* AP…
The president of a Chicago-area university says passage of a stopgap Illinois budget has enabled her to do what she’s intended to do for a while, and that is retire.
A statement from Northeastern Illinois University says school president Sharon Hahs plans to retire on Sept. 30 after nearly a decade in the post.
Wednesday’s statement says Hahs delayed those plans as Illinois’ budget crisis worsened. But it says the stopgap budget last week restored stability. […]
The statement says Hahs will recommend that a national search for a permanent new president at the 10,000-student school be postponed until Illinois has at least one full regular budget cycle.
* They missed the real news. Here’s the e-mail she sent, with emphasis added…
TO: University Community
FROM: Sharon Hahs, President
DATE: July 6, 2016
RE: Retirement announcement
I want to share with you my decision to retire on September 30th of this year. It has been my joy and my honor to serve as President of Northeastern Illinois University for nearly a decade. Originally, I had intended to move toward retirement many months ago; Billy and I began making plans. That planning was put aside, however—delayed by the budget crisis. At this point, the University is stable, we have strong leadership, we have demonstrated our resilience, and we have stopgap funding.
In the coming academic year, Northeastern will have its site visit from the Higher Learning Commission for our 10-year reaffirmation of accreditation. In early spring, we will also be going public with our first fundraising campaign, Transforming Lives. It is best for Northeastern to have new leadership in place well ahead of these events. Now is a good time for that transition.
Given the fiscal realities and the reputational damage to the state of Illinois at this time, I have recommended to the Board of Trustees that a national search for president be postponed until Illinois has at least one full regular budget cycle. It is my sincere belief that a national search is not viable at this time. Further, I am recommending to the Board that Provost Richard Helldobler serve as Interim President. He has many significant accomplishments at Northeastern and is deeply committed to our University, our students, and our faculty and staff.
The Board of Trustees will be scheduling a special meeting to address this transition in the next two or three weeks.
Together we have accomplished a great deal over this last decade. I am confident that with continued hard work, the future is bright for Northeastern. Please know that I truly cherish our University and the people who make Northeastern the special place that it is today. I will always keep you in my thoughts and in my heart.
Thank you.
- slow down - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 8:57 am:
The collateral damage to Rauner’s obsessive desire to cripple organized labor in this state is far and wide and this is but one small example of that unfortunate reality.
- Saluki - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 8:59 am:
Perhaps they should look within to find new leadership. She is likely right that a “national” search is not viable, but I would suggest that perhaps they don’t need to look all over the globe for someone to take the helm. Regardless of that, it is a sad state of affairs, when there is even a thought in someones mind that no one would want the job of leading an institution of higher learning in Illinois.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:01 am:
Dr. Sharon Hahs really worked hard for Northeastern Illinois University. When the legislature failed to pass budgets and to fund higher education, she trimmed expenditures and made contingency plans to address the crisis. Northeastern benefited from her strong and determined leadership.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:03 am:
“Other than the zero funding and a governor with a want to destroy higher education… and the MAP funding that the governor feels isn’t important… if you just look past all these lil unconvinces… Oh… and that bond ratings that will probably plummet again… besides all that… if you take all these things out of the equation… it’s really a great job.”
- Cubs in '16 - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:04 am:
Seems like a sound recommendation on her part. Mrs. Hahs understands that the recent funding instability for universities would likely discourage many of the best candidates to succeed her as President from applying.
- Not quite a majority - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:06 am:
I agree completely with her assessment. However, I also feel that any search should probably start IN STATE. Why do we keep looking outside our borders to run our institutions?? Why couldn’t our Gov. find more of his ’stars’ from Illinois?? That said, anyone taking that positions must have full knowledge that they won’t be getting a plum spot, for sure!
- Qui Tam - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:11 am:
If the damage precludes a search for a president, why would a student want to make a four-year commitment?
As mentioned for other state institutions, the damage could extend well-beyond Rauner’s “tenure”.
Rauner is #Winning.
