WIU leadership opted for divesting, not investing

Bill Knight column for 4-11, 12 or 13, 2019

One of downstate Illinois’ largest employers for years has endured neglect – from Springfield, where state assistance has been falling, and from Macomb, where administrators’ inaction contributed to declining enrollment. This spring, Western Illinois University’s management responded by laying off 132 more workers and consider more program cutbacks rather than improving offerings or investing in the recruitment of students.

WIU has laid off 266 workers in less than three years and the latest round sacrificed 89 Civil Service positions, 29 teachers, 12 Academic Support staffers and 2 “administrative” positions (which are actually mid-level workers such as advisers)

“After years of intentionally starving our public colleges and universities of critical resources in order to push a rejected political agenda, we are finally seeing the fruits of [former Republican Gov.] Bruce Rauner’s labor coming to bear,” commented Illinois Federation of Teachers president Dan Montgomery. “It is critical that Western Illinois University remain strong not only for the faculty and students who call it home, but for the broader region.”

Western’s largest union, University Professionals of Illinois (part of the American Federation of Teachers) and WIU supporters have been fighting back, petitioning Gov. J. B. Pritzker to appoint a new Board of Trustees and for emergency funding.

(Full disclosure: I graduated from WIU in 1971 and later worked as a journalism professor there for 21 years, when I was a member of the faculty union and contributed to its public radio station.)

Besides the layoffs, WIU’s administration also is considering austerity cuts or elimination of 18 programs ranging from anthropology, economics and geology to meteorology, physics and the award-winning National Public Radio station, despite a review committee that didn’t recommend any such actions.

UPI blames Rauner but also places responsibility on WIU President Jack Thomas, who seems to have expanded administration staff even as the core of the school – courses, faculty and marketing such positives –languishes from management inattention as well as inadequate state funding.

In fact, in WIU’s first faculty-wide no-confidence vote last year, 65 percent had no confidence in WIU’s leadership. That balloting showed almost a 2-1 rejection of Thomas’s top-heavy administration, with 213 having no confidence.

Now, however, the state’s own new administration is listening, as Pritzker in late March appointed seven new members of WIU’s eight-person Board. (Continuing as its student representative is political-science student Justin Brown, a Rantoul junior elected by students. His term expires in June.)

The appointments, which must be confirmed by the Senate, were necessary after three Trustees’ terms expired, and three others resigned. One, Board chair Cathy Early, quit in November after former Attorney General Lisa Madigan said the Board had violated state law by planning layoffs of dozens of workers and making other cutbacks in secret sessions that were required to be discussed publicly. Since then, two additional discussions were revealed to have illegally occurred in closed-door meetings.

Spelling out goals as well as cleaning house, Pritzker told the bipartisan group of new Trustees – Greg Aguilar of East Moline, Erik Dolieslager of Quincy, Kisha M.J. Lang of Maywood. Nick Padgett of Chicago, Polly Radosh of Good Hope, Douglas Shaw of Peoria, and Jackie Thompson of Macomb – to revitalize student recruitment and outreach efforts, invest in core programs, improve WIU’s reputation, and strengthen relationships with surrounding communities.

The Democratic governor has made a key step on a path forward.

More steps are needed, like funding for the 2019-2020 school year, and finding a competent administration to efficiently execute directions from the Board and the Governor.