Not true: I'm a graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. And now my alma mater is in the news--and not the type of news the Big 10 school wants to see spread around
Wednesday in Springfield, former University of Illinois Assistant Dean Robert van Der Hooning filed a lawsuit against his former employer--alleging he was fired because of his whistleblowing activities in regards to an apparently botched veterans' scholarship program at the central Illinois school--the state's flagship institution.
From ABC 7 Chicago:
There are charges that the University of Illinois broke its promise to dozens of veterans returning from the war in Iraq by revoking their MBA scholarships. The ABC7 I-Team has learned that a former assistant dean at the school's business college is accusing the university of engaging in a cover up and a campaign against veterans.
More...
U of I announced last March up to 110 full-ride Master's degree scholarships for veterans, each valued at $72,000, including room and board and a study trip to China. Assistant Dean Bob van Der Hooning was director of the program for U of I.
"After we launched the 110 full-ride scholarship, things went really well. We had contacts with 1,000 people around the country, vets and active duty," said van Der Hooning.
Van Der Hooning says he notified nearly 100 Illinois veterans that they had been accepted for the current academic year and awarded complete scholarships. U of I officials say that's where the trouble began.
But according to ABC 7 Chicago, Tom Hardy, a U of I spokesman, said the program was to award those 110 scholarships over a three-year period.
Van Der Hooning says he was ordered to cut the number of MBA scholarships to 17, and for "technical reasons" eliminate veterans. The former assistant dean claims he was told by several university officials that there were "too many jarheads" in the program.
This is a story I'll be watching.
Technorati tags: Illinois Military armed forces current affairs Illini law Iraq Academia
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