- Sir Reel - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:14 am:
The long term damage is becoming evident.
So much for short term pain.
- Bud Keyes - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:14 am:
Actually she did reputational damage to NEIU by using eminent domain to purchase private property for dorms that NEIU does not even need. Odd that NEIU came up with that money when it was cutting funding for classes.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:15 am:
Who knows…
Making jobs like this undesirable is also part of the Raunerite plan to make Higher Ed so unattractive no one will take these positions…
… then… Rauner will state “No one wants this job, maybe the school isn’t needed either.”
Normally, that would be a preposterous thing to think, let alone comment… but when a governor decides that funding Higher Ed isn’t important, and is part of a scheme to close state universities… how can I not think not filling this position isn’t a “win” for Gov. Rauner.
“I don’t want positions filled, I want universities closed”.
Right? Exactly right.
- Ritter - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:17 am:
The Governor believes the collectivists who have run our state for decades opened too many public universities and that it’s time for a market correction via social Darwinism: Starve public higher education and the weak will die. Cut state appropriation and programs get cut. Underfund MAP and the students disappear. Northeastern, Chicago State, Western, Eastern, Governors State….a couple of them won’t survive.
- Macomb resident - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:20 am:
Oswego Willy is spot on. Sad but true.
- thunderspirit - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:21 am:
Correct, OW.
No one gets rich off public higher education; the goal is to “fix” that.
- Nick Name - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:21 am:
Eh, Ron Sandack is frustrated too, so that’s something.
#Winnin’
- illinoised - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:22 am:
If you don’t keep a vehicle properly maintained, failure of various components cascade into huge systemic issues which are quite costly. Think of Illinois as a vehicle which has not been properly maintained and has suffered long term damage. Whether through naivete or on purpose, the governor is responsible for the cascading damage.
- Downstate - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:23 am:
Same factors (unsustainable spending, pension obligations), make searching for new businesses to come here just as problematic.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:25 am:
- Downstate -
You need to choose the talking point above the one you typed or the one below it. It’s cool, just find the one about being frustrated and reforms are more important… or use the Sandack tweet.
Your context seems a bit shaky, at best.
- Obamas Puppy - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:26 am:
Ahh the reality of the damage this Governor and Goldberg inflicted with the relentless attacks on a once proud system.
- LizPhairTax - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:26 am:
Eh. Bill O’Brien took the Penn State coaching job after that tragedy and used it as a springboard to somewhere better.
No doubt that Dr. Hahs knows her business, but someone would take that job. Whether they’d stay long is another story.
Only so many University President jobs to be had.
- Doug Simpson - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:26 am:
Agree with you OW.
Wished the self proclaimed successful businessman would look at other lines of business in the state.
Oh, lets for instance, prisons. And legalizing Marijuana. And emptying most of them of low level drug offenders. I’m guessing that burger chain that currently has the 2 for 3 buck special closes locations that arent profitable. I’ll bet Bruce closed nursing homes that were a drag.
Just a thought.
- Anon III - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:27 am:
=== If the damage precludes a search for a president, why would a student want to make a four-year commitment? ===
Apparently, not a lot of students have made a four commitment to NEIU. From the NEIU website:
“In compliance with the reporting requirements of the federal Student Right to Know act (Public Law 101-542), the six-year graduation rate for first-time full-time freshmen entering Northeastern Illinois University in fall 2009 is 22.2 percent.”
The four-year graduation rate is 5%.
- illinoised - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:27 am:
Downstate, the tactics Rauner used to “fix” the problems you noted exacerbated the state’s weak condition. Adding another wrong to an existing wrong simply makes the problem go from bad to critically bad.
- Birdseed - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:29 am:
=== - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:15 am:
Who knows…
Making jobs like this undesirable is also part of the Raunerite plan to make Higher Ed so unattractive no one will take these positions… ===
Give me a break. Undesirable? I have a feeling there will be adequate interest in a job with $300k+ base salary with a whole slew of benefits.
