By AP/KWMU
Carbondale, Ill. – A former University of North Texas administrator once recognized by President Clinton for his health-care reform efforts was introduced Tuesday as the next likely chancellor of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.
SIU President Glenn Poshard chose Fernando Trevino, 57, from among four finalists to succeed Walter Wendler, whom Poshard ousted in November, partly because of the school's declining enrollment.
Poshard plans to recommend Trevino's appointment June 14 to SIU's Board of Trustees. That panel's chairman, Roger Tedrick, said in a statement he was confident the trustees would sign off on Trevino "without hesitation."
"Trevino will be an outstanding leader for the Carbondale campus and an effective ambassador for the university across the region, the state and the nation," Poshard said.
Under Trevino's proposed three-year contract, he will earn $290,000 a year and get a $27,500 housing allowance, the school said.
Trevino, a Texas native, has spent eight years as dean of the School of Public Health at the University of North Texas' Health Science Center in Fort Worth, where he also was a professor of health management and policy.
He previously headed the Texas Institute for Hispanic Health, was professor and chairman of the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine's Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, and was dean of Southwest Texas State University's School of Health Professions, where he also taught.
Trevino has published and lectured extensively on national statistical data policy and minority health issues, and he received a letter of citation in 1995 from Clinton for his work in health-care reform.
Trevino and the other three candidates visited the Carbondale campus this month, when Poshard made clear his choice would have to be a scholarly teacher who works well with faculty, staff and trustees.
On Tuesday, Trevino stressed the importance of "building better communication, building a sense of teamwork on campus and building enrollment."
Poshard said he did not feel he had an "atmosphere of teamwork" from Wendler when he ousted him late last November from the $229,000-a-year job, among other things citing the school's decreasing enrollment under Wendler's watch.
Wendler, who also was dogged by plagiarism allegations, was reassigned as a full tenured professor in the school's College of Applied Sciences and Arts, and will collect his chancellor's salary until his contract expires in June.
In bouncing Wendler, Poshard said he had sought to build his own administrative team since taking SIU's helm in January 2006, and eventually he became frustrated with the school's enrollment, which last fall slid to 21,003.
The school's student population has stagnated around 21,000 since 1996 and enrollment has declined each year since 2004. Fifteen years ago, the school had 24,869 students, according to the Illinois Board of Higher Education.
The school has hired two recruiters to attract students from the Chicago area and has pledged that colleges at the school that show increases in undergraduate enrollment will have increased budgets next fall.
Marc Hahn, dean of the medical school at University of North Texas' Health Science Center, said his colleague should have no problems cultivating good relations between his office and SIU constituencies or trustees.
"His style is that of a collaborator, someone who builds bridges," Hahn said. "He'll be a chancellor that demonstrates his sincere interest in faculty and student success. I think Fernando's going to do a great job."
Other finalists for the SIU chancellorship were John Frederick, University of Nevada-Reno's executive vice president and provost; Sue Kiefer Hammersmith, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay's provost; and Yash Gupta, a professor of operations management at the University of Southern California's business school.