Clyde Wingfield, former NIU president who resigned in 1986 amidst an investigation into the costs of renovating his campus home, is being considered for a similar job in Arkansas.

A tenured professor in NIU’s Political Science Department, Wingfield said although his resume was sent to the University of Arkansas, he is not applying for the job.

“I don’t have an application at the University of Arkansas. I’ve had no contact whatsoever with the University of Arkansas,” Wingfield said.

Wingfield said he left his presidency at NIU because he was “not getting support from the new leadership” of the Board of Regents, NIU’s governing body.

The investigation began after a series of newspaper articles by The Northern Star that more than $100,000 was used to renovate Wingfield’s rent-free campus home.

“That’s simply not true,” Wingfield said when asked about leaving the presidency because of money used for his home. “It had nothing to do with the house.”

Wingfield was the president for less than a year when asked to step down by the board.

State Senator Patrick Welch, D-Peru, when asked last week by the Arkansas Democrat about the funding for Wingfield’s home, said that “we found there was no criminal conduct. But some of us thought the spirit of the law had been violated.”

Welch was the chairman of the appropriations committee which conducted the investigation.

“Basically, we have a law in Illinois that states you have to take bids on anything that costs $2,500 and over,” Welch told the Democrat. “Furniture was purchased separately, and no piece cost over $2,500. But some thought the spirit of the law was violated.”

Wingfield is among seven candidates for the UA Presidency. Their resumes were received Feb. 8 and will be reviewed at a UA board of trustees meeting Wednesday.

Wingfield said he was approached by a “head-hunting” firm that asked if it was all right to send his resume to the the UA for consideration. Wingfield obliged.

Susan Jones, an administrative assistant for Heidrick and Struggles, an executive search firm based in Dallas, Texas, said Wingfield was nominated after an advertisement for the position was printed in the Chronicle of Higher Education, a highly respected education journal.

Jones declined to tell who nominated Wingfield because the firm considers that information confidential. “I can’t imagine Mr. Wingfield is not aware of who nominated him,” she said.

Wingfield said, “I really don’t have any idea” who nominated him.

Regents Chancellor Roderick Groves said he does not have any “direct knowledge” of Wingfield’s presidency, but said his “understanding” of the events is the same as Wingfield’s.

“I don’t think there has been any significant discussion of those events since I’ve become chancellor,” Groves said.

According to Wingfield’s resume, which the Star obtained last week, Wingfield states that he “resigned presidency following change in Board of Regents leadership and forced resignation of Chancellor.”

NIU Public Administrator William Monat was the chancellor when Wingfield stepped down. Monat was the NIU president before becoming chancellor and could not be reached for comment.

Public Adminstration Director James Banovetz and mathematics Professor Linda Sons were members of the search committee that named Wingfield as a finalist in 1985. Monat was the president of the search committee.

Other NIU affiliated references on Wingfield’s resume include: Monat, Groves, Banovetz, English Professor James Giles, Regent Jerome Bender, Regent Clara Fitzpatrick, Chemistry Professor Marion Miller and Professional Studies Dean Peggy Sullivan.

Monat, Banovetz and Wingfield were together in the 1960s as professors in NIU’s political science department.

Wingfield was the president of Bernard M. Baruch College in New York in the early 1970s. Monat was the college’s Chief Academic Officer during part of the time Wingfield was president at Baruch.

Banovetz was the subject of controversy last semester when he tried to get Wingfield’s and Monat’s performance rated on a different scale than other members of the Public Administration Division of NIU’s political science department.

NIU President John La Tourette also was a finalist with Wingfield in 1985.

Regent Carol Burns, who was the board chairman when Wingfield stepped down, did not return numerous calls from the Star about the board’s support of Wingfield.

Burns was quoted in several Illinois newspapers that Wingfield “didn’t meet the board’s expectations.”

Groves declined to comment about Wingfield’s support from the board because his information from the incident was “entirely second and third hand.”

The board governs NIU, Illinois State University at Normal and Sangamon State University at Springfield.

The UA position will pay at least $90,000 per year, said Shirley Frederick, secretary to the UA board of trustees. There are about 31,000 students spaced over five different campuses, she said.