Richard Herman

Richard H. Herman is a former mathematician who had served as the Chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 2005-2009. He previously served there as Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs since 1998. As provost he garnered support for, and administered, a “faculty excellence” program designed to bring established faculty to the institution. Over the course of his administrative tenure, sponsored research at the university increased by more than 50%.[1]

For other people named Richard Herman, see Richard Herman (disambiguation).
Richard H. Herman
8th Chancellor of the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
In office
2004–2009
Preceded byNancy Cantor
Succeeded byPhyllis Wise
Personal details
Alma mater
Scientific career
FieldsMathematics
Institutions
ThesisOn strictly singular operators and related concepts (1967)

Herman promoted private sector partnerships by supporting the creation of a Research Park and, in particular, by helping to secure a $500 million grant from BP in partnership with Berkeley.[2][3][4] Commitments to the creation of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology and the garnering of the Petascale Award with IBM from the National Science Foundation ensured continued scientific and technological leadership for the university[5]

Herman helped to secure a number of gifts including $100 million from alumnus Thomas Siebel for support of research in science and technology,[6][7] $14 million for a Center for Brazilian Studies from the Lemann Family[8] and an anonymous gift of $40 million for undergraduate student support.[9][10]

President Bush appointed Herman to his Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, serving on subcommittees which advised the President on nanotechnology, networking and information technology and university-private sector partnerships. He co-chaired the High Performance Computing Inititiative for the Council on Competitiveness as well as serving on the steering committee for its Energy, Security, Innovation and Sustainability Initiative and the Council’s Executive Committee.

Herman served as chair of the Council of Presidents for the University Research Association in 2007. He also served on, and was chair of, the National Science Foundation's Advisory Committee.[9][10] Herman's research specializes on mathematical physics and operator algebras.[9]

Early life

Herman was raised in his grandfather's house in Brooklyn. He attended Stevens Institute of Technology where he received a B.S. in mathematics in 1963. He later received his Ph.D. in mathematics from University of Maryland, College Park, in 1967.[11][12]

After graduating from Maryland, Herman taught mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles from 1968 to 1972.[13] He moved to Pennsylvania State University in 1972 and later served as chairman of the Mathematics Department from 1986 to 1990. In 1990, he returned to University of Maryland in College Park to serve as dean until 1998.[14][15]

Honors

Herman is an Eagle Scout and a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.[16][17]

In 2008 Herman was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.[18]

The Rainbow Push Program named Herman as Educator of the Year in 2009.[19]

Herman received the Malone Award from APLU in 2009.[20]

Admissions Controversy
Main article: University of Illinois clout scandal

The Chicago Tribune reported on Friday, May 29, 2009 that several students had been admitted to the University based upon connections or recommendations by Board of Trustees, Chicago politicians, and members of the Rod Blagojevich administration. The improprieties occurred, according to the Tribune, on the Urbana-Champaign campus headed by Herman. The Tribune obtained through a FOIA request several emails between Herman, then law dean Heidi Hurd and others spanning a number of years and establishing without any doubt that preferential treatment had been given to well-connected students. The Tribune also reported on one case in which the University's president, B. Joseph White, had received a recommendation for a relative of the (subsequently convicted) fundraiser Tony Rezko to be admitted. The Tribune posted emails of Herman to admissions staff pushing for less qualified students to be accepted, citing particularly an exchange between Herman, admissions officers, and then-dean of the college of law Heidi Hurd. The controversy has sparked condemnation from student trustee Paul Schmitt and state lawmakers.[21] It is quite unusual for deans, let alone provosts, to interfere with admissions staff in deciding whether or not to admit individual applicants. Their usual role is to provide guidance and direction as to admissions policies.

As a result of the "clout controversy," several state lawmakers including Representatives, Naomi Jakobsson, Chapin Rose, and Bill Black have called for legislative investigations.[22] Chairman of the Illinois House of Higher Education Committee, Representative Mike Boland, has called for Herman's and White's removal, as well as several administrators including and members of the Board of Trustees, saying "They were trusted to protect our university. In my eyes, they failed in that regard and they should resign."[23]

In September 2009, Urbana alumni in the Chicago area wrote to the governor and board of trustees praising Herman for his many accomplishments during his term as Chancellor. These included highlighting his fundraising leadership and efforts to raise the campus' share of the Brilliant Futures $2.25 billion campaign, his efforts to increase Urbana's research presence including leading in creating the Energy Biosciences Institute, a $500 million research program to study converting plant biomass to fuel, helping to create an outreach effort with Chicago Public Schools to increase recruitment of students and increasing diversity on campus, among other accomplishments.[24]

After months of calls for his resignation, on 20 October 2009 Herman announced he would resign as Chancellor for his role in the controversy. He was replaced in August 2011 by Phyllis Wise, the former Interim President and current Provost of the University of Washington.[25]

gollark: Indeed, C unsafe and bad.
gollark: Well, I'd hope we replace C with something not wildly unsafe.
gollark: of course, supreme R U S T does not.
gollark: * C(++)
gollark: The C++ one stands a significantly greater chance of having security problems and memory management issues.

See also

References
  1. "Sponsored Program Activity". Archived from the original on June 26, 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2011.
  2. 2.1.2007 - BP selects UC Berkeley to lead $500 million energy research consortium
  3. Southwest Illinois News - Business and Technology News Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
  4. University Communications e-Clipsheet » Blog Archive » BP Awards $500-Million to California and Illinois Institutions for Alternative-Energy Research Archived 2011-07-20 at the Wayback Machine
  5. About the Blue Waters project
  6. Thomas Siebel
  7. http://www.fvgroup.com/news/UIUCMillion_Gift.pdf
  8. Family gives UI $14 million for Brazilian studies | News-Gazette.com
  9. "About Chancellor Richard Herman". The University of Illinois. 2005. Archived from the original on 2007-04-19. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
  10. "Richard Herman, Stevens '63, named Chancellor at Urbana". The University of Illinois. 2005-05-13. Archived from the original on 2007-04-26. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
  11. Wood, Paul (October 21, 2009). "Chancellor Herman to stay on as assistant". The News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana).
  12. Herman, Richard Howard (1967). On strictly singular operators and related concepts (Ph.D.). University of Maryland, College Park. OCLC 17540794 – via ProQuest.
  13. Forrest, Sharita (April 1, 2004). "Provost Herman to be named interim chancellor". University of Illinois.
  14. "University of Illinois Chancellor Richard Herman: Biography". Chicago Tribune. October 21, 2009.
  15. "Board of Trustees Meeting" (PDF). University of Illinois. May 19, 2005.
  16. "Distinguished Eagle Scouts" (PDF). Scouting.org. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
  17. "Illini Jamboree Another Huge Success". Prairielands Post. Prairielands Council, Boy Scouts of America. October 2007. Archived from the original (DOC) on 2006-11-26. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
  18. Academy Announces 2008 Class of Fellows. Archived 2009-06-18 at the Wayback Machine American Academy of Arts and Sciences. April 28, 2008
  19. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2011-03-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. http://www.aplu.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=1277 Archived December 4, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  21. "Clout and college". Chicago Tribune. 2009-05-29.
  22. Wurth, Julie (June 9, 2009). "Pols press for hearings in UI's 'Cloutgate' scandal". The News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana). Archived from the original on June 15, 2009. Retrieved June 23, 2009.
  23. http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2009/06/university-of-illinois-boland-white.html Archived June 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  24. Wood, Paul (September 10, 2009). "UI alumni in Chicago write in praise of Herman". The News-Gazette (Champaign-Urbana).
  25. http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2009/10/20/ui_chancellor_richard_herman_resigns_his_position
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