Southern Illinois University's Ethics Office has forwarded information regarding controversial hiring decisions on the Carbondale campus to the State Office of the Executive Inspector General.
SIU President Randy Dunn ordered an internal investigation Thursday into the hiring of two of Chancellor Carlo Montemagno's family members, and Friday those findings were forwarded to Springfield.
Dunn acknowledges that he signed off on hiring Montemagno's daughter and son-in-law as a part of the chancellor's employment agreement, but says he was acting based on direction from the Board of Trustees.
"Clearly, there was a feeling on the part of the Board, and it was a directive given to me in pretty explicit terms," Dunn said. "Now, I'm not quoting exactly, but it's a pretty close paraphrase. That was a directive from the Board to 'Do what you need to do, what you can do, to get Dr. Montemagno to this campus and take this position.'"
Dunn says he consulted with the university's legal counsel as well, to make sure the hires didn't violate any laws or policies.
The university's ethics office also is looking into faculty searches that included candidates who'd previously worked with Chancellor Montemagno.
The Chancellor says he had no direct influence on the hiring of his family members and didn't interfere with other searches.
