Fresh off of announcing a study showing the University of Illinois System generates $24.9 billion annually for the state’s economy, system leaders will crisscross Illinois to meet with communities and community leaders, legislators and businesses to explore new and strengthen existing partnerships centered around critical topics including student pathways to higher education, workforce and economic development, rural health care and farmland conservation.
“These annual journeys aren’t just courtesy visits — they’re strategic investments in relationships that multiply our impact,” U of I System President Tim Killeen said. “The insights we glean, the relationships we build or strengthen and the new opportunities that emerge during the state tour increase our ability to deliver on our public good mission.”
The tour is led by Killeen accompanied by the chancellors of the system’s three universities: University of Illinois Springfield Chancellor Janet Gooch, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Charles Isbell Jr. and University of Illinois Chicago Chancellor Marie Lynn Miranda. The tour schedule includes stops aimed at:
- Keeping talent in Illinois and preparing students for high-demand careers. Stops at community colleges and high schools will further explore how to create seamless pathways that connect Illinois students to the system’s universities.
- Fulfilling businesses’ talent and workforce needs and partnering on innovation to grow the economy.Business and U of I System leaders will discuss talent pipelines and explore research and innovation partnerships that help individuals, businesses and communities thrive. As part of that focus, the system is sponsoring a public conversation at the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, “The Future of Work: AI, Talent, and the Illinois Advantage,” on Friday, Oct. 10, from 8:30 to 10 a.m.
- Closing equity gaps in rural and other underserved communities. This stop will examine enhancements to innovative partnerships that advance health care delivery.
- Applying world-class university research to community and industry challenges. The tour will highlight a program supporting farmers’ adoption of edible cover crops — advancing agricultural innovation, feeding people and conserving Illinois’ critically important farmland.
The tour underscores a core finding of the economic impact study: Every dollar invested in the U of I System returns $7 to Illinois society. With hundreds of thousands of alumni active in the Illinois workforce and the system’s combined activities supporting one of every 37 jobs statewide, the U of I System functions as what the study calls one of the state’s “most powerful and inclusive economic engines.”
This week’s tour will demonstrate how that engine runs on relationships — the kind forged face-to-face in communities across Illinois.
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The University of Illinois System is the state’s flagship public higher education enterprise, dedicated to advancing discovery, innovation, health and opportunity in service of the public good. With more than 101,000 students, 30,000 faculty and staff, and universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield, and UI Health, the state’s leading academic health system, the U of I System is the largest and most influential educational institution in Illinois.
Each year, the system awards more than 28,000 degrees, preparing the next generation of leaders and generating billions in economic impact for the state economy.
