Half the people asked at Southern Illinois University’s Edwardsville campus think it would be a good idea if it split way from the flagship Carbondale campus, according to a year-long study by the SIUE Faculty Senate.
A task force formed to examine the issue of campus separation, a proposal that has previously been the subject of state legislation by Metro East lawmakers, surveyed 1,838 faculty, students and staff at SIUE, including an interview with Edwardsville Chancellor Vaughn Vandegrift.
English professor Joel Hardman, chairman of the task force, said faculty on campus generally supported separating from Carbondale but the overall number showed thoughts were evenly split.
Vandegrift has been openly opposed to separation, as have SIU President Glenn Poshard and other top administrators of the university system.
The SIUE Faculty Senate has been critical of Poshard since allegation of plagiarism arose in 2007 about his doctoral dissertation. When the board cleared Poshard of the charges, the faculty senate called for his resignation.
The survey report also suggested other actions that could be taken instead of separation, such as changing wording on the SIU system Web site to better reflect each university’s individuality and moving the university’s system office from Carbondale to Springfield to enhance lobbying efforts and quell a perception of favoritism of SIUC.
Glenn Poshard is one of the few authentic political hacks running an American university system.
UD sympathizes with SIUE’s faculty. How would you like to live every day of your life embarrassed?
Maybe a name change is part of the solution. Southern Illinois Edwardsville In No Way Associated With Glenn Poshard.
April 8th, 2009 at 10:13AM
There’s a Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago. It is east of the meridian through Centralia and north of the parallel through Charleston, where there is an Eastern Illinois. Per corollary, Edwardsville is west of the meridian through Centralia and south of the parallel through Macomb, site of Western Illinois. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Southwestern Illinois University.
April 8th, 2009 at 10:17AM
A brilliant solution, Stephen.
April 8th, 2009 at 1:54PM
Just FYI:
In 1957 when the SIU system opened its new outreach location, there were classes conducted at Alton on the old Shurtleff College campus and at an abandoned junior high building in East St. Louis…everyone referred to it as SIU but the actual name of the newest outlet was:
The Southwestern Illinois Campus of Southern Illinois University, or SWICSIU….
But planners had their eye on more than 2,600 acres of farmland, just west of Edwardsville, where they wanted to build a real campus….in 1965, the first two buildings of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville opened….and, here we are, 50 years later…
April 8th, 2009 at 8:51PM
Let’s remember that this whole brouhaha started with the dismissal of a professor without due process and for something done by others on both campuses without any punishment whatsoever. One would think that the administration would have learned a lesson about providing due process to employees. Unfortunately, at SIU due process is not provided to those not liked by the administration (see UD posts on the numerous due process related scandals at SIU). The professor who was fired never had a "committee" determine the intentional, unintentional, or commonplace nature of the alleged offense. He was fired on the spot, even though his alleged offense is commonplace in the profession and on our campuses. Let SIUE go if they want. I can’t blame them for wanting to separate themselves from our campus.
April 8th, 2009 at 9:51PM
Yes, I recall the instigating event you’re talking about, SIUC guy. It’s had remarkable repercussions.
I’m thinking too of the Ward Churchill mess in this regard.
Equal treatment is a very basic principle of good governance, and if you ignore it, things will probably end badly eventually.