At the University of Illinois Springfield, a program that places graduates in in-demand jobs touts the real difference exercise science can make. “If we can prevent people from being physically inactive, we’re finally putting to good use one of the most cost-effective tools we have in healthcare,” one professor says.

The University of Illinois System doesn’t just study public health. It practices it. This is not a distant ambition dressed up in a mission statement. Across its three universities, the U of I System has positioned health and wellbeing not as a byproduct of education, but as one of its central obligations to the people of Illinois and one of its greatest opportunities to lead.

Nominate alumni, colleagues, or other humanitarians working to change the world for the better using this form. The deadline is April 13.