The SIU Board of Trustees met for the final time this academic year Thursday in the SIU Student Center ballroom.

The agenda included approval of salary and appointment for SIUE’s dean for the School of Business, dean for the School of Education, vice chancellor for Student Affairs, SIUC’s dean for the College of Liberal Arts, the chair of the Department of Marketing in the College of Business and the director of Intercollegiate Athletics.

The role of chancellor has yet to be filled and the final four candidates have been announced.

“It’s a critical hire and we want to do it carefully,” SIU President Randy Dunn said. “I’m in the process of having a conversation with a number of groups on campus to get their thoughts on the candidates strengths and weaknesses.”

While the search for SIU’s new chancellor continues, the appointment of James “Tommy” Bell as Athletic Director was a step towards filling another major hole in administration.

Bell has been Athletic Director at Western Illinois University since 2013. With the approval from the board, Bell will make $185,000 annually for three years.

Window replacements in Woody Hall, which will exceed $800,000, were also approved. The current windows are from the building’s original construction in 1953. 

In his last meeting as student trustee, Adrian Miller said he is leaving his position with mixed feelings.

“It certainly is tough to realize that it was my last meeting,” said Miller, a senior from Carbondale studying political science. “I believe we have done some great things in my time here.”

Miller was a co-sponsor of House Bill 4113, which gives the student trustee from both campuses a vote on the Board of Trustees. He has been working on the bill for more than a year, and Wednesday the bill passed the senate executive committee.

“If that is what I will leave behind as a legacy, it will be the biggest thing done since students were allowed to be representatives on the board,” Miller said.

As Miller pursues his master’s degree in public administration, newly elected student trustee Allen Shelton will take his place. 

“Adrian asked me to come today to see how it worked,” Shelton said. “I met some of the representatives and I’m eager to fill Adrian’s shoes.”

Evan Jones can be reached at [email protected]