“Administrative restructuring raises tensions among faculty,” Daily Illini, April 27
Following the creation of a more centralized administration position, tensions have boiled over on campus, including the resignation of one official.
Michael Hites, executive chief information officer, or CIO, will supervise campus units such as Administrative Information Technology Services and Campus Information Technologies and Educational Services, more commonly referred to as CITES.
“Champaign schools turn focus to interim leader,” News-Gazette, April 27
The Champaign school board has a tentative list of potential interim superintendents to lead the district after Superintendent Arthur Culver leaves.
School board President Dave Tomlinson said the board will soon begin contacting search firms to help conduct a national search to find a permanent superintendent. Culver has submitted his resignation, effective June 30.
But that process will take awhile, and the district will name an interim to take over when Culver leaves on June 30, until a permanent superintendent is in place. Tomlinson said he expects an interim to be named on June 1.
“UI senate rejects Aviation closure,” News-Gazette, April 26
An effort to shutter the Institute of Aviation stalled Monday when the faculty/student senate voted narrowly against the recommendation of closure.
The senate has been meeting for the entire school year on a proposal by Urbana campus interim Chancellor Robert Easter and interim Provost Richard Wheeler to discontinue aviation studies at the University of Illinois.
In a Stewarding Excellence report, Easter and Wheeler said that the institute doesn’t match the core mission of the UI, and is so expensive that it’s a money drain on the campus.
But the senate, after conflicting committee votes in the last month, voted 57 to 54 against the closure recommendations.
“C-U’s jobless rate trails most Big Ten cities,” News-Gazette, April 24
The Champaign-Urbana metropolitan area’s unemployment rate is lower than the national average but higher than most other Big Ten university communities.
C-U’s February unemployment rate of 8.4 percent was lower than the U.S. rate of 9.5 percent.
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The only Big Ten university in a metro area with a higher unemployment rate than Champaign-Urbana in February was Northwestern University in Evanston, part of the Chicago metropolitan area (9.2 percent).