It's Official: Dunn Named Next President of SIU
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- The board of trustees of Southern Illinois University voted unanimously shortly after 3 p.m. Eastern time today to appoint Randy J. Dunn the eighth president of the university. Dunn will be leaving Youngstown State University after serving as its president just seven months.
YSU's board of trustees is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. today. "
Randal Thomas, chairman of the board of trustees of Southern Illinois University, called Dunn's selection "an important step in the continuation of the proud history of the SIU system."
Sudershan Garg, chairman of the YSU Board of Trustees, told the SIU student newspaper "he was disappointed with how the matter unfolded. Of course campus will be affected temporarily, but it won’t stop,” Garg said. “He surprised us all by not telling anybody, and we were not happy about it. We wish he’d kept the board more involved (READ STORY).
Annette Burden president of the Ohio Education Association at YSU, released a statement saying the school's union presidents "were as surprised as the board of trustees to hear that President Dunn will be leaving YSU. Certainly, we are all very disappointed in this news."
Burden said the union presidents "appreciated Dunn's willingness to work together and would like to acknowledge the speed at which he often helped to resolve issues that we brought to his attention. We would also like to reaffirm our commitment to work together with the administration to rebuild trust, support our students, and support the mission of the university. ...We trust that this news will not have a negative impact on the upcoming negotiations of two of the unions," she said.
Dunn was selected by SIU "following a five-month national search by Dallas-based R. William Funk and Associates," according to a statement issued by the SIU board. He was one of five finalists forwarded to the board by the school's presidential search advisory committee, which screened 100 applicants.
Dunn will be paid $430,000, according to SIU's student newspaper; his base salary at YSU is $375,000.
The student newspaper, the Daily Eqyptian, quotes Thomas, the SIU board chairman, as saying Dunn "entered the presidential search process late." He said Dunn's start date is yet to be determined and the university spent more than $90,000 in its search.
Dunn's "contract is signed and dated today. His pay begins once he occupies the office," said Thomas. And, according to the Daily Egyptian, Dunn will be reinstated as a tenured professor. Dunn previously served SIU as an associate professor, professor and department chairman of educational administration and higher education. Before coming to YSU, he was president of Murray State University.
The president of Southern Illlinois University, Glenn Poshard, is scheduled to retire June 30.
Said Thomas in a prepared statement, "I am pleased to share with our university community the selection of someone the board believes will be a strong voice as we work to meet the challenges ahead of us. Randy Dunn has both the skills and the backgrouind to ensure that SIU continues to live up to its mission of providing quality education for thousnds of students, serving as an academic and economic engine and meeting the health-care needs of individuals and families in cntral and southern Illinois.
MORE:
Dunn Must Give 180-Day Notice to YSU; Trustees Could Vote to Terminate
Dunn 'Top Candidate' at Southern Illinois University
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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