The collusion outlined by
my colleague’s last blog post between members of CSU's Board of Trustees and
ex-president, the manipulator-in-chief, Wayne Watson, explains how Thomas
Calhoun's nine-month presidency did not stand a chance of survival. One year later we can
see that it was DOA.
In light of the details of the emails between board members and the supposed ex-president Wayne Watson the events of last year come more clearly into light. Watson, who was not
only granted "emeritus" status by the Board, but GIVEN some kind of
shady/honorary "tenure" in the College of Education, as well as the
unprecedented privilege of an office or two in the Library (an abuse of
state-supported property?) was able to run a shadow university administration.
He was clearly aided in this by the refusal of the Board, spearheaded at the
time by Anthony Young and Nikki Zollar, to allow Calhoun to replace the
provost, their sacrosanct Angela Henderson, or any of the other high-placed
Watson "team." Before he was a month into his time at CSU, the Board found a way to clip his wings with its claim of “financial exigency.” They effectively took executive power away from the president and pitted him against Watson’s three minions, Provost Angela Henderson, Interim President Cecil Lucy, and H.R. person Renee Mitchell on a Management Action Committee assuring
Calhoun’s one vote to their three.
The Board of Trustees under
Anthony Young and Nikki Zollar was shameless in its partisanship of the old
Watson regime and completely unethical in their continued communication with Watson after he was no longer president. In light of the transcript of emails referenced, one can conclude that they really only bowed to public pressure and the
Governor's Office to remove Watson after all the high-priced lawsuits began to
be added up in 2015/2016. In reality, they had no intention of removing him
from power—nice subterfuge. Their dismissal of Thomas Calhoun in the summer and
early Fall of 2016, with its big payout and secrecy agreement, is something
that still stinks to high heaven. The Governor’s Office and the legislature should demand to
see the details of that agreement. I’d be interested in seeing that dodgy legal
agreement tested in court. How can a state Governing Board withhold details of
an agreement from the people to whom it is allegedly responsible?
The Board of Trustees is entrusted
to oversee Chicago State University. The question to ask now is how low and nefarious were these
connections by the old board members and do they continue to exist? As much as some Board members and the
Watson set and all the past (and current) local politicians may see CSU as
their private golden goose to be used to benefit an in-crowd (of their
choosing); as much as they may bring in the "community" to shout “Amen”
whenever light is shone on this twisted corruption, CSU remains a public institution
with state money accountable to ALL the taxpayers of Illinois. It is not a
private institution. The past Board of Trustees violated the public trust. All
the old members of that board currently sitting should be purged immediately.
The Board of Anthony Young
and Nikki Zollar showed no sense of discernment—they did not oversee what they
were charged with overseeing, they were unable or unwilling to distinguish the self-interested voices from those calling on them to make changes on campus and demand accountability. They intervened in the direct operations of
the university to such an egregious extent that it is surprising they have escaped
sanction from the Association of American Governing Boards or even our own
Higher Learning Commission on the category of governance on campus and the State Ethics Commission.
An article in on April 9th in Diverse Issues in Higher Education
outlined a story about Morehouse University that is worth reading for its
parallels to us. “Morehouse College Overhauls Leadership”:
https://diverseeducation.com/article/94972
https://diverseeducation.com/article/94972
Morehouse College replaced its president
and the chairman of its board of trustees late on Friday afternoon, after
several months of turmoil at the historically Black institution. William
Taggart, the college’s chief operating officer since 2015, is now the interim
president.
…In a letter sent out to the Morehouse
community on Friday afternoon the board wrote, “With today’s action, the Board
acknowledges that it has heard the voices of students, faculty, alumni, and
many other key members of the Morehouse family, who have called upon all of
those who love this historic institution to put aside out differences and put Morehouse
and our mission first.”
The
board encountered increasing criticism from faculty, students, and alumni after
the board voted to not renew President John S. Wilson Jr.’s contract in
January, leading the faculty to take a vote of no confidence in the board
chairman in late March. Many said that the board never fully explained its
decision and excluded students and faculty from the decision-making process…
A minor point criticizing an excellent point: it is not "the community" (whatever that means) that shouts "Amen!" in support of the Watson/Young/Zollar cabal but their political allies and political base. Power is about who is able to organize what.
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