The day before the first Presidential Search Committee meeting, the Faculty Senate voted 7-5 that Eastern’s ninth president have a doctorate or comparable degree and academic experience.

“Having a terminal degree speaks well of their goals,” said Luis Clay-Mendez, a search committee member who represents the faculty.

A full-time presidential replacement has not been found since July 2001 when former President Carol Surles resigned because of breast cancer. Interim President Lou Hencken, the former vice president for student affairs, has held the position since Aug. 1, 2001.

The senate’s recommendation to the search committee is only a suggestion to the 13-person board comprised of faculty, administrators and Board of Trustees members. Two of the 13 search committee members are faculty members.

Previously, the doctorate degree requirement was preferred but not required. The change in language sparked senate debated on whether the minor stipulation was required.

“Having a Ph. D doesn’t guarantee that you will be a good president,” said Wilson Obgomo, associate professor of African American studies.

Bud Fischer, an associate professor in biological sciences, who had lobbied for the doctorate requirement for the 2001 search, said, “Is it your degree or what you’ve done in your lifetime that makes you a scholar? We made those changes because we wanted to be more inclusionary than exclusionary.”

Clay-Mendez, also a member on the 2001 committee, said the concern of proper education qualifications had been voiced by numerous of his fellow faculty. He said a majority of the candidates from the previous search had doctorate or comparable classifications.

The search committee will meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Scharer Room of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

In other search committee-related action, Chair Betsy Mitchell responded to Senate Chair’s David Carpenter’s letter requesting “information about and realted to the presidential search be communicated to the campus community and the Faculty Senate in a more timely manner.”

Mitchell, who could not be reached at her home, said in an e-mail the slowness was because of a lack of an executive secretary, which is a position that is now filled.

“I promise you that we will try and do a better job,” according to the e-mail. ” … I do not want things like this to take away our focus from find(ing) the best match for Eastern Illinois University.”

In other action, the senate:

u Heard a report on the Illinois Board of Higher Education Faculty Advisory Council from Journalism Chair Les Hyder on the Aug. 12 meeting. He reported Gov. Rod Blagojevich had approved the same amount for higher education, $1.3 trillion, as the General Assembly had approved for state allocation.

“Eastern took a bigger hit than average,” Hyder said.

The two goals for the year of IBHE Chairman James Kaplan are bulk purchases of energy and improving higher education service toward students with disabilities.

The IBHE serves as the middleman between higher education administration and the General Assembly. Among the other topics discussed at IBHE were studies on higher education diversity, affordability and the overload of dentists and physician assistants in the work force because of an over allocation of grant funds.

“With the exception of capital projects, funding for higher education is going down,” Hyder said.

u Discussed a motion that would have disavowed the senate from joking comments made by Budget Director Jim Shonkwiler at Friday’s Council on University Planning and Budget meeting. Shonkwiler had used Blagojevich and Eastern’s budget cuts in a poem in lieu of Friday’s “Talk Like A Pirate Day.”

“I think that there’s really nothing that I need to say to clarify it really,” Shonkwiler said Tuesday night. “It was an attempt at introducing some levity into something (the budget) that is normally dry as toast.”

“Obviously other people felt differently about my attempt at levity and everybody, everyone can have their own opinion, but my lesson is don’t ever try to introduce levity into anything just let it go.”

The senate had received two emails in complaint, and Allison confirmed that Shonkwiler made the statements that jokingly referred to Blagojevich as a “scurvy dog” and a “pirate,” Carpenter read from the emails. But, after three senators voiced the issue not be discussed further, the motion was revoked.

“No, it wasn’t a view all administrators hold,” Blair Lord, vice president for academic affairs, said. “We have worked long and hard to establish relationships with the governor and the General Assembly. It was just the wrong to do at this time.”

u Passed the nominations of Linda Ghent, an assistant economics professor, to the Parking Advisory Committee, and Olivet Jagusah, assistant professor of secondary education and foundation department, to the Library Advisory Board.