Response from: Dan

Joe White and University of Illinois might be in hot water over the veteran scholarship scandal. There’s an interesting read at Marathon Pundit’s blog about an offer of $50K hush money made by U of I to the guy they canned to keep his mouth shut and go away quietly. First, that’s chump change for illegal activity. Second, are they stupid or just plain dumb? Third, it appears the Attorney General didn’t agree with U of I and that explains why its investigation is still going on a year later. Go read http://www.haloscan.com/comments/marathonpundit/3779337378901194631/.
I just wonder how high the cover-up goes. Here is the story – it’s in a letter written to Lt. Governor Quinn’s office: “You probably already know everything about this. I read your press announcements in support of the veteran scholarship program at U of I and know several vets who complained to your office about how they were jerked around by U of I. Did you know U of I offered a $50,000 payoff to the guy they fired keep his mouth shut? Did you know U of I switched admissions procedures to target vets out of the program? Did you know the new Associate Dean for Exec Ed in charge of this program schemed to let civilians into the program and kick vets out? Was Lt. Gov. Quinn a part of this? You also already know that the IVG program is available to vets that qualify and the U of I vet scholarship was based in large part on IVG. What right does U of I have to keep vets out just because IVG is not funded completely by Springfield? So to avoid paying the difference between $74,000 tuition (the highest of any IVG-participating school) and what IVG reimburses, they just come up with a scheme to keep them out in the first place. What nonsense is that? Maybe Quinn should work on legislation that prevents veterans from being discriminated against, or goes after schools like U of I that undermine the IVG program let alone break the public trust and flat out lie. Does Quinn want to be associated with that? I saw him on a video at U of I announcing the scholarship program. I have not seen him on TV condemning them for what they did. Now that word is out that the number of vet scholarships has gone down from 35 last year to 12 this year, will you say anything? Do anything? I read an article in the Marine Corp Times by Quinn’s representative: “They promised 110 spots," Schuller said. "We're kind of disappointed that they didn't do it all in the first year. What we're expecting is that they be done as quickly as possible, meaning in the next coming year.” I am surprised Quinn has not gone public on this and been more outspoken. More than any other politician in Illinois, I thought Quinn could be counted on to be completely honest and on the veterans’ side. It’s time that Quinn DO something, not just put out press releases.” http://www.thebizofknowledge.com/2006/09/university_of_illinois_takes_
a_1.html
Joe White and University of Illinois might be in hot water over the veteran scholarship scandal. There’s an interesting read at Marathon Pundit’s blog about an offer of $50K hush money made by U of I to the guy they canned to keep his mouth shut and go away quietly. First, that’s chump change for illegal activity. Second, are they stupid or just plain dumb? Third, it appears the Attorney General didn’t agree with U of I and that explains why its investigation is still going on a year later. Go read http://www.haloscan.com/comments/marathonpundit/3779337378901194631/.
I just wonder how high the cover-up goes. Here is the story – it’s in a letter written to Lt. Governor Quinn’s office: “You probably already know everything about this. I read your press announcements in support of the veteran scholarship program at U of I and know several vets who complained to your office about how they were jerked around by U of I. Did you know U of I offered a $50,000 payoff to the guy they fired keep his mouth shut? Did you know U of I switched admissions procedures to target vets out of the program? Did you know the new Associate Dean for Exec Ed in charge of this program schemed to let civilians into the program and kick vets out? Was Lt. Gov. Quinn a part of this? You also already know that the IVG program is available to vets that qualify and the U of I vet scholarship was based in large part on IVG. What right does U of I have to keep vets out just because IVG is not funded completely by Springfield? So to avoid paying the difference between $74,000 tuition (the highest of any IVG-participating school) and what IVG reimburses, they just come up with a scheme to keep them out in the first place. What nonsense is that? Maybe Quinn should work on legislation that prevents veterans from being discriminated against, or goes after schools like U of I that undermine the IVG program let alone break the public trust and flat out lie. Does Quinn want to be associated with that? I saw him on a video at U of I announcing the scholarship program. I have not seen him on TV condemning them for what they did. Now that word is out that the number of vet scholarships has gone down from 35 last year to 12 this year, will you say anything? Do anything? I read an article in the Marine Corp Times by Quinn’s representative: “They promised 110 spots," Schuller said. "We're kind of disappointed that they didn't do it all in the first year. What we're expecting is that they be done as quickly as possible, meaning in the next coming year.” I am surprised Quinn has not gone public on this and been more outspoken. More than any other politician in Illinois, I thought Quinn could be counted on to be completely honest and on the veterans’ side. It’s time that Quinn DO something, not just put out press releases.”

