April 29--After months of controversy and a day of turmoil, a new College of DuPage board of trustees is expected Thursday to put President Robert Breuder on leave as one of its first orders of business -- unless the embattled educator decides to step down first.
The vote on Breuder's future was scheduled after a daylong power struggle Tuesday over who was in charge of the state's largest community college. The outgoing board had planned to hold a meeting Thursday night -- and vote on a list of agenda items that did not include Breuder's employment. But then trustee Katharine Hamilton, who for a year has been the board's lone dissenting voice, successfully challenged that move.
Hamilton, who in a political shift is expected to be elected the new board's chairwoman, objected to the plan for Thursday's meeting of the old board, which was to be held before the "organizational" meeting at which new trustees were to take their seats and choose their leader.
State law, however, does not allow for a lame-duck session for outgoing board members after election results are certified, and the new board members' April 7 victories were certified Tuesday morning. State law also calls for the newly elected board members, who are unpaid, to take over as soon as the election is certified.
Hamilton said placing Breuder on leave immediately signals the beginning of the new board's mission of "uncompromised reform."
"We are putting in place a foundation to not only correct the problems today but prevent these kinds of problems from happening in the future," Hamilton said Tuesday. "As part of that, we are putting together an all-star transition team to establish new priorities for the college."
The college canceled the old board's meeting shortly before 6 p.m. Tuesday and announced that the new board would meet Thursday after its installation, in keeping with a state law that requires agendas to be posted 48 hours ahead of a meeting. The agenda for the new meeting includes a resolution to put Breuder on leave because he "cannot achieve the philosophy, mission, vision and goals" of the college.
"He shall immediately cease exercising the duties of President and shall forthwith surrender all keys, telephones, computers and other equipment or devices provided to him by the College," the resolution states. "He shall not be present on the College campus or attend College events without express written authorization from the Chairman."
The board is expected to appoint Joseph Collins, the college's executive vice president, as the acting interim president.
The expected change in leadership at the Glen Ellyn-based community college comes after months of controversy, including a January decision by the board to award Breuder a $763,000 severance package to leave office next March, three years early. A Tribune investigation has revealed numerous issues at the college, from lavish spending by administrators at the campus' fine-dining restaurant, Waterleaf, to the awarding of non-competitive contracts to businesses connected with the school's fundraising foundation.
The college is facing federal and state investigations, according to grand jury subpoenas obtained by the Tribune.
In addition to putting Breuder on administrative leave, the incoming trustees' proposed agenda for Thursday night includes 12 other items for approval. They include retaining new legal counsel; suspending all travel and entertainment reimbursements for members of the board; authorizing a performance audit by the state auditor general; and approving office space on campus and equipment for trustees.
The new board also is expected to vote to suspend all house accounts at Waterleaf. An investigation by the Tribune found that the publicly funded college and its fundraising foundation have spent nearly $352,000 at the restaurant in the past three years.
The board also is expected to announce the formation of a transition team and a committee to search for a longer-term interim president.
Breuder declined to comment as he left campus about 5:30 p.m. College spokesman Randall Samborn said in a statement that the board "has always intended that any college business be conducted only by the incoming Board of Trustees," citing the fact a board meeting was canceled earlier this month, after the election, "out of deference to the election results."
The Tribune, however, had obtained a copy of an agenda that showed that the old board intended to vote on items that included financial reports, personnel actions and purchase orders before the new trustees were introduced at the organizational meeting.
Current board Chairwoman Erin Birt could not be reached for comment.
On Tuesday morning, Hamilton's attorney sent a letter to Attorney General Lisa Madigan and DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin asking that they take action to prevent the outgoing board from calling a special meeting with three members who will no longer be trustees. Hamilton and the incoming trustees also sent a letter to Breuder, directing him to post a notice of a special meeting, in accordance with state open meetings law, with the agenda that calls for him to be put on paid leave.
"You are directed to ensure that all steps are taken to prepare the room for this special meeting," said the letter, which was signed by Hamilton and the three victorious trustee candidates she had backed. "We require your full cooperation and diligence in this matter. Any attempt by you or others to obstruct or frustrate the ability of the Board to conduct this meeting will be viewed as possible grounds for disciplinary action."
Berlin's spokesman said prosecutors were involved in discussions about the board meeting.
Hamilton is now expected to control a 4-3 board majority. The three incoming trustees campaigned as a "clean slate" promising reform, and they are expected to support Hamilton as the board's next chairwoman.
Michael Monaghan, executive director of the Illinois Community College Trustees Association, said Birt only has the authority to call an organizational meeting to introduce the new trustees and vote on their roles, including electing the chair.
"No other agenda is authorized by law," Monaghan said. "The old board is not the board anymore."
Glenn Hansen, president of the faculty union, said he is looking forward to a change in leadership.
"It will be a move in the right direction," Hansen said. "I am looking forward to working with the new trustees. They seem eager to listen to people and all constituencies. They have contacted me about working together and listening to us, so I think that is a major breath of fresh air."
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