Bid to remove Southern Illinois president called off

CARBONDALE, Ill. (AP) - A meeting to discuss possibly placing Southern Illinois University's president on administrative leave has been called off.

The three officers of the university's board of trustees were to meet Friday about the future of school President Randy Dunn amid a dispute over a failed move to shift about $5 million in state funding from SIU's Carbondale campus to its Edwardsville campus.

The meeting was set Wednesday by the board's vice chairman and secretary. But chairwoman Amy Sholar said Thursday she didn't believe the officers alone had the authority to remove Dunn and called the attempt a "power play."

Three state lawmakers called for Dunn's resignation last month after release of an internal email in which Dunn used an expletive to describe opponents of shifting money to the growing Edwardsville campus.