The Feb. 28 University Board of Trustees meeting did not adhere closely to schedule.

Chair Pro Tempore Roger Herrin adjourned the meeting less than five minutes in because too few trustees were present for the board to vote on agenda items. During the press conference that followed, Herrin and University President Glenn Poshard heavily debated Gov. Pat Quinn’s recent dismissal of three trustees whose terms expired last month, as well as  three replacements’ subsequent appointments without the state Senate’s advisement or approval.

The Senate on Wednesday unanimously rejected the three appointees: Lee Milner, of Springfield; Melvin Terrell, of Chicago; and Sandra Cook, of Collinsville.

Herrin said he was disappointed with the Senate’s rejection despite the appointees’ qualifications, and he thinks the voters should shape up.

“You need to put your big boy pants on and go to work, and do the right thing,” he said. “We’re here to do the right thing. We were here to unify this board and to work for this university, nothing more than that.”

However, the discussion soon turned to reasons behind Quinn’s appointments. Poshard said Terrell told him upon a congratulatory phone call that the governor’s office said Roger Herrin would be the board’s chairman and Terrell would be vice-chair.

“We all know what happened here,” Poshard said. “There’s no sense in trying to spin the truth.” 

Poshard said the three former members, John Simmons, Ed Hightower and Mark Hinrichs, were unceremoniously let go. He said Herrin told the three former members last year the governor would kick them off the board.

“Once again, the governor gave people their walking orders to do something that they needed to be independent of and he had assured everybody they would be independent of,” he said.

Herrin said he did not personally know the new trustees before this week, but any collusion for the chairman position would have come from somewhere else. Terrell turned down several requests to consider running for the chairman position, he said. 

Trustee Don Lowery said he and SIU-Edwardsville student trustee David Hamilton are the only board Republicans, so they are not involved in the board’s political issues. However, he said the real reasons behind the appointments are simple.

“The reality is, there were three vacancies,” Lowery said. “The terms expired. And yes, sometimes people are reappointed, sometimes they’re not. That’s the normal evolution of boards. It happens statewide.”

Herrin used a December 2012 basketball game to highlight an issue he had with the former trustees. Several  trustees, including Hightower, did not attend the game they were invited to on the SIUC campus the night of the executive session, he said. However, Poshard said the event was irrelevant and cited how several members, including Herrin, did not attend SIUE chancellor interviews as an example of how much animosity there is toward the Metro East area, an area now underrepresented on the board.

The three released trustees, who were all tied to SIUE, have been good ambassadors to SIUC, Poshard said.

Herrin said he did not attend the interviews because he had obligations to his business. He said the instance was different from the basketball game because trustees were already in town for the next day’s meeting.

“We’re not only comparing apples to oranges,” he said. “We’re talking about apples and grapefruits.”

Poshard said Hightower was unable to attend the game because he had business to attend to.

“These board members have been totally supportive of athletics at SIU Carbondale,” Poshard said. “The new (stadiums) and everything else.”

Herrin said he had no personal issues with the departing trustees, and he will continue to perform his job to the best of his ability despite the turmoil.

“There is no one, no one, who would want unity at this university more than me,” he said. “I’ll bend over six ways from Sunday. I will cooperate with anybody, everybody.”

Poshard said he was unsure when the board would be able to reconvene, but appointments will need to be made first. However, he said any newly appointed trustees will still need time to study university issues.

“It’s not an immediate thing just because somebody comes on to the board,” he said. “It’s not the most productive thing, having those people voting the next day on the board agenda when they really don’t know anything about it.”

Although the meeting was cancelled, Poshard said no pressing financial issues will be put off because of the delay. Trustees will still be able to review material on tuition raises now and vote during May’s meeting, he said.

Karsten Burgstahler can be reached at [email protected] or 536-3311 ext. 255.