Response from: Richard Block

Lt. Governor Pat Quinn just blasted the University of Illinois over the veteran scholarship scam in Champaign. See the Associated Press’ article, “Illinois Lt. Governor Quinn Wants Count of Veterans Scholarships at University of Illinois (http://www.nwherald.com/articles/2007/11/28/news/state/doc474d003a9502
8280427544.txt).
Quinn’s letter is addressed to U of I President Joseph White, Chancellor Richard Herman and the Board of Trustees.

Quinn is right. U of I promised 110 full-ride scholarships last year to vets and active duty soldiers returning from the war. Last year, U of I delivered 35-40 after getting caught by Quinn and US Congressman Rahm Emanuel cutting it to 15. This year, not a surprise, the number went down further to 15 veterans. Illinois Office of Executive Inspector General has been investigating U of I for over a year. One of the internal documents uncovered an email Dean Avijit Ghosh explaining his reason for the cutback: “we need to make sure that we will have some additional cash flow from the additional students so we need to think about how the veterans scholarship will affect our cash flow. You cannot necessarily count on IVG (Illinois Veteran Grant) money at the same rate as last year.” The ugly inside story is how U of I schemed to discriminate against veterans and soldiers. They shortened admissions deadlines retroactively for vets already accepted to kick them out. U of I looked at the admissions database, forged an employee’s signature on a “Dear Jarhead” letter and blamed veterans for not finishing letters of recommendation, transcripts and paying a deposit on time. The creepy part is how U of I promised the vets they could still apply for a spot in the class, but did not mention that 90 students were already accepted for a class size reduced to 60. The new rules only applied to vets, not civilians without vet benefit funding, and U of I recruited more civilians for six weeks after telling vets the class was full. Not Champaign’s finest hour.

Response from: G Petersen

Looks like Joe White and Richard Herman have their own personal Watergate at University of Illinois – institutional discrimination against military veterans in admissions.

If Illinois Lt. Governor Pat Quinn got so frustrated that he went public with his criticism, what is the university hiding? Three simple questions: 1. Why did U of I recruit civilians after telling vets the program was full?
2. Why did U of I change admissions procedures and application deadlines for vets who were already accepted?
3. Why did Joe White ask Sylvia Manning, UIC’s Chancellor, to investigate this mess instead of Richard Herman, Champaign’s Chancellor, and what did White do with the report Manning gave him? So much for academic integrity. Here is Lt. Governor Quinn’s letter to President White, Chancellor Herman and the Board of Trustees. November 20, 2007 Dr. B. Joseph White
President, University of Illinois
364 Henry Administration Building, MC-346 506 S. Wright St
Urbana, Illinois 61801 Dear President White: I am writing to express my continuing concern about the University of Illinois' Executive MBA program's treatment of our veterans. On March 3, 2006, I joined Robert van der Hooning, then Assistant Dean for Professional and Executive Education at the University's College of Business, at a University of Illinois-sponsored luncheon to promote the College of Business' commitment to award free tuition for its Executive MBA Program to Illinois servicemembers who have served in the Global War on Terror. At that time, the University pledged to provide up to 110 full academic scholarships to the 20-month Executive MBA Program, including tuition, mandatory fees, books, meals, and lodging. Since that promising beginning, I have been deeply disappointed by the University of Illinois' failure to fulfill its promise to our veterans. Instead of honoring our pledge to our veterans, the University ofIllinois has cut back on its promise. I am writing this letter to formally request a full listing of all veterans who have thus far received the tuition waiver from the College of Business, along with a list of all veterans who have applied for an been denied admission and total enrollment numbers for the Executive MBA program over the last two years. I expect the University of Illinois to make good on its promise and set an example of ethical behavior for all of its students. I appreciate your prompt attention to this matter. Sincerely, Pat Quinn Lt. Governor cc: Dr. Richard Herman, Chancellor, UIUC
Members, University of Illinois Board of Trustees

Response from: Steve Jones

Discrimination and arrogance go hand in hand. Just because Ghosh, White, Herman and the Board have fancy degrees does not make them above the law. Nobody in this country has the right to discriminate against others. They cheated veterans. What classless people.

