Dive Summary:
- On Thursday, Southern Illinois University President Glenn Poshard announced his plans to retire.
- Poshard will step down June 30, 2014, after leading the university since 2005.
- A SIU alum, Poshard served five terms in Congress, was a member of the state General Assembly and lost the state's 1998 gubernatorial election to Republican George Ryan, and during his term as SIU's president, worked through controversies surrounding his 1984 doctoral dissertation and a 2009 university contract that went to his son's marketing agency.
From the article:
... Poshard's announcement comes after a dispute among SIU Board of Trustee members about the school's governance was resolved. The rift drew public attention when the SIU board refused to give Roger Herrin, appointed by Quinn in 2010, another term as chairman. His opponents contended he was too involved in day-to-day operations.
In May, the board unanimously selected Randal Thomas, the former head of the state's National Guard, as its chairman. Thomas was picked six days after Gov. Pat Quinn nominated him to the panel, along with former SIU-Edwardsville professor Shirley Portwood. Their appointments came after the Illinois Senate rejected Quinn's previous choices. ...