The President Who Helped Plot to Divide His Campuses Will Step Down

After months of turmoil, Randy J. Dunn, president of Southern Illinois University, will resign, according to a meeting notice from the Board of Trustees.

The board will meet on Monday to approve Dunn’s resignation and $215,000 in severance pay. Dunn will be placed on leave from Tuesday until his termination, on July 30, according to the separation agreement.

For months Dunn and some board members were at odds over a proposal to transfer $5.1 million in state appropriations from the flagship campus, in Carbondale, to the Edwardsville campus. The proposed money transfer, rejected by the board in April, started a feud between advocates for the respective campuses.

Although Dunn denied accusations of favoritism for the Edwardsville campus, emails from a public-records request suggested that Dunn had come up with the initial $5.1-million figure, and that he had helped orchestrate the rollout of legislation to separate the campuses.

The existence of the emails, before they were made public, prompted a handful of board members to call a special meeting to put Dunn on administrative leave. But a deadlocked board vote at that meeting kept him on the job.

The emails gave pause to trustees like Judge J. Phil Gilbert about whether Dunn could lead the system and put the pieces back together on the dueling campuses.

“When you look at these documents, that you need to look at, it raises some issues in my mind whether or not he is ever going to be able to lead a system that he wanted to dissolve,” Gilbert said last month before the documents were made public.

In an email statement, Dunn wrote that he had become “a polarizing figure” while leading the system.

“I believe the proposed separation agreement provides a fair way to all parties to resolve some of the tension throughout the SIU System and help open a way for it to move forward again,” Dunn wrote. “In my role, I had become a polarizing figure, so my retirement, along with the new leadership of an outstanding interim president, can allow healing to begin across all parts of the organization and advance important decisions that will need to be made for the future. Notwithstanding what some may think right now, I love everything that is SIU, no matter the campus or location, and I wish everyone associated with this great institution the best for the future.”

J. Kevin Dorsey, dean and provost emeritus of the SIU School of Medicine, in Springfield, will serve as acting president while the board searches for a permanent leader, according to the meeting notice.

Fernanda Zamudio-Suaréz is breaking-news editor. Follow her on Twitter @FernandaZamudio, or email her at fzamudiosuarez@chronicle.com.