The Board of Trustees’ longest-serving member is stepping down.

Jeffrey Gindorf, a physician from Crystal Lake, Ill., did not apply for another term of office. His term expired Sunday.

Gindorf, a member of the board since 1992, was the last trustee to be elected by Illinois voters. Since 1995, the governor, with the consent of the state Senate, has appointed trustees to 6-year terms. Gindorf was reappointed in 1999 by then-Gov. George Ryan.

A phone call to Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s press office seeking comment on Gindorf’s successor was not returned by Sunday evening.

Gindorf, who received his M.D. from the University of Illinois-Chicago in 1986, said he chose not to reapply in order to spend more time with his family.

“Twelve years is a long time to donate your time,” he said in a phone interview Sunday. “I have a couple of 3-year-old daughters; I’d rather watch them grow up.”

When asked if there was anything he was particularly proud of, he said, “I hope I didn’t screw it up too badly.”

Student trustee Matt Diller called Gindorf “an asset to the board.

“It boggles my mind the things he’s able to clearly understand,” Diller said.

One of the most contentious issues Gindorf’s replacement will face is the debate over Chief Illiniwek.

Leslie Van Buren, a co-coordinator with the Progressive Resource/Action Cooperative, a group that opposes the Chief, said she hoped that “the person who takes (Gindorf’s) place is committed and attentive to issues like the Chief and other issues of racial justice.”

Phone calls to Nick Klitzing, president of Students for Chief Illiniwek, seeking comment were not returned. Roger Huddleston, president of the Honor the Chief society, was not available for comment Sunday.

-Jeremy Pelzer