Earlier today, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced five appointments to the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.
The appointments, which require confirmation by the state Senate, include two former members who are returning after two years away from the board – Chicago attorney Patricia Brown Holmes and Ricardo Estrada, who heads one of the state’s largest human services agencies. The governor also appointed Kareem Dale, who advised former President Obama on national disability policy, and former state Rep. Naomi Jakobsson. Donald Edwards, a current trustee whose appointment by then-Gov. Bruce Rauner had not been confirmed by the state Senate, also was reappointed by Pritzker.
The new board members succeed outgoing trustees Timothy Koritz, James Montgomery and Patrick Fitzgerald, whose terms ended this month, and Sanford Perl. Perl was appointed by Rauner and served since last May, but had not yet been confirmed by the state Senate, which allowed Pritzker to withdraw the appointment and select his own nominee.
The following is a statement by U of I System President Tim Killeen on the appointments to the board, which meets at noon today in the Michele Thompson Rooms B and C at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Student Center West, 828 S. Wolcott Ave., Chicago.
“I am grateful to Governor Pritzker for his thoughtful appointments of Don Edwards, Patricia Brown Holmes, Ricardo Estrada, Kareem Dale and Naomi Jakobsson to our Board of Trustees,” said Tim Killeen, president of the U of I System. “All are alumni, and Don, Patricia and Ric already have well over a decade of combined experience as trustees. Collectively, they bring a wealth of talent and insight that will help the U of I System build on its rich legacy of service to students, discovery, innovation and the public good. I look forward to working with them. And I also want to extend my deepest thanks to outgoing Trustees Tim Koritz, Jim Montgomery, Pat Fitzgerald and Sandy Perl for their leadership on behalf of our students, faculty, staff and alumni across the state and around the world.”
