The recently resigned Board of Trustees member said Wednesday she worries the board might lose sight of minority issues and its active role in the universities’ futures.

“I hope they will take a stand against anyone not up to standards on diversity issues because that impacts students. And if we expect students to get along, then it has to come from the hierarchy,” said Marilyn Jackson, who served for almost two years.

“I hope the board will go on and not say:’Well, Marilyn Jackson isn’t here, so let’s continue on as business as usual.'”

In a lengthy and far-reaching phone interview Wednesday, the SIUC alumna discussed why she had to resign from the board last week and the future of the board and University.

Jackson, who was supposed to serve as a trustee until 2010, called resigning from the board one of the hardest decisions of her life. Jackson, who owns a dentistry business, Jackson Marilyn & Associates Ltd. in Chicago, said it became too difficult to balance the trustee job with her professional and personal lives.

“I have no regrets for only serving two years because it doesn’t take me 30 years to get things accomplished,” she said. “I just wish I could have served the rest of my term.”

She said that before stepping back, her life was like “burning candles at both ends.” Most of the trustees are from downstate or retired, which allows them time to do additional planning before the meetings.

With extensive travel required for the many board meetings and the far distances between Carbondale and Chicago, she said it was hard for her to participate.

Jackson was appointed to the board in February 2003, along with Roger Tedrick and John Simmons, replacing trustees who had served for 30 to 40 years. She said she will miss working with Tedrick and Simmons the most.

Board chairman Tedrick has called Jackson an outspoken advocate for minority and ethnic issues. Jackson said she was proud to stand up for issues that came before the board, such as the elimination of the dental technology program and same-sex partner benefits.

“I was not an advocate,” Jackson said. “I was just truthful. I stand up for myself, and I am saddened because the African-American community had a voice through me.

“I think a lot of minorities across campus are not getting the respect they should from the chancellor and Larry Dietz.”

Chancellor Walter Wendler and Dietz, the vice chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, said the University does its best to be sensitive to minority issues and is always working to improve. Both administrators cited the new Reflective and Responsive University initiative as well as ongoing hiring and enrollment programs.

Jackson said she worries the University she loves is becoming too consumed with long-range plans that do not affect the present.

“The (‘Southern at 150’) project is all well and good, but I’m interested in next year and the year after that. I’m interested in Southern at year 2006 and 2007 and 2008,” she said. “New housing should be new housing and new buildings should be new buildings. They should not be a part of a self-serving plan.

“That is just progress that under proper leadership should happen anyway.”

The press release that announced Jackson’s resignation said the Chicago dentist was the first pre-dental student to graduate from the MEDPREP program, a nationally recognized pre-medicine, pre-dental program for disadvantaged students. On Wednesday, Jackson said she was the first to graduate only after she was denied multiple times because she was studying pre-dental, and at the time, the program only accepted pre-medicine students.

Soon after she was denied access, Jackson enrolled in a summer program at a New Jersey medical and dental school. The east coast school had a similar MEDPREP program that included pre-dental students. Jackson took that information back to SIUC, where she was then granted tutoring.

“I opened the door for the pre-dental students in that program,” Jackson said.

Reporter Andrea Zimmermann can be reached at [email protected]