- Ron Burgundy - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:31 am:
– the six-year graduation rate for first-time full-time freshmen entering Northeastern Illinois University in fall 2009 is 22.2 percent.” The four-year graduation rate is 5%. –
It’s a commuter school. It’s no Harvard but it serves a need and I don’t doubt it is suffering under the present conditions like other public universities are.
- JPC - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:41 am:
To all of those who point this out as some kind of failure: “– the six-year graduation rate for first-time full-time freshmen entering Northeastern Illinois University in fall 2009 is 22.2 percent.” The four-year graduation rate is 5%. –”
The majority of students at places like NEIU and Chicago State transfer in (and therefore don’t enter as freshman). Many of those who enter as freshmen transfer out. Either way, schools such as these meet a critical need (and do it far cheaper–for the public–than private options).
- DuPage - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:44 am:
The damage to higher education Rauner has caused is known far and wide, it’s becoming legendary. Even if they restore full funding now, it won’t restore the damaged reputation of how this state supports it’s own universities.
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:50 am:
Oh - Birdseed -…
1) the person holding to job is saying right now it looks… like a bad deal.
2) “who”, as an education adminstrstor, will be willing to take a job that may be overseeing the university’s closure?
Hmm.
- Joe M - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:51 am:
The New York Times, Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed - they and many others have recently run stories on the demise of higher education in Illinois.
In the Macomb area there are yard signs that read:
Representative Norine Hammond - Stand Up to Rauner - Fully Fund WIU
- Abigail Adams - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:52 am:
Probably will be seen as the perfect time to bring in a “business person” rather than an academic as president and to give such a “super star” a raise over the outgoing female president’s salary.
See, for example, the University of Iowa.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:54 am:
@Bud Keyes:
“Eminent domain” powers are provided for in the US Constitution. Expanding a public university seems to serve a definite public purpose. While there are a few viable businesses on Bryn Mawr Avenue much of the street is blighted and filled with vacant storefronts.
While Northeastern Illinois and Chicago State University share a common history (Northeastern was the satellite campus for teaching students that was spun off from the future CSU), Northeastern managed to steer clear of the cronyism and political corruption that put CSU on life support. CSU may actually have to close its doors. CSU has a colossal campus with few students. Northeastern is better managed and it will endure.
- Anonymous - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:57 am:
UIS has experienced failed searches this year such as a Dean and the director of Human Resources. These jobs will continue to be difficult to fill for some time.
- Huh? - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 9:59 am:
“Given the fiscal realities and the reputational damage to the state of Illinois at this time, I have recommended to the Board of Trustees that a national search for president be postponed until Illinois has at least one full regular budget cycle.”
This is very damning for 1.4% politics and agenda. Unfortunately, 1.4% can’t see the campus from his house and doesn’t care about the impacts of his decisions. Too bad he can’t take the arrows.
- Ron Burgundy - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 10:00 am:
Not to minimize the severity of the current situation, but these universities haven’t been “fully funded” since at least Blago and probably well before.
- Norseman - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 10:01 am:
=== Probably will be seen as the perfect time to bring in a “business person” rather than an academic as president and to give such a “super star” a raise over the outgoing female president’s salary. ===
A business person who takes this job is not much of a business person. Besides, we’re still seeing the damage caused by one business person.
- Aldyth - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 10:07 am:
A friend of mine with an international reputation as an expert in her field just announced this morning that she is leaving the state university where she has taught for over a decade. She’ll be taking her expertise to another state.
The best and brightest are leaving and won’t be back. Who will want to work for a state university in Illinois when you can go elsewhere and have a solid future in a stable environment? We won’t be getting the best and the brightest anymore.
One and one half years of Rauner will take decades to fix.
- TinyDancer(FKA Sue) - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 10:10 am:
To paraphrase the wolf,
“All the better to privatize public services/ institutions, my dear.”
