Office of Public Affairs
Swanlund Administration Building
601 East John Street
Champaign, IL 61820Dialogue on Chief Illiniwek
Mailed 2/16/00
CONTACT: Bill Murphy, associate chancellor for public affairs (217) 333-5010
CHAMPAIGN, Ill.--A plan for renewed dialogue on Chief Illiniwek was announced today by William D. Engelbrecht, Chairman of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.
The Board of Trustees reaffirmed its commitment to dialogue on January 13, and today’s announcement is a tangible expression of that commitment, he said.
Engelbrecht said that the University would retain a senior legal professional to help gather opinion on Chief Illiniwek, symbol of the Urbana campus’s athletic teams, and present it to the Board in a form that would allow the Board to respond to particular points in an organized way.
The first step, he said, will be opinion solicitation. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the general public will be invited to submit their opinions in writing.
Submissions may be sent to Dialogue on Chief Illiniwek, P.O. Box 5052, Champaign, Illinois 61825 or to dialogue@uillinois.edu. The deadline for submissions will be May 31.
The Board will hold a Special Intake Session on the Urbana campus April 14. Interested people of all shades of opinion will be welcome to present their views.
The University will retain a senior legal professional to compile all the communications received, including a transcript of the Special Intake Session as well as the letters and e-mails.
The senior legal professional will prepare a three-part report consisting of 1) an executive summary of the various arguments made about this issue from all points of view, 2) a distillation of these arguments into particular points to which the Board will reply, and 3) an appendix consisting of the transcript of the Special Intake Session and all communications received. All members of the Board of Trustees will receive this report on August 1, and it will be available to the press and general public.
Engelbrecht said that the Board will hold a Special Response Session on the Urbana campus in the fall at which it will respond to the various issues as presented by the senior legal professional. The Board may also choose to issue general statements or adopt resolutions at that or a later time.
This plan should allow all opinions to be heard and allow the Board to respond to all of the issues raised during the process. I urge everyone interested in this issue to offer his or her opinion. We’ll be listening, he said.
Engelbrecht said that further details about the Special Intake Session would be announced soon.
E-mail: dialogue@uillinois.edu
