Effective Monday Oct. 26, University of Illinois Chancellor Richard Herman will step down from his post following months of speculation over his involvement in the University’s admissions scandal.
 
Herman submitted his official letter of resignation on Tuesday Oct. 20 to the University’s Board of Trustees.  His resignation comes one month after the president of the university, B. Joseph White resigned after the media revealed his role in an admissions process that admitted students with valuable political ties.
 
Having begun his tenure as chancellor in 2005, Herman will fulfill his contractual obligations and stay on with the University as a professor in the College of Education.  According to Christopher G. Kennedy, chair of the Board of Trustees, the University will not be appointing an interim chancellor while the Board looks for a new president after White’s departure.
 
In his resignation letter, Herman thanked the University and his colleagues for their support through the years. He made no direct mention of the admissions scandal that had erupted at the University last summer.
 
Though some of Herman’s colleagues were less candid, Jeff Dawson, member of the senate's executive committee and a professor of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, had said he was not surprised by the chancellor’s announcement following the controversy surrounding the University’s administration.
 
"I expected it would happen," Dawson said. "In these types of cases, the needs of the University outweigh the needs of the individual. Unfortunately, it was necessary for new leadership to rebuild the reputation of the University."
 
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