he waited so long to announce the provost’s departure. 

“It is my understanding, David, that someone gave you a copy of an email communication between me and the provost,” Lane said. “You would have to know the discussions that took place before and after the email to give it context, which you do not have.” 

The Daily Egyptian filed a Freedom of Information Act request for copies of any written, email or text correspondence between Tucker and Lane regarding employment, departure, HR and leaving, taking place from Oct. 27, 2025, to Nov. 14, 2025. The DE received a copy of the email mentioned at the meeting, as well as three texts between Tucker and Lane. 

In a Nov. 6, 2025 text message to Lane, Tucker wrote, “Just an FYI: I have spoken with my colleagues about not continuing as Provost after my contract expires and plan to send a message to campus tomorrow.” 

In response, Lane wrote, “Thanks for heads up but that would not be appropriate and encourage you not to do so. When that time get close to end of contract, I will send note to campus.”

In a follow-up email to Tucker, Lane wrote, “Thank you for your FYI text regarding your plan to send an update to campus about your employment.  

“I want to be clear on this directive. Do not send a note (email or written) to campus about your employment status or any update about you leaving after your contract expires in June. As I mentioned, I will handle that communication to campus after you and I meet in June. 

“Also, please refrain from talking to anyone other than HR about your departure plans at the end of your contract. 

“I look forward to working with you over the next few months.” 

The first Faculty Senate meeting of 2026 took place Feb. 10. According to meeting minutes, Tucker was present but Lane was not, as he was traveling for the Saluki Takeover in Florida. Speaking during the Q&A session, Johnson asked if the SIU administration would clarify any plans for the Office of Provost. In response, Tucker confirmed that she spoke with Lane several months ago about her decision to leave the university. 

“So, that is well known, and given the potential litigation, I will make no additional public comments,” Tucker said, according to the minutes. 

Ten days later, on Feb. 20, Lane sent an email update to campus announcing that Tucker would be leaving her role June 30, 2026.

“The faculty senate ultimately had to intervene to push the chancellor to make an announcement, which was essential to allow us to start the transition to an interim provost and eventual permanent replacement,” Johnson said in his statement to the DE. “This level of dysfunction is a real problem at a time when the university is facing budgetary pressures and enrollment growth has stagnated.” 

In the email, Lane wrote that the process to identify an interim provost would “begin promptly” and “adhere to relevant and existing policies and processes.” He also said a process to launch a national search for a permanent provost would begin.

‘You don’t just announce something’

At the March 17 Faculty Senate meeting, Chancellor Lane said he held off on announcing Provost Tucker’s departure because they did not have a documented agreement in place. 

“Professionally speaking, I only announce my administrative changes when I receive a letter of resignation or have a departure agreement in place, which is why my instructions on that email were not to be sent out to anyone,” Lane said. “As you know, it takes time to work through those things. You don’t just announce something. You have to have a letter of resignation or some form of an agreement in place, which we did not have.” 

Lane said the decision was made with respect to Tucker as a human being. He also said that waiting to make the announcement did not violate any university policies. 

“There’s no rule in place in our system or university that says when I need to put something out. I haven’t found it yet as I’ve talked to our legal group,” Lane said. “There’s nothing that says when I need to put something out. So I put it out after I had further confirmation about next steps.” 

He said that as chancellor, it is his job to make the announcement — not anyone else’s. 

Provost search committee resigns 8 days before interviews

The search for an interim provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs opened on March 26 with an email from Nicolas Wortman, associate vice chancellor for human resources, inviting qualified candidates to apply. 

According to a summary report of a Feb. 17 meeting between Lane and the Faculty Senate Executive Council, Lane said he would commit to a formal search committee for identifying and recommending an interim provost and permanent replacement. The search committee for an interim provost was formed March 18. 

Jeff Harmon, chief marketing and communications officer of SIU, responded to a request for comment that was sent to Lane. Harmon proposed a meeting with the DE, himself and Lane’s chief of staff, David Shirley. Shirley did not attend the meeting. Harmon provided a written statement. 

“On February 20, 2026, the University announced to the faculty and staff its thanks to Dr. Tucker for her service as Provost, which ends contractually on June 30, 2026,” Harmon wrote in the statement. “A diverse and representative group of faculty, staff and students are currently participating in an internal search for an interim Provost that will begin their duties on July 1 2026. Search firm, AGB, is working with SIU to complete a national search for the permanent Provost to be identified by the end of 2026.”

On April 9, 2026, the search committee for interim provost resigned “en masse.” In a letter to Lane, the committee said that they were informed on April 8, just nine days before scheduled interviews, that four new members were going to be added to the committee. 

“This could have been prevented if more time had been spent planning in the initial stages of forming the committee,” the committee wrote. “In addition, the new committee members were not privy to the foundational discussions regarding the role’s requirements, the overall timeline, or the development of the interview questions. These individuals were not part of prior discussions or decisions, creating significant context gaps and raising concerns about fairness and consistency.”

