Bill Davidson walked in optimistic.

He was the student representative on the Board of Trustees , and the only one keeping the board from unity.

With a vote of 6-1 last week, the BOT decided to offer interim President Lou Hencken a two-year contract.

Davidson said he thought there was a good possibility the board would opt to continue the search for a new president. It became clear during the meeting, however, that was not the case.

“With an optimistic view, I was hoping we would slow down the process,” Davidson said

While Davidson is the first to say Hencken can do the job, he only wanted to give the university community a chance to have its say.

Faculty, students and others said the BOT cut off shared governance by not allowing the search for a new president to continue, stopping those on the Presidential Search Committee and at the university from speaking up.

“I wanted Lou to be president, but when I looked at it as a trustee to this university, I felt that we needed to go about it in a different manner,” Davidson said.

He even suggested a plan to the BOT that would hear input from all campus constituencies. Davidson wanted to bring the search committee into executive session so they could speak “frankly” about their wishes for the presidency.

He also told Faculty Senate about the suggestion. The faculty advisory group passed a recommendation last week for the search to carry on.

When Davidson voted last week, he was representing the students, faculty and everyone who felt the search was over too soon. Davidson was giving the campus a voice even though he knew he was outnumbered at the BOT.

When Davidson went to the Student Senate meeting the day after the BOT met to vote, senate members applauded him.

They stood behind him, and others have commended his decision.

The late foreign languages professor Luis Clay-Mendez said the choice showed integrity. Clay-Mendez was strongly against the board’s decision.

The BOT made a decision Tuesday that is good for the university in the sense that Hencken is a leader.

He knows this university. He spent over half his life here, whether as a student or serving in an administrative position.

The search committee and BOT questioned whether Eastern was ready for a change. Davidson said the board heard from Jim Appleberry, a hired search consultant, instead of the committee. The BOT never met with the search committee directly.

Many have emphasized Hencken has a way with money. He has a steady relationship with the state legislature, Illinois Board of Higher Education and BOT.

But, he’s only staying for another two years, so the university will have to face being led by a president inevitably that might not have that relationship.

Hencken said he hadn’t planned on opting to stay on as president, but decided to after comments from the BOT.

Davidson was right. Cutting off the search process doesn’t seem worth the threat of a faculty no confidence vote in the Board of Trustees.

It isn’t worth shutting up the campus.