University of Illinois trustees formally extended President Robert Easter's contract on Thursday and approved making him eligible for bonuses.
When the UI Board of Trustees approved Easter as president in March 2012, following the resignation of Michael Hogan, the expectation was that Easter would serve in the role until June 30, 2014. The new agreement calls for him serving in the role of president until June 30, 2015.
When asked by UI Board Chair Christopher Kennedy last March if he would consider moving into the role, Easter said his response was, "Let's see how it goes." And he initially agreed to two years in the position.
"The reality is it's taken me about a year to understand the issues we are dealing with and those need to be dealt with another year before the search process (for the next president) gets underway," Easter said.
The story was reported by the Champaign News-Gazette on July 25, 2013.
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