In the letter, the committee wrote that they do not object to adding additional constituents to the search, but that the timing “raises concerns about maintaining the integrity, consistency, and fairness of the process for both the original committee members and those newly added.” 

The letter also urged the administration to pause the process and form a new committee.

The letter was signed by Jennifer S. Sherry, chair of the interim provost search committee and Faculty Senate vice-president; Hannah Brenner Johnson, dean and professor of SIU Simmons Law School; Matthew Romero, Tenure/Tenure Track Faculty Association president; Thomas Becker, secretary of Civil Service Council; Michael Olsen, Non Tenure Track Faculty Association president; Anahit Amiri, Graduate Assistants United president; and Rachel Frazier, Registrar.

It did not name the four additional members who had been added to the committee.

The search for a new provost has also paused at least two initiatives Tucker began. 

Interim provost search pauses initiatives

The Illinois Board of Higher Education conducts an annual report on New, Consolidated, Closed, and Low Producing Programs at Illinois public universities. Tucker was working on a program to re-evaluate low-producing programs at SIU and identify programs that needed to be eliminated. 

Matt Romero, tenure/tenure track president of the SIUC Faculty Association, the union that represents tenure-track and tenured faculty at SIU, said the program had barely started to come into effect when they learned Tucker would be departing. 

Romero said his experience working with Tucker was limited, but mostly positive. 

“I thought we had a good partner in the faculty and the administration,” he said. “Dr. Tucker is kind of a conduit between the two, and I’m just disappointed that we’re going to lose a partner that was trustworthy.” 

Now, he’s a member of the search committee for an interim provost, but he said the faculty are still disappointed. 

“It still doesn’t eliminate the idea that we had Dr. Tucker who we had good rapport with and now we don’t,” Romero said. “And so, at least from the Faculty Association Perspective, we are disappointed that we’re losing someone we have rapport with and we trust.” 

At the Feb. 17 executive council meeting, in response to Faculty Senate concerns, Lane said the program reviews would not be allowed to continue. Additionally, Lane agreed that the search for a new dean for the College of Liberal Arts should be paused until a new provost is appointed. Joddy Murray served as dean of the college from 2022 to 2025. Two co-interim deans are currently serving in the role. 

Romero said he believes there are divided opinions among faculty regarding the discontinuation of the low-producing programs review. 

“I think there may be two types of faculty on campus: Those who wanted her to discontinue that, and those who think we need a way to measure our quality,” Romero said. “…Nobody wants an administrator to lead something that they’re not going to be able to see to the end. So I could see faculty saying, ‘yeah it’s better if she takes her hands off since she’s not going to be able to see it to conclusion,’ but there are also those faculty who, I believe, never want their program or its position on the IBHE underperforming programs list to be seen or to be critiqued or questioned.” 

At the March 17 meeting, Lane said that Tucker would still be involved in tenure and promotion processes. 

Randall Auxier, co-chair of the Faculty Senate’s governance committee, said communication from Tucker’s office was poor. When the senate learned of her departure, Auxier said, some members were “more than a little upset to have our future directed by someone who knew she would not have to live with the consequences of these momentous decisions.”

Faculty Senate passes resolution on campus instability

Tucker’s departure prompted a resolution from the Faculty Senate regarding “recent instability” in SIU’s academic leadership. The resolution, which was drafted by Auxier, passed unanimously at the March 17 meeting. 

The resolution states that the original decision to not announce the provost’s departure until June violates the faculty’s right to a timely and collaborative search for a new provost. The resolution also cited a monthslong decline of confidence and trust between the faculty and administration. 

“It passed without a single negative vote,” Auxier wrote in an email to the DE. “The administration had failed in basic transparency, competent planning, and had even lied to us. We were unhappy and we remain so.” 

Auxier said the resolution is only advisory — not binding — but pointed to the university’s commitment to shared governance. The resolution suggests that no decisions impacting long-term academic programs or personnel, including program reviews and administrative searches at the dean level or higher, will be made until stable leadership is in place; that interim leaders will be appointed through collaboration with faculty and other constituencies; and that interim leaders will be chosen from current faculty at SIU and will be in charge of the searches for permanent replacements, without interference from Human Resources or external agencies. 

“We cannot compel the administration to do things. But they are the most serious kind of advice,” Auxier said of the group’s resolution. “FS speaks for the Faculty (tenure track and non tenure track), and when we take our internal processes seriously, in originating, drafting, refining language in committee, and sending them to the full Senate for a vote, the language becomes quite meaningful.”

Editor’s note: This story was updated to include the announcement Wednesday that the search committee for an interim provost had resigned.

Staff Reporter Kristin Borchers contributed to reporting. Editor-in-Chief Carly Gist can be reached at [email protected].

Advertisement