Trustees approve Guenther’s raise

By The Asssociated Press

CHICAGO – The University of Illinois Board of Trustees Thursday approved a contract extension and raise for athletic director Ron Guenther and approved plans to build a $15.8 million dormitory on the school’s Springfield campus in time for the 2008-2009 school year.

The trustees also welcomed three new student members and, for the first time, the student trustee from Springfield will have an official vote.

Guenther will receive an immediate $90,000 raise, which puts his salary at $500,000 per year, after trustees unanimously approved extending his contract through Dec. 31, 2008. He also will receive a $250,000 bonus if he stays through the entire contract.

Guenther, 60, has been director of the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics at the university’s flagship Urbana-Champaign campus since 1992. His contract was set to expire Aug. 20, but keeping him on the staff was “absolutely essential,” Chancellor Richard Herman said earlier this week.

Construction is set to begin in late November on a $116 million renovation of Memorial Stadium, which is expected to be completed in time for the 2008 football season. Construction also is under way on a new golf practice center and renovations are planned for the women’s softball field and the Atkins Tennis Center.

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“The extension will allow our department to finish the Memorial Stadium renovation project and continue addressing our facility and endowment needs,” Guenther said Thursday, through a spokesman.

Construction on the new residence hall on the Springfield campus is expected to begin next summer, officials said. The 200-bed dorm will increase the on-campus student housing capacity to more than 1,000 as the school continues its transition to a full-fledged four-year university, said trustees spokesman Tom Hardy.

Sarah M. Doyle of the Springfield campus, Christopher Kantas from the Urbana-Champaign campus and Umair Mamsa of the Chicago campus joined the trustees Thursday as student members for the coming year. Doyle will have the students’ single official vote, which is designated each year by the governor.

This will be the first year a student from the Springfield campus has had an official vote on the board, Hardy said. The Urbana-Champaign representative had the vote the past two years.