Richard H. Herman is a mathematician, currently Professor Emeritus of Mathematics,[1] who had served as the Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 2005–2009.
The Tribune obtained through a FOIA request several emails between Herman, then law dean Heidi Hurd and others spanning a number of years and establishing without any doubt that preferential treatment had been given to well-connected students.
The Tribune also reported on one case in which the University's president, B. Joseph White, had received a recommendation for a relative of the (subsequently convicted) fundraiser Tony Rezko to be admitted.
As a result of the "clout controversy", several state lawmakers including Representatives, Naomi Jakobsson, Chapin Rose, and Bill Black have called for legislative investigations.
[23] Chairman of the Illinois House of Higher Education Committee, Representative Mike Boland, has called for Herman's and White's removal, as well as several administrators including and members of the Board of Trustees, saying "They were trusted to protect our university.
"[24] In September 2009, Urbana alumni in the Chicago area wrote to the governor and board of trustees praising Herman for his many accomplishments during his term as Chancellor.
These included highlighting his fundraising leadership and efforts to raise the campus' share of the Brilliant Futures $2.25 billion campaign, his efforts to increase Urbana's research presence including leading in creating the Energy Biosciences Institute, a $500 million research program to study converting plant biomass to fuel, helping to create an outreach effort with Chicago Public Schools to increase recruitment of students and increasing diversity on campus, among other accomplishments.