Well at least it's not Leon, --two new board members on board

Well, maybe having a bishop will be better than just a minister. (I know, I know...) Sent to me this morning by a friend ---this article is from the Chicago Tribune. Were their appointments approved by the Illinois Senate or are they hanging in limbo? As of yesterday there had been no reference to appointments approved.

Of course at CSU we are a unique little patronage pit. Contrary to HLC regs that demand it--we can't really have an independent board of trustees for oversight of the university. We are afterall beholden to our godfather Emil Jones. Note the age of the new appointees--60s & 70s (check offline). No more young Af Am leadership needed here--they might actually question why CSU has to be part of the southside political machine. Well the prez (with Daddy Jones) runs the board.  If you didn't know for sure, you got a good look at Watson and his political backers at last month's shenanigans--call daddy who calls his bud Quinn. Now we know, our board cannot act independently. In spite of Bishop Smith's good intentions in the last sentence, the precedent of a board not being able to replace this particular president for a very long list of failures (it's not just about cherchez la femme) has been set.

So, let the education of yet another board begin...

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn appointed two new members to a previously half-vacant Chicago State University Board of Trustees on Monday.

With four of the eight seats open since the end of March, the newly appointed members will replace former Vice Chairwoman Zaldwaynaka Scott and former trustee Adam Stanley. Two seats on the board remain open.

The appointments are especially important because without them, the board couldn’t reach a quorum.
Horace Smith, of the 1100 block of South Michigan Avenue, and Spencer Leak Sr., of the 9100 block of South Constance Avenue, will become permanent members once they are confirmed by the state Senate. Smith is a pastor at Apostolic Faith Church in Chicago as well as a physician – a hematologist, oncologist and pediatrician – working at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Lurie Children’s Hospital.

Leak is a prominent funeral-home director as the owner of Leak & Sons Funeral Homes in Chicago.
“Now that the position was open to be a trustee there, I just couldn’t turn that down,” said Leak, who got a call from the governor’s office confirming he had been appointed on Monday. “I want to see the university flourish and really thrive here in the city of Chicago. I think it can.”
Both Smith and Leak are alumni of Chicago State University.

University President Wayne Watson has recently been at odds with senior board members, including former board Chairman Gary Rozier and Vice Chairwoman Scott, who had wanted a change in leadership. Both Rozier and Scott’s terms expired Jan. 21, and they were not reappointed within 60 days, so their assignments lapsed in March.

For a period in February, it was unclear who the university’s president was, as the board expected Watson to take a yearlong sabbatical and appointed an acting president. The board ultimately decided Watson would remain in office as the university investigated allegations that he violated unspecified policy. The board promised a decision on his employment by June 30.

Smith said he’s joining the board with an open and optimistic mind.
“I’m anxious to sit down with the persons involved and make an assessment of what’s happening with the university,” Smith said, “and make education better for our students.”