Wise again tenders U of Illinois resignation, declines job

I acted at all times in what I believed to be the best interests of the University.

Trustees on the committee — Chairman Ed McMillan and Karen Hasar and James Montgomery — voted against Wise’s resignation deal and bonus without comment on their decision.

Although many had expected the committee to rubber stamp the resignation agreement, which had been tentatively approved by University President Timothy Killeen, opposition to the payout from Gov. Bruce Rauner’s (R) administration may have complicated their decision, according to The Associated Press. The decision to fire her and give her a job closely tethered to President Killeen leaves open a number of questions, not least of which is whether Wise will accept that move.

Had she accepted Killeen’s appointment, she would have reported strictly to him.

In short, it began the lengthy process – up to two months – of firing Wise as chancellor. That’s a far different role than she would have taken on in her original employment deal, which included the freedom to teach and do research as a tenured professor.

University officials are quiet about why they decided to scrap the agreement and fire Wise.

The one thing that is known to have changed was Rauner’s public opposition. So the university, which last year got about 11 percent of its operating budget from the state, is still waiting to find out how much of that money it will have to spend.

The trustees’ letter indicated the dismissal process would not be immediate, and would include a hearing before the board of trustees.

“(Killeen) has said that he wants to do away with these kinds of retention incentives”, Hardy said, adding that McMillan seemed receptive to the idea. Perhaps coincidentally, the university also released hundreds of “inappropriately withheld” e-mails from Wise and others related to the Salaita controversy.

Being fired usually means “no longer being hirable for a top-level administrative post in higher education”, he said.

The one-paragraph letter from Killeen says, “You are being assigned new duties as an advisor on biomedical affairs reporting directly to me”.

Both former President Robert Easter, Killeen’s predecessor, and former University of Illinois-Chicago Chancellor Paul Allen-Meares received performance bonuses for meeting preset objectives over the past couple of years.

BONUS: $37,500, a small portion of the retention bonus in his contract.