Gov. J.B. Pritzker met with the University of Illinois System Board of Trustees on Thursday at its regular bimonthly meeting, taking part in a roundtable discussion on topics including enrollment trends, initiatives to address college affordability and the role of the system in contributing to economic development.
“Affordability really matters,” Pritzker said. “Scholarship money and financial aid is the most important thing, at least from the General Assembly and the governor, that we can do for you.”
U of I System President Tim Killeen said the governor’s participation in the meeting was a reflection of the state government’s extensive commitment to and support of higher education, as well as the role that the system plays in the state’s overall well-being.
“We can really help the state grow,” Killeen said, making reference to a 2022 study that found the system generates $19 billion annually to the state’s economy and that one out of every 46 jobs in Illinois is supported by the activities of the universities and their students. “We’re going to help you balance future budgets through growth, because these students stay, live, work, play and they pay taxes in the state of Illinois, and they contribute civically in important ways. We’re going to grow that over time.”
Board Chairman Don Edwards said the state’s support of the system in recent years has been a difference-maker in recruiting faculty members.
“Faculty express to me regularly that yes, they care about salary, but they want to feel supported in their academic freedom and in their research – by not only their administration and their board, but by their state,” Edwards said. “This alignment that we are emphasizing today helps us retain and recruit the best faculty.”
Pritzker lauded the system’s progress in several areas including keeping tuition stable; enrolling about 79% of Illinois residents among undergraduates at the system’s three universities; supporting students through initiatives in childcare, mental health and homelessness; and research and innovation collaboration with other universities and with private- and public-sector partners.
“You are adding to our economic success in the state, which adds to our ability to keep providing the resources that are necessary,” Pritzker said, mentioning the interplay between balancing the state budget and fueling the state’s economic engine.
Illinois governors are ex officio members of the board but do not routinely attend meetings. Edwards said it had been nearly a decade since a governor participated in a board meeting.
IIN projects advance
Trustees also took action to advance a pair of innovation-themed building projects at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) and the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS). The sites are among the 15 hubs of the system’s Illinois Innovation Network.
The board approved the design for the Innovation Center Expansion project at UIC and approved a recommendation to the state Capital Development Board to hire an architect and engineer for renovation of the UIS Innovation Center.
The UIC Innovation Center is a collaborative education and design-development hub connecting research and education with industry partners, increasing opportunities for students to develop next-generation solutions. The nearly 15,000-square-foot expansion will add space for interdisciplinary courses, business incubator work and prototype development.
The new UIS Innovation Center will be constructed at 401 E. Washington St. in Springfield, several blocks from the Illinois State Capitol. Scheduled to open in 2025, the 26,000-square-foot facility will provide collaborative co-working spaces and experiential learning labs, which will include a makerspace/prototyping lab, technology-rich classrooms, informal meeting spaces, conference rooms, a flexible multi-use technology-rich conference/community room and offices for university administrators and corporate, industry and community partners.
The Capital Development Board released $1 million for the planning and design of the UIS facility, and trustees on Thursday asked the Capital Development Board to hire Farnsworth Group Inc. of Springfield to serve as the project’s architect/engineer.
Appointments
Also on Thursday, trustees made the following appointments:
Jamelle C. Sharpe as dean of the College of Law at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Sharpe is a professor of law and will continue in his appointment as Guy Raymond Jones Faculty Scholar. He has served as dean designate since Aug. 16. Sharpe succeeds Verity Winship, who served as interim dean, and Vikram Amar, who served as dean until June 30. Each has returned to the faculty.
Jonathan J. Art as interim dean of the Graduate College at UIC, effective Sept. 22. Art is the acting dean of the Graduate College, a professor of anatomy and cell biology in the College of Medicine, and a professor of biomedical engineering in the College of Engineering. He succeeds Karen Colley, who last served in the role on a permanent basis.
Contract revision
Trustees voted to raise UIC women’s basketball coach Ashleen Bracey’s base salary from $200,000 to $230,000 per year and extended her contract by one year through April 30, 2028. Funding is provided from non-appropriated institutional funds in the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics operating budget.
In her first year leading the program, Bracey led the team to one of the best seasons in program history. The team improved from two wins to 19, the greatest program turnaround in Missouri Valley Conference history, and the second-largest win improvement nationally last season. The team also earned its first conference tournament win since the 2016-17 season and participated in the Women’s Basketball Invitational, the third postseason appearance in program history.
