SIU Trustees approved Austin Lane as the new Carbondale campus chancellor on Friday - and Lane says he's ready to get started as a Saluki.
The former Texas Southern University President acknowledged the tumultuous end to his term there when he met with the media on Friday. He says accusations of mismanagement and inflating enrollment numbers at TSU simply aren't true.
"I've always acted with integrity. That's why I can hold my head up high, that's why I can give comments to anyone who calls me. I don't run from newspapers, or quotes, or anything like that. Because I have nothing to hide, and I've done it the right way."
SIUC Faculty Association President Dave Johnson questions the claim that enrollment increased by 28% during Lane's time at Texas Southern. He says the math doesn't add up.
"It is thus deeply troubling that SIUC appears to be broadcasting a blatantly false claim about our presumptive chancellor's past performance."
But SIU President Dan Mahony says he's reviewed the data. He says it's not a comparison over the three years, but rather a cumulative look.
"So it's a different way of presenting enrollment increases, but it's not factually inaccurate."
Mahony says he personally vetted Lane before recommending him, and knows the search committee and private search firm also did their due diligence. He says he has confidence Lane is the right fit for SIUC, and he's looking forward to working with him.
Lane's four-year contract calls for a $340,000 annual salary. He expects to start work sometime mid-June.