Southern Illinois University’s board of trustees announced Wednesday a meeting will be held later this week to discuss the future of the school’s president.

Two members of the board’s executive committee called Friday’s special meeting to consider placing university president Randy Dunn on administrative leave and the appointment of an acting president.

Dunn in 2014 became president of the university.

Dunn in recent weeks has been embroiled in a controversy over funding of SIU’s two campuses. He has expressed support for the equal division of funds because the campuses have equal numbers of students. Currently, about 64% of state funding goes to Carbondale and 36% to Edwardsville.

The issue broke into the open last month when a faculty member revealed Dunn tried to move more than $5 million in state appropriations from Carbondale to Edwardsville campuses.

Carbondale professor Kathleen Chwalisz said last month in a newspaper column that documents obtained through public records requests show Dunn hid the proposed transfer from Carbondale Chancellor Carlo Montemagno. Dunn used an expletive in an internal email last month that said he used certain funding distribution figures “simply to shut up” those against the reallocation.

A release of emails revealed he used crude language in dismissing the concerns of officials at the Carbondale campus. State Rep. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, called for Dunn’s resignation.

Legislation has been introduced to the General Assembly to separate SIU-Carbondale and SIU-Edwardsville. The legislation would establish new boards for each campus. The board of trustees last month passed a resolution opposing legislation.