U of I dean: We admitted student pushed by trustee

A University of Illinois dean says he intervened on behalf of a student who had been denied admission to a master's degree program.

Business School Dean Lawrence DeBrock testified Wednesday before a state panel investigating the role of political influence on the school's admissions process.

He told the Admissions Review Commission he admitted the student, who was supported by U of I Trustee Niranjan Shah.

E-mails show Shah asked Chancellor Richard Herman for assistance with the student's admission. Several days later, DeBrock e-mailed Herman to let the chancellor know the student had been admitted.

MBA admissions director Jaquilin Wilson testified she originally denied the student admission because of a low grade-point average.