An update on Ghosh-ness at the University of Illinois

First, let's start with Dean Ajivit Ghosh:

This is the entire article from the September 11 issue of Western Michigan University school newspaper:

Former Western Michigan University presidential candidate Avijit Ghosh is caught in a scandal at his own university. University of Illinois ex-assistant dean Robert van der Hooning created a program last spring to provide 110 full-ride scholarships to veterans and members of the military interested in getting a master of business administration degree.

Ghosh is on a "partial leave of absence without pay" from his job as Dean of the University of Illinois College of Business. He was a key figure in the U of I military scholarships scandal. For more on that, click here.

Also, amidst the chaotic opening of classes at DePaul University that was well well covered here, the University of Illinois Executive MBA program also kicked off a new school year in Chicago and the new class there needs a close inspection.

Last spring, the University of Illinois promised that 110 state residents serving in the War on Terror veterans would received full-ride scholarships to the school's Executive MBA program.

Van der Hooning has told me repeatedly that it was well-known within the College of Business that the 110 scholarships were to be offered for the 2006-2007 academic year.

Then they started cutting.

"They reverse-engineered the time limits to get 35, 40 of these guys out of the program," van der Hooning told AP a few months ago. College of Business officials were concerned that underfunding of the Illinois Veterans Grant would financially strain the university on the financial level, plus van der Hooning was told that "too many jarheads will bias the class demographic."

After a lot of rescinding, re-rescinding, and Lord knows what else, 37 veterans were ultimately admitted to the program for the 2006-07 year.

That's short of 110.

Here's what Robin Kaler, the university's associate chancellor told AP:

We made a commitment to accept 110 military veterans over several years at our three master's programs.

That included two at the Urbana-Champaign campus, one in Chicago.

Here's the question I want to ask the University of Illinois, my alma mater, about this year's class:

How many vet scholarships were offered? Are we up to 110 yet? Will that number be reached soon?

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