Typically when we look back on a semester, we focus on things that happened. When it comes to this past semester, the wildly unsuccessful football season, the narrowly avoided strike and the general absence of the Alma Mater statue stand out as some of the most noteworthy occurrences.

However, more notable is something that didn’t happen: a scandal.

Aside from weathering a fiscal dilemma for the last several years, the University has suffered a number of humiliating, brand-damaging scandals.

The drama began after a 2009 revelation that several students had been admitted to the University after receiving preferential treatment because of special connections with politicians and school officials. This discrepancy in admissions standards was pointed out by the Chicago Tribune and received relentless coverage that ultimately led to the resignation of both University President B. Joseph White and the chancellor of the Urbana campus, Richard Herman.

The 2010 school year began in hopes of a fresh start as new leaders took the helm. President Michael Hogan took charge of the University and the many messes that both the scandal and a down economy had left behind.

Hogan was viewed as a success after his first year, but the University would see another bump in the road in the fall 2011 at the hands of a law school admissions dean. It was uncovered that Paul Pless had falsified admissions data of law students for multiple years to better the highly important rankings of the program. This scandal further damaged the Illinois brand and brought the University’s integrity back into question. 

Later that fall, President Hogan’s chief of staff, Lisa Troyer, came under fire after being accused of anonymously sending emails to faculty senators, pushing them to support an unfavorable admissions plan Hogan had proposed. Troyer resigned from the position in January and resigned from the University altogether in July. Because Hogan’s leadership was in question, he too finished his rocky tenure at the University by resigning in March.

Clearly, the last three years have brought clouds of doubt, shame and embarrassment to a University that was seen as a global leader in public education.

This past August, though, the clouds cleared up.

With Robert Easter as president and Phyllis Wise as chancellor of this campus, the University has found itself under stable, respected leadership for the first time in years. This new era is coming at a time that the University system and this campus need it most and things will only continue to improve with each coming semester.

John is a junior in Media. He can be reached at [email protected].