Response from: Daniel

This was fraud and discrimination in the most sinister and vilest form, President White. You got busted changing admissions standards and forging signatures on fraudulent letters? Way to go, Joe! Now you and your buddies got caught lying to the Lt. Governor? Did you get your PhD on the streets of Cicero or the 11th Ward? I can’t believe my alma mater would behave so badly. This never would have happened years ago. I am trying to understand WHY White, Ghosh and the other alderman-wannabes did something so utterly STUPID and left a paper trail detailing their discrimination scheme. A PhD doesn’t make you smart or honest, that’s for sure. One has to bend over to give White and U of I the benefit of the doubt. Let’s assume the press release U of I put out, the one they crafted with Quinn’s press secretary, the FAQ given to veterans, and emails and internal documents citing 110 military scholarships were inaccurate or fabricated. Let’s also assume some unfortuate fall guy asked for his signature to be forged on a letter he didn’t write that rigged admissions procedures against veterans. And let’s assume that Lt. Governor Quinn is too old to remember the military scholarship program he endorsed twice at University of Illinois in front of 700 people. Even if all those whopper assumptions are true, there’s still no logical or ethical reason for U of I changing admissions standards only for veterans after they applied and were accepted. There’s still no reason why civiilans were recruited and admitted a month after veterans were told the class was full. I mean, that’s just textbook discrimination, pure and simple. You run a public university. Be transparent. Be honest. Make a full disclosure. Memo to Joe White, Avijit Ghosh, Richard Herman and the Board of Trustees: keep reminding yourself of that immortal phrase, “I am not a crook.” Hey Joe, maybe you should write another book on the ethical lessons of leadership. You are turning this proud institution into a joke.

Response from: Cheat a veteran, fleece the taxpayers

Cheat a veteran, fleece the taxpayers and lie to a Lt. Governor. Is Joe White getting his advice from a Watergate apologist?

It’s one thing for student to cheat. You don’t expect grown up administrators running a university to cheat. Guess a PhD doesn’t make you honest. Cheating students who think they get a fair shake in admissions at a public university is a terrible betrayal and the worst kind of back-room discrimination I can think of. What a shocking reminder of the trickle-down effect of corruption, coverup and political kickbacks, U of I style. Call soldiers jarheads and faculty high-priced hookers. Falsify admissions records, forge signatures on letters and lie to a US Congressman and Lt. Governor about it. I wonder who won’t have a chair when the music stops after the Inspector General and Lt. Gov. Quinn finish their investigation.

Response from: George

Despicable behavior by University of Illinois. If you can't trust a public university to be fair and impartial, who can you trust?

Response from: George

U of I enrolled 15 students in the GLOBAL campus initiative. Enjoy this one, Illinois taxpayers. Just bend over. How much did this cost? $20 million or something like that?

Response from: Don

Let's practice our ethics before going global. All of University of Illinois’ internal files, emails, letters, and documents on the military scholarship fraud are available on the internet now that show exactly what happened in their own words before the mess went public. I heard this came from someone at the Alumni Association in Champaign. http://uploadline.com/files/1617608/Vets_Education_and_U_of_I.pdf.html
- dossier 80 pages as a pdf file
http://uploadline.com/files/4750433/veterans_lawsuit_30_exhibits.pdf.h
tml
- vet lawsuit (includes actual documents from U of I)
http://uploadline.com/files/9239834/u_of_i_lawsuit_response.pdf.html
- u of I lawsuit response (read if you can’t sleep)
http://uploadline.com/files/4330813/Quinn_letter_Nov_20_2007.jpg.html
- protest letter from Lt. Governor (read if you are still looking for corroboration of what went wrong) There are about 150 documents, letters and emails that show how deans, associate deans and others tried to escape scholarship commitment to veterans by changing admissions standards AFTER veterans applied. They even forged the signature of the guy they fired to take the fall for them. Everything is shown through U of I’s own emails, letters, pictures and documents in University of Illinois’ own words. The top PR person at University of Illinois got caught lying with her own emails to the Daily Illini. How sad. Lying to kids. What a bad lesson to students who are told to play by the rules. Worst of all the Board of Trustees knew about it and did absolutely nothing. Who is the Board protecting? I recommend a new curriculum for administrators in ETHICS and COMMON SENSE before they try round #2 of the Global Campus.