- Oh Really.... - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 10:38 am:
NEIU President Sharon Hahs’ tenure at NEIU is characterized by her own failure to create a financially sustainable University. Read the last several years of NEIU State of the University Addresses by Hahs. Declining enrollment at NEIU started long before Rauner came into office. The use of eminent domain was controversial because NEIU is sitting on 40 acres of vacant land and the condemnation was driven by a hail mary financial partnership with a private real estate developer who wanted land on the nearest busy intersection to campus, not on the vacant land NEIU already owns. In short, Hahs is choosing to ride off into the sunset leaving NEIU in a worse shape than when she arrived.
- Crosstabs - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 10:41 am:
EIU has either an interim or no replacement for three of its four VPs. The fourth has announced his retirement this June.
At least four of the seven Deans are also interims.
The admissions director. The police chief. Interims.
- Federalist - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 11:16 am:
Rauner is one of his ‘turn around agenda items’.
The destruction of public universities in this state! Madigan and Cullerton are less hostile but don’t care that much.
And no, with with a different Governor the damage has been done and future financial resources will be used to support various welfare/social program and will not be reallocated to the universities to make it up.
- DuPage Dave - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 11:18 am:
Those making arguments based on graduation statistics are missing the point, I think. NEIU serves working class people, largely Latino, who are trying to lift themselves and their families up a bit in the American economic system.
NEIU is not very selective in admissions and can’t be compared to state or private universities that turn down most applicants. It should be judged for how well it fulfills its mission, which remains important.
Almost every state has one or more universities that is less selective and aimed at serving working class students. The question of whether Illinois should have such a university or not is a valid one. But any action to eliminate NEIU should be based on a process of public deliberation and not a slow starvation by the governor.
- Reality Check - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 11:35 am:
Danville Area Community College just hired a new President last week replacing a stellar outgoing President. Excellent candidates in the final panel and a candidate from New Jersey selected. The job involves working through challanges.
Grow up and get busy looking NEIU!!
- Federalist - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 11:39 am:
Sorry for the repeat, but for some reason my initial response, showed up, then disappeared for 30 minutes and then showed up again.
I guess I need a new computer.
- Realitycheck - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 11:46 am:
Tell NEIU to call Danville Area Community College. Faced with the exact same set of facts, they just completed a national search and hired a new President last week from a highly qualified and competitive field of candidates.
The outgoing President of DACC is the first EVER community college President confirmed as a member of the Illinois Board of Higher Education. In short, DACC just found a suitable replacement for a living legend.
Two words for NEIU . . . .quit whining. Two more. . . .get busy. It can be done. News flash . . . .the job is a problem solving position.
- Illinois Bob - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 12:40 pm:
I’d have a lot more respect for Rauner if he’d come up with some sort of overall plan for reform of Illinois public university visions and missions. For example, Junior colleges typically provide far better quality of instruction for first and second year students, at generally far lower cost, than most state Universities here. Why not make distressed state universities exclusively for transfer students from JCs where many can get the remedial help they need to perform college work before going to a four year school? Places like Northeastern and Chicago State come to mind for that sort of program because so many unprepared students fail to thrive and graduate there. It just doesn’t make economic sense to spend high college costs to remedy deficiencies in the K-12 public education system.
- Illinois Bob - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 12:46 pm:
We also need to develop adult education services for those whom were failed to achieve that competency from Illinois’ well funded (18% above national average per student) K-12 system. Rather than make up those deficiencies under the massive overhead of state U’s, the remedial work SHOULD be more able to be addressed outside that system for far lower cost. It’s time to stop enrolling unprepared “warm bodies” for no reason other than revenue sources for big college bureaucracies.
- staffer - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 1:23 pm:
Doing ‘national’ searches instead of in state is part of the administrative bloat that has been an issue of university costs for quite a while. As to nobody getting rich in public higher education, take a look at the salaries of presidents. I don’t know about anyone here but I don’t know of any president that is worth $450K+ Easter made in excess of 500K and his sucessor more than that. In the meantime tuition keeps increasing year after year
- Anonymous - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 1:41 pm:
@Oh, Really: Forty acres of vacant land? So you are proposing that the athletic fields and the parking lots be removed for the new construction on the existing campus? Bryn Mawr Avenue is blighted and needs to be renovated.
