Kristi Mindrup had served as Western Illinois University’s interim president since April 1. The work she’s done since then was enough to convince the Board of Trustees to appoint her as the institution’s 13th president.
“Is there a better vetting process than seeing someone actually do the job for eight months?” said Chairperson Carin Stutz during Friday’s meeting on the Macomb campus.
The eight-member board voted unanimously to appoint Mindrup. She is the university’s first female president in its 125-year history.
Board members and others at the meeting gave Mindrup a standing ovation after the vote.
“You’re the reason I’m sitting here, all of you in this room right now. You’re the reason why I would consider doing this role back on April 1, you’re the reason I would consider doing it now, in December,” she said.
Mindrup said she didn’t set out to be a university president but the call came, and she wanted to help make a change in WIU’s direction.
Her contract will run through June 30, 2027. The full agreement has yet to be negotiated. The board will consider the contract no later than its meeting on March 20, 2025.
Faculty upset with the process
Merrill Cole, president of WIU’s chapter of the University Professionals of Illinois, which represents faculty, said they’re disappointed in what they consider the lack of shared governance in the decision.
“I take this as another example of the board bypassing shared governance,” he said.
Cole said he has nothing against Mindrup, but is upset with the process. He said the decision felt rushed.
Trustee Derek Wise headed a committee to assess a presidential appointment. It conducted surveys that included input from faculty and other constituencies.
“People had a chance to speak that wanted to participate, and that was the goal,” Wise said.
Board members said the survey was not scientific, but it did help take “the temperature in the room.”
Board Vice Chairperson Polly Radosh, a former WIU faculty member, said she is an advocate for faculty. But she feels they are wrong to want a national presidential search done.
“It would be foolish to push aside the first president in five years who has had the courage and insight to make the bold decisions that the board has been asking for,” Radosh said.
“She’s doing an exceptional job.”
Radosh said during her five years on the board, WIU has hired a president, two provosts, four vice presidents, and two deans – all through national searches.
“And two of those people are still on campus. Two!” Radosh said.
“We have a terrible record – a terrible record – in national searches. We have serious problems facing the university. And people hired in national searches have not solved them in my five years on the board.”
She said WIU has made progress in resolving its financial problems since April, which she attributed to Mindrup and her leadership team.
‘It’s in my blood’
Mindrup said her grandparents and an aunt showed her WIU when she was a child and inspired her love for the university.
“I so deeply care about Western Illinois University. It’s in my blood,” Mindrup told TSPR after the meeting.
She said it’s humbling to be asked to lead the institution.
Mindrup began her career at WIU in 1997, when the institution opened its Quad Cities campus in the IBM building in Moline. She started out as a clerk, answering phones at night and on weekends.
Through the years, she has worked her way up through the ranks, and was Vice President of Quad Cities Campus Operations before being named interim president.
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