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Challenged fellowships opened to allClick here to read the remarks given at a board of trustees meeting by Dr. Glenn Poshard, President of SIUC
Daily Egyptian
The University opened three graduate fellowships to all students Wednesday as part of a settlement with the Justice Department, which had threatened to sue the University by claiming the programs were racially exclusive.
At a special meeting with the Board of Trustees in the Student Center, SIU President Glenn Poshard urged trustees to approve the settlement. The board unanimously accepted the agreement.
As required by the agreement, the government will monitor the University for two years to ensure no fellowships are awarded based on race, gender, national origin or religion. Recruiters will also be required to attend employment law classes.
The University admitted no guilt in response to the government's charges, and the settlement will not affect students enrolled in the programs. SIU General Counsel Jerry Blakemore said the University suffered no fines or fees.
The Justice Department's charges split opinions on campus. Several called changes to race-based fellowships long overdue, while others urged administrators to fight the government in the name of diversity.
Why the University didn't go to the courts?
A reputable law firm, attorneys from across Illinois and SIU's lawyers determined a court battle would have been costly and fruitless, Blakemore said.
"I have advised both the president and the Board of Trustees that it would be highly unlikely that we would be successful in litigating this case," Blakemore said.
The Justice Department cited Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which deals with employment, as the law broken by the fellowships. Blakemore said attorneys wrestled with determining if graduate fellowship recipients were considered students or workers. It was decided graduate students are employees because they must work a minimum number of hours each week, Blakemore said.
The programs challenged by the Justice Department were the Proactive Recruitment of Multicultural Professionals for Tomorrow, the Bridge to Doctorate and the Graduate Dean's fellowships. Two of the programs aimed to increase minorities in graduate school while the third also targeted women applicants. The Bridge to Doctorate rotates among Universities and will not be offered at SIUC next year. The others will be available with the required revisions.
Poshard said changing the fellowships, which were key minority recruitment tools, will not harm campus diversity. Twenty-eight students received the questioned fellowships this year and 100 percent of them were minorities. About 1,700 total graduate students received other awards, 60 percent of them were white.
"I really believe the face of this University must represent the face of this country," the president said.
Will the settlement decrease minorities on campus?
Poshard intends to form taskforces at both the Carbondale and Edwardsville campuses to ensure women and minorities participate in graduate programs, he said. The groups will protect diversity throughout the University system by developing a plan that he wants in effect before the fall semester begins in August.
"The critical issue is how the University can continue its traditions of inclusiveness, of seeking a diverse and varied student body, faculty and staff within the law," Poshard said in remarks prepared for the Board of Trustees. "The question is not whether we will continue and in fact enhance our tradition, but how."
The Justice Department investigated SIU last year after the Center for Equal Opportunity, a group critical of affirmative action, complained the University was discriminating. Roger Clegg, the group's president and general counsel, said he was pleased with the settlement.
"This decree does not close down any program or require it to be ended," Clegg said. "It simply opens them up. That's exactly what the law requires and it's what we have sought."
Seymour Bryson, associate chancellor for diversity at SIUC, said he is confident the changes will not hurt the University's minority recruitment efforts. Bryson said the University's tradition of diversity overshadows altering two programs that enroll fewer than 30 students. Bryson said this situation should be used to examine minority participation at SIUC.
Poshard promised to work to make all campus programs accessible to minorities and said this was "a watershed moment" for the University. He promised to ensure minorities had a fair chance at employment in positions ranging from graduate fellowships to construction contracts.
"I am even more confident that this University will continue its creed and tradition of being inclusive, accessible, and a place where the sons and daughters of persons from all parts of this state and region - rural and urban, first and second generation and middle and low income - can find a real opportunity and a place to pursue their dreams," Poshard said.
Student Trustee Tequia Hicks, a senior studying political science from Carbondale, said she trusts administrators to fulfill these promises.
Kara Scott, a graduate student studying geography and environmental resources from Chicago, came to SIUC because of the Bridge to Doctorate program after doing undergraduate work at Chicago State University. Scott said the mission of the fellowships is to provide minorities with opportunities and changing application criteria will not discourage that.
The Daily Egyptian, the student-run newspaper of SIUC, is committed to being a trusted source of information, commentary and public discourse while helping readers understand the issues affecting their lives.
The Daily Egyptian is published by the students of SIU at Carbondale. Except during vacations and exam weeks, The Daily Egyptian is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters and TWThF during the summer semester. The Pulse, Carbondale Entertainment Guide, is published once a week on Thursday.Last update: Wednesday, February 8, 2006 at 8:08:25 PM
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