- Scamp640 - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 2:01 pm:
@ Illinois Bob. The administrative bloat and “massive overhead” is not the problem issue you think it is. I am pretty sure you don’t even know what a university administer is or the variety of pretty essential jobs they do. For example, what you might call administrative bloat, I call a computer support specialist who helps maintain the university’s computer systems.
- Ryan - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 2:14 pm:
This is all part of Rauner’s plan. He hates public education, particularly higher education, and wants it gone. After all, he thinks Devry does an excellent job. He’s already succeeding with EIU. They aren’t coming back from this. Unfortunately, it’ll be closed in 5-8 years, I 100% believe that. CSU and WIU are next.
- illinois bob - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 3:32 pm:
@scamp640
Computer support people aren’t administrative “bloat”. They preform a necessary and valuable function.
I’m referring to all those “assistant” and “associate” department heads, and the “warm fuzzy” folks like a gaggle of people in “development”, “community development”, “director of diversity” offices and a dozen other boondoggles where their function appears to be of little value to the students.
There’s also the bureaucratic “empire building” that promotes duplication and redundancy, much as is the case for maintenance and operations at UIUC where they split the bureaucracy up so that each “empire” is well taken care of.
I’ve seen this up close and personal, scamp. It’s far worse in Illinois than at other public universities in the B10.
- Federalist - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 4:07 pm:
“I’m referring to all those “assistant” and “associate” department heads, and the “warm fuzzy” folks like a gaggle of people in “development”, “community development”, “director of diversity” offices and a dozen other boondoggles where their function appears to be of little value to the students.”
If you have been employed in a university over a several decade time span you can see that this is a real issue and Illinois Bob has identified it accurately.
Obviously, it is part of the problem and not the whole problem. In any case Rauner does not really care about that or he would address those issues in a forthright way. His purpose is the larger one which many of us have already commented upon.
- atsuishin - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 4:22 pm:
@scamp640
There’s massive bloat and many layers of cozy jobs with great benefits and pensions which my taxes will need to be raised to pay for.
NEIU, UIC and CSU need to merge. abolish the needless administrative bureaucracies the universities are there to teach not serve as job cores.
- Scamp640 - Thursday, Jul 7, 16 @ 4:27 pm:
@ Federalist. I have to disagree with you about the so-called administrative bloat. I am not exactly sure how many assistant deans there are at public universities in Illinois. You could eliminate all of them and not make a huge dent in the university budgets. The increase in the number of non-teaching personnel at universities has occurred. But folks who complain about the bloat focus on the assistant deans and believe that each university has 100 of them. It is just not true. Regional universities might have 6. Maybe a Big Ten university might have 20 — but this is just an estimate. But it is true that there are a lot more administrators and administrative professionals who work at universities and don’t teach in the classroom. I would argue that most of these people do productive things that enhance the learning experience for students or keep the university running (e.g. support for students with disabilities, technology support, title IX compliance, grant compliance, student advising, student health, student retention). These administrators were hired because external critics told universities to make changes. So, the universities hired more people to address these criticisms. And then universities get criticized for hiring these non-teaching employees. And I have been around universities as a Ph.D. student, faculty member, and now administrator since 1988. So I have seen a lot. Also keep in mind that Illinois universities have seen their state funding reduced each year since about 2002. I believe that was the peak year for state funding for NIU, as an example. So, Illinois universities have had over a decade of being asked to do more with less and less. The “bloat” criticism really has to stop unless you can provide real data to prove otherwise. If you want to track how much money the state of Illinois has spent on higher education since the year 2000, please look at figure 2 on page 6 of this IBHE report. Here you can see that 2002 is the high water mark for state support of higher education: http://www.ibhe.org/Board/agendas/2015/December/Item%20III-7%20FY17%20Higher%20Education%20Budget%20Recommendation.pdf