Vote Expected Today on Whether COD Board Should Fire Breuder

The College of DuPage Board of Trustees is expected to vote this evening on whether to fire College President Robert Breuder.

A special board meeting has been called for 6 p.m. Tuesday. The board is expected to take comments from the public and then meet in closed session. The meeting can be viewed via a live-stream video on the COD’s website.

The meeting comes after last month, the board decided to void Breuder’s contract and treat him as an “at-will employee,” the Daily Herald reports. Because of this, the board will only need four votes -- not the five votes previously required in Breuder’s contract -- to fire him, the newspaper reported.

The College of DuPage has been under fire regarding its finances and administrative practices and Breuder has been the subject of public scrutiny regarding a $762,867 severance package the former board of trustees approved, the newspaper reports. This past week, the Higher Learning Commission said COD did not meet two core components for accreditation.

Here is a look at some of the claims facing the institution and the president, who is currently on paid leave:

• In January, school board members voted to send the community college’s president Robert Breuder away with a $762,000 buyout. That was funded by taxpayers.
• Audio tapes of the buyout negotiations between Breuder and the board of trustees revealed that the president initially asked for a $1.5 million severance payment—almost three years’ salary—and other perks. The board refused to accept those terms.
• Then there were the business dealings at the college radio station and a move tocensure a board member.
• Earlier in March, it was revealed that nearly $200,000 was charged in food and liquor costs at the college’s fine dining restaurant, Waterleaf.
• The last week in March, the college allegedly awarded signage contracts to a foundation member without going to bid for the jobs.
• On April 13, the former radio station employee pleaded not guilty to the charges he faces.
• Then on April 20, it was discovered that an additional $160,000 has been spent at the College of DuPage restaurant, Waterleaf, from an account that was previously undiscovered.
• August 2015: College of DuPage trustees vote to close the Waterleaf restaurant.
• September 2015: The Chicago Tribune releases an article about a pricey, private locker room Breuder had built at the College of DuPage’s fitness center for himself and other top administrators.

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