First edition of the Chicago Current

8/14/2019 First edition of the Chicago Current

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CHICAGO CURRENTCHICAGO, ILLINOIS, NOVEMBER 9, 2009www.chicagocurrent.com5


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CHICAGO CURRENTCHICAGO, ILLINOIS, NOVEMBER 9, 2009www.chicagocurrent.com

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Byk Peter Sachs

A er months of unexplained delays,Gov. Pat Quinn last week named fournew members to Chicago State Uni-

versitys board of trustees.The four new members are LisaMorrison Butler, who runs City YearChicago; Gary Rozier, a vice pres-ident at Ariel Investments; JulieSamuels, the Openlands Projectsoutreach coordinator; and Zaldway-naka Scott, an attorney and execu-tive inspector general under formerGov. Rod Blagojevich.

But one thingth a t s m is s -ing, faculty andother observersat CSU say, is

an alumni pres-ence.Its kind of

sad because notone of them arealumni, says Donald Pettis, thepresident of CSUs alumni board.Theyre not from Chicago State.

The lack of a faculty or alumnipresence on the board is not un-

usual, says Richard Novak, a seniorvice president at the Association of Governing Boards, based in Wash-ington. But that doesnt mean theyshould be excluded, either, he says.

The board can appoint non- board members to be on (its) com-mittees, and it makes great sensefor an academic a airs committeeto have faculty members on it, No-vak says.

CSUs board had been operat-ing for most of this year with half its seats empty, and it has been twoyears since the board had a full com-

plement of members.The new appointees will join

board members Leon Finney, Rich-ard Tolliver, Betsy Hill and studenttrustee Levon James, who are re-taining their seats.

I hope that it is the beginningof a new chapter, says Yan Searcy,the president of CSUs faculty sen-ate. It appears that there is a nice

mix of community and business (ex-perience), in terms of the recent ap-pointees.

In recent weeks, critics at CSUand in the media have swatted atQuinn for waiting so long to makethe appointments. When an admis-sions scandal rocked the Universityof Illinois in May, Quinn replaced all

but two of its board members by the

end of the summer.But any notion that the delay at

CSU was based on race is probablymisplaced, says Novak.

Its not uncommon for the ag-ship institution, no matter the is-sue, whether its funding or boardappointments to get more atten-tion than the regional or urban uni-versities, Novak says. Thats not

uncommon, and thats just a fact of life in any state.Scott, who is a U of I graduate,

says she is open to the concerns of people who want to see alumni andfaculty given a greater role.

At this point Im open to any-thing thats going to help turn thesituation around, Scott says.

Byk Peter Sachs

E arlier this year, as the City Col-leges pondered how to trim ex-penses and balance its budget an exercise that eventually lead to58 layo s technicians at Kenne-dy-King College were installing a$166,000 robotic camera system inthe upscale Sikia Restaurant.

The project, pushed by then-Chancellor Wayne Watson sincemid-2008, culminated in an invite-only dinner in May that featuredsinger Terisa Griffin and whichwas broadcast live on WYCC, thedistricts PBS station.

The event also celebrated Wat-son, who was leaving the district.

The $166,000 included a high-end Sony HD camera, a pair of ro-

botic camera controllers, and the

cost of designing, engineering andinstalling the system.

Running the show and providingextra security in the campus park-ing lots for the event added severalthousand more dollars to the bill.

In dozens of e-mails betweendistrict o cials discussing the in-stallation of the equipment and theplanning of the May event, student

involvement and educational ben-ets take a distant second place tomeeting Watsons expectations.

The Chancellor voiced to me hisexpectation that we will conduct anew Sikia Grand Opening featuringthe live broadcast of (a) jazz sing-er, wrote Chiaka Patterson, a plan-ning director with the district, in anApril e-mail.

She went on to say that a perfor-mance in May always has been a

goal the Chancellor expressed overthe months.

Last week, district o cials saidthe expensive equipment was in-stalled for the benet of students.

It is being used weekly for thetaping of WYCCs Sounds of Sikia show.

Students gain experience operat-ing the robotic cameras, which addsto their resumes, says Kiara Battle,the director of Kennedy-Kings me-dia communications department.

But that doesnt seem to have been the primary goal when the

equipment was installed.The obvious goal of adding live

entertainment to Sikia is to draw inmore customers, Patterson wrote inher April e-mail.

Arthur Wood, who is WYCCsgeneral manager, did not return acall seeking comment.

Watson, now the president of Chicago State University, declinedto comment.

He says it would be inappropri-

ate for him to talk about the CityColleges since he is no longer associ-

ated with the district.This is not the rst time WYCC

has drawn attention for special pro-gramming linked to Watson.

Between 2004 and 2006, Watsondirected WYCC to produce promo-tional videos for politicians, includ-ing former state Senate PresidentEmil Jones.

The stations former generalmanager said in a lawsuit this sum-mer that she was red in retaliationfor opposing those plans.

Both the Corporation for PublicBroadcasting and the Illinois ArtsCouncil, which have given WYCClarge grants, forbid their grant mon-ey from being used for political pur-poses.

If the money were found to have been misspent then it would have to be repaid, o cials from those agen-cies have said.

The board of trustees approvedup to $200,000 for video equip-

ment and television cameras at itsDecember 2008 meeting.

The outlays prompted no discus-sion from board members.

A one-page description of thespending does not specically saywhy the equipment was needed, nordid it name Sikia or Kennedy-KingCollege.

In an e-mail two weeks a er thatmeeting, Patterson wrote to severalWYCC o cials that, with approvalin hand, there is a need to quicklyrene and nail down the scope andcost of this project.

Diane Minor, the vice chancellorin charge of the districts facilities,said last week the installation gives

broadcast students a broader rangeof experience.

Its a part of the syllabus or thetraining program for students tolearn o -site or live taping, as wellas the programming for WYCC,she says.

Extra sta , security needed for Watson farewell party on WYCC

CITY COLLEGES

TelevisingChancellors

Dinner CostPublic StationThousands

CHICAGO STATE UNIVERSITY

Quinn Names Four New Trustees

Line cook Rene Ortiz plates a dish at Sikia Restaurant.GEOFF DOUGHERTY

Gov. Pat Quinn

EDUCATION


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First edition of the Chicago Current