October2609Complete

Page 1

Daily Egyptian

Today: High: 68, Low: 50

MONDAY

Tuesday: High: 60, Low: 49 Wednesday: High: 64, Low: 51

COLUMN, PAGE 5: Gus Bode says . . . have you heard of balloon boy?

OCTOBER 26, 2009

VOLUME 95, NO. 45

12 PAGES

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OFFICIALS OVERSEE UNOFFICIAL

Stile T. Smith DAILY EGYPTIAN STS34@SIU.EDU

DIANA SOLIWON | D AILY E GYPTIAN

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arbondale Police Officer Tim McVey writes citations for underage drinking, consumption of an open container and resisting arrest at about 1 a.m. Sunday at the corner of University Avenue and Cherry Street. Party-goers in costumes filled the streets of Carbondale this weekend as part of Unofficial Halloween, leading police to simultaneously increase foot patrols. McVey wrote the tickets from one of the multiple parking lots observed in and around the Arbor District and the

Strip that served as hubs for no fewer than 15 patrol cars Saturday night. Students have taken to celebrating Halloween a week early as the Strip has been shut down during the official holiday since 2000 because of rioting. Sgt. Mark Diedrick also worked the night shift Saturday with McVey and said he wasn’t sure if problems such as underage drinking were a signature of any particular weekend. “This isn’t different from any other day of the week for me,” he said.

!"#$%#&'()*%+(&')%'&)+,-%#',(.&/"#&*"0("#1(% Lawsuit claims earned degree being withheld Madeleine Leroux DAILY EGYPTIAN MLEROUX@SIU.EDU

A former SIUC student has filed a second lawsuit against the university, claiming she lost two jobs because her doctoral degree failed to be posted. Christi Turpin, who attended the graduate school in the late 1990s, said she was fired from two positions after background checks did not find the doctoral degree she listed on her curriculum vitae. Turpin said she finished her doctoral dissertation and defended it in front of her dissertation committee in March 1999. Turpin filed a federal lawsuit in

2007 against Graduate Dean John Koropchak, Associate Graduate Dean and Graduate School Director David Wilson, and Nancy Mundschenk, a professor of educational psychology and special education. But because the defendants are employees of the state, the court determined the university and the state were the real parties of interest. The case was then dismissed and Turpin was instructed to bring it to the Illinois Court of Claims. Turpin appealed the decision, which was affirmed in June 2009. “(Turpin’s) allegations are serious, and she deserves her day in court. Just not in federal court,” the court opinion states. Turpin said the case is now in the Illinois Court of Claims and depositions are currently being held. Turpin first learned the university had not posted the degree in 2003

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urpin’s allegations are serious, and she deserves her day in court. Just not in federal court. — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit

when employed by Parkway School District in St. Louis, according to the lawsuit. Court documents indicate Wilson then sent a letter to the school district saying the degree was not posted because some paperwork was misplaced. “This error is now being corrected and the degree will be posted in an appropriate manner,” the 2003 letter reads. Turpin said she believed the problem to have been solved, but encountered it again in 2007 when she was hired by McCarthy Building Companies. The construction company also determined through

a background check the doctoral degree had not been posted and Turpin said Wilson and Koropchak then denied she had ever earned the degree. Turpin was fired from the position, where she had a salary of $160,000. Court documents indicate that in an October 2007 meeting, Mundschenk denied signing off on Turpin’s dissertation and informed her of revisions she needed to make. Turpin said this was the first she heard of any necessary revisions and she has since completed the request. See DEGREE | 3

Veterans will soon have one place to go for all of their needs. An unfunded state mandate, put into action in August, requires all universities in Illinois to create a position to help coordinate the veterans on campuses. Interim Provost Don Rice said the only thing the state has really required out of the position is that it exists. “I think the first person in this position is going to help create what that position is going to do,” Rice said. “The state wants a veteran to fill that roll, but they haven’t detailed what that person should do. I think it’s going to vary from university to university depending what you already have in place.” Rice said the position would initially be an extra help position, but it would eventually become a permanent position. Larry Dietz, vice chancellor for student affairs, said the state has mandated that someone be in the position by Nov. 1, so an interim would be selected by then before a search begins for someone to fill the position permanently. “We’re thinking about bringing in someone on an extra help assignment to be able to comply with the legislative mandate, and then do a search shortly there after,” Dietz said. Dietz said he would meet with Rice today to discuss what they would like to do with the position. An extra help position means someone can be appointed to the position, but they have a maximum of 900 hours they can work before they have to step down from that role. After that, someone else can be appointed as extra help, or the position can be transformed into a permanent position. Peter Gitau, dean of students, said Chris Piha, a senior from Carol Stream studying history, has unofficially filled the position as a student worker. “Because it’s going to be a fulltime position, you can expect an enhancement of that coordinating role,” Gitau said. “There will be higher expectations. There will be a role in which this person is coordinating different offices that are serving vets.” Gitau said a search committee would be formed in the coming weeks, and he hopes for the position to be filled by January. Rice said Piha could be one of the potential candidates to fill the position because of the work he has already done. “He knows that there are some things they need to know how to get to,” Rice said. “They need to deal with housing, they need to know how to deal with financial aid.” But in Gitau’s talks with Piha, he said Piha does not feel as though he is entitled to the position. See VETERAN | 2


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