Shea resigns from board; Lamont appointed
By Sharita Forrest, Assistant Editor (217) 244-1072; slforres@illinois.edu
Less than a week after the UI Board of Trustees’ November meeting, Chairman Gerald Shea announced his plans to resign from the board at the end of this year. On Nov. 19, Shea said he will leave the board as of Dec. 31 to spend more time with his family. A partner in the law firm of Shea, Rogal and Associates of LaGrange, Ill., Shea also is president of the governmental consulting firm of Shea, Paige and Rogal Inc. of Springfield. Gov. George Ryan has appointed trustee Thomas R. Lamont to fill the vacancy created by Shea’s resignation, subject to the approval of the Illinois Senate. If approved by the Senate, Lamont will serve the remaining two years of Shea’s term, which would have expired in 2005. Lamont’s own term as a trustee will expire in January 2003, along with those of trustees Susan Gravenhorst and Roger Plummer. Kenneth Schmidt will serve as the board’s interim chairman until a new chairman is elected, which is expected to happen at the board’s Feb. 12-13 meeting in Rockford, according to Michele Thompson, secretary to the board. Lamont joined the board of trustees in 1990 and was reappointed by Gov. Jim Edgar in 1997. A partner in the law firm of Brown, Hay and Stephens of Springfield, Lamont previously served as director of civil litigation in the Illinois Attorney General’s office from 1983 to 1987. Lamont earned a doctorate in law from the Urbana campus in 1972. A member of the Illinois State Board of Higher Education since 1999, Lamont previously served on the IBHE board in 1992 and 1995. Shea was appointed to the board of trustees in 1999. Shea was elected chairman in January 2001 and then re-elected in 2002 despite occasional differences of opinion with other trustees and administrators over budgetary and policy matters.
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