More than 100 students and alumni of Chicago State University voiced their opposition this week about the two finalists for university president the school’s board of trustees decided on and accused the selection process of not being transparent.
More than 100 students and alumni of Chicago State University voiced their opposition this week about the two finalists for university president the school’s board of trustees decided on and accused the selection process of not being transparent.
The $75,000 search process for a successor to former President Elnora Daniel and Interim President Frank Pogue netted two “lousy” candidates – Carol Adams, Ph. D and Wayne Watson – with political baggage and is an “insult” to the university, said Michael O’Connor, a spokesperson for Students for the Ethical Selection of Our new President. The group is comprised of current and former students of the university.
Pogue took over after Daniel resigned last year under a cloud of suspicion of financial impropriety. Daniel remains on the university’s payroll until her contract expires later this year.
Adams and Watson made separate appearances at the school. Adams, on Monday, and Watson, on Tuesday, faced the students, faculty and alumni of the school, who grilled the two about their past and why each is the best choice to lead the school.
Adams, 64, is secretary of the Illinois Dept. of Human Services, and Watson, 63, is the chancellor of City Colleges of Chicago. He plans to retire in June.
The students were mainly concerned with Adams’ handling of a scandal when a sexual harassment suit was filed a few years ago by a member of her staff, and Watson’s “union-busting” methods four years ago.
In 2003, Adams’ then-chief of staff and an assistant to the chief of staff had to share a hotel room on a business trip. The female chief of staff changed into a pair of silk pajamas and made advances towards the male assistant, according to the lawsuit. The assistant refused the advances and slept on the sofa. He later filed a sexual harassment claim.
The Cook County College Teachers Union blasted Watson for not being involved in union contract negotiations and retaliating against employees who supported a three-week strike in 2005.
O’Connor said there has been no transparency or accountability in the vetting of the presidential applicants that began last November, and the board made two poor choices.
“If there was no baggage, our consideration of the two would be different,” O’Connor said. He, along with other students on Monday, wore black pants and green T-shirts in solidarity that read on the front, “We spent $75,000 on a presidential search and all we got were two lousy candidates,” and on the back, “Retain Dr. Pogue til a new presidential search is done.”
The head of the Student Government Association said the finalists deserve a fair chance.
“I feel the board of trustees took the best position in finding the best candidates for the university,” said Rufus Jackson, president of SGA.
In a statement, the five-member board said, in part: “By design, every constituent group was represented on the search advisory committee: faculty, Student Government Association, alumni, administrators, civil service personnel, deans, the provost and the community…The search committee had access to information about each of the 34 applicants in the pool…was directly involved in the process until the candidate pool was reduced to 12 semi-finalists.”
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