Updates to faculty layoff plan and other stuff

General Campus News, Updates, Discussion
wiu712
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WIU Supporters Deliver "Buy Into Western" Petition; Governor Responds.
From Tri-States Public Radio, WIUM-FM:
https://www.tspr.org/post/wiu-supporter ... r-responds
wiu712
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In the above-referenced radio interview, Gov Pritzker talks about "stabilizing Western".

He does mention a 5% increase in state funding for higher education. However, he does not mention any extra emergency funding as was requested in the petition.

The new Board of Trustees will need to get Western's spending under control. The Quad City campus appears to be a financial drain. And organizations tend to become "top-heavy" over time.
Last edited by wiu712 on Sat Mar 16, 2019 8:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
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ST_Lawson
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The word I'm hearing on "the street" is that it's highly unlikely that WIU will be getting any funding on top of what's in the proposed budget, but that the new board members could be seated as soon as the end of this next week. So that would be a big step in the right direction.


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wiu712
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IL Gov. talks Western Illinois University during Quincy trip.
From KHQA-TV-7 News:
https://khqa.com/news/local/il-gov-talk ... uincy-trip
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sealhall74
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So do public colleges and universities have any say-so on who their trustees will be or do they just have to accept whoever the Gov throws their way? Seems to me they should have some input. If you are having budget difficulties, it might be nice to have someone with a strong financial background. To borrow a line from Larry King, it's just "My Two Cents". Now to find a watering hole with a New Green Beer Deal. ;)
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Tere North
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sealhall74 wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2019 11:20 am So do public colleges and universities have any say-so on who their trustees will be or do they just have to accept whoever the Gov throws their way? Seems to me they should have some input. If you are having budget difficulties, it might be nice to have someone with a strong financial background. To borrow a line from Larry King, it's just "My Two Cents". Now to find a watering hole with a New Green Beer Deal. ;)
That would assuming the university would (a) want help with managing their money and (b) be willing to listen to alternative ideas.
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Neckfansince71
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From TriStates and Dr. Fischer!!!!!

We are the Leathernecks, a top institution for teacher education, agriculture, nursing, law enforcement, accountancy and many other programs that have state and national reputations. Let’s get WIU on the right track. We need to start with clear goals which focus on rebuilding the WIU brand. WIU needs to promote its image as a school for the best students wanting the best programs. The image that we create is critical to recruiting efforts. At the same time, “right sizing” the institution to reflect the reality of the coming decline in college age students is imperative. Enrollment is critical to stabilizing the budget. A new Board of Trustees that can develop a vision for the next 20 years must be appointed.

I have been looking for the right words for a while! He just nailed it for me! ;) jc
Leatherneck10
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sealhall74 wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2019 11:20 am So do public colleges and universities have any say-so on who their trustees will be or do they just have to accept whoever the Gov throws their way? Seems to me they should have some input. If you are having budget difficulties, it might be nice to have someone with a strong financial background. To borrow a line from Larry King, it's just "My Two Cents". Now to find a watering hole with a New Green Beer Deal. ;)
This administration was very involved in picking their own bosses. That hasn’t worked out very well. This time look for trustees who have met the UPI seal of approval. UPI has been very active in board reform at Western and other campuses. Consider it a trade off for endorsing PrItzker. It can’t be any worse than Sherman Hall picking the trustees.
wiu712
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sealhall74 wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2019 11:20 amSo do public colleges and universities have any say-so on who their trustees will be or do they just have to accept whoever the Gov throws their way?
The only restriction on the Governor is that no more than 4 Trustees can come from the same political party.

There are 8 members on the BOT: Seven "regular" members who serve a term, and a student Trustee who serves a one year term.

As referenced above by NFS71, Robert J. Fisher has posted this commentary:
Time for a Change of Direction and Leadership.
https://www.tspr.org/post/time-change-d ... leadership
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Tere North
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Leatherneck10 wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2019 7:36 pm
sealhall74 wrote: Sun Mar 17, 2019 11:20 am So do public colleges and universities have any say-so on who their trustees will be or do they just have to accept whoever the Gov throws their way? Seems to me they should have some input. If you are having budget difficulties, it might be nice to have someone with a strong financial background. To borrow a line from Larry King, it's just "My Two Cents". Now to find a watering hole with a New Green Beer Deal. ;)
This administration was very involved in picking their own bosses. That hasn’t worked out very well. This time look for trustees who have met the UPI seal of approval. UPI has been very active in board reform at Western and other campuses. Consider it a trade off for endorsing PrItzker. It can’t be any worse than Sherman Hall picking the trustees.
I agree that Western's admin should not pick the BOT, but I do not agree that UPI should. BOT members should be independent of either, looking at doing what is best for WIU, not what is best for administration or UPI.
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