The NAACP is now weighing in on the SIU Board of Trustees saga.
The group’s representatives from Alton, Edwardsville, East St. Louis and Springfield questioned the removal of John Simmons, Ed Hightower and Mark Hinrichs. The Madison County Urban League also co-signed the letter.
They also say in the letter that Trustee Roger Herrin is a “cancer” on the board, and that he’s made racially insensitive comments about Hightower and the university.
They say that Herrin wants to “squelch the gains,” SIU has made in terms of diversity, specifically in attracting black students from Chicago and East. St. Louis to the university.
A new law has been introduced to require the SIU Board of Trustees to seat three graduates of SIU-Edwardsville on the Board.
It was proposed by Alton Sen. William Haine.
Currently, there are no regulations on the make-up of the six members the Gov. appoints, but his three appointees were rejected earlier this week because they graduated from Carbondale and had no Metro-East ties.
Another bill proposed by Sen. Andy Manar would require one member of the board to represent the SIU Med School in Springfield.
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