Last week, Wise and Killeen agreed that Wise would resign under a deal that would pay her $400,000 in recognition of her four years as chancellor.
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The University of Illinois has accepted Urbana Chancellor Phyllis Wise’s second resignation, and she’ll be taking a faculty position.
Ray Cotton, a Washington, D.C. lawyer who represents both presidents and boards of trustees around the country in employment negotiations, believes Wise is likely to sue, and should if she wants to keep working.
Because the committee was unable to name a replacement after rejecting Wise’s resignation, Killeen also appointed Barbara Wilson, now the dean of U of I’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, as Wise’s interim replacement on his own authority. I had intended to finish my career at this university, overseeing the fulfillment of groundbreaking initiatives we had just begun.
UPDATE (4:25 p.m.) UI spokesperson Tom Hardy said Wise will not receive the $400,000 bonus, as the Board of Trustee’s decision stands.
Instead of approving the resignation deal with Wise, as the school seemed ready to do earlier in the week, the board of trustees instead has begun the process of firing her for the email issues. That’s in addition to up to $100,000 in performance-based incentives his first year.
Killeen said afterward that such bonuses would no longer be part of administrator contracts.
Neither McMillan nor Montgomery would say why trustees decided against the agreement.
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. Deputy Gov. Trey Childress urged university leaders to withhold the bonus in a Tuesday letter.
The school announced Wise will take a one-year sabbatical at $365,354. The process of finding a permanent chancellor could take anywhere from six months to a year, Killeen said.
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And the professor, Steven Salaita, continues to pursue his lawsuit.
