Chicago State U. Faculty Leaders Want Governor to Remove Trustees

In an unusual move, faculty leaders at Chicago State University have asked the governor of Illinois to oust the university’s entire Board of Trustees, the Chicago Tribune reported today. The Faculty Senate’s unanimous vote yesterday included a plea to halt Chicago State’s presidential search, which is set to conclude next week.

The two finalists who have emerged in the search are Wayne D. Watson, the departing chancellor of the City Colleges of Chicago, and Carol L. Adams, secretary of the Illinois Department of Human Services. But some students and faculty members have protested the search, calling the finalists unqualified political insiders who have been controversial in their current posts.

The university is no stranger to contentious leaders. Elnora D. Daniel stepped down as president in early 2008 after a stormy decade that included an uproar over her spending of university money on personal expenses and her approval of an $18,000 book honoring herself.

A spokesman for Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, said his office was eager to fill the position, but would review the faculty body’s request, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. —Paul Fain