URBANA, Ill. – The University of Illinois System released a second set of Guiding Principles Friday, clearly spelling out its position on more of the core values that defined its past and will shape its future.
President Tim Killeen said the new principles, created through months of inclusive collaborations, expand the touchstone that will guide the system’s efforts to build on more than 150 years of service to students, the state and the public good.
“Our Guiding Principles are rooted in the bedrock values that have made the U of I System a global leader in education and innovation, and they reaffirm our commitment to excellence that will continue to set the standard for generations to come,” he said.
The three new principles join three others adopted in 2017, and were posted Friday on the U of I System’s website and shared via email with faculty, staff and students across its three universities.
New principles outline the system’s commitment to excellence with integrity, to fostering healthy relationships across its campuses and to financial and environmental sustainability. The inaugural Guiding Principles address free speech on campus, globalization and immigration, and civic engagement.
Killeen said the concise statements codify the broad principles that have guided the system’s success in the past, providing a solid foundation that will inform its actions in the future.
He also said the statements are “living documents” that can be adapted as needed to address change, and more new principles can be added to guide the U of I System’s missions of education, research, public engagement and economic development.
Like the initial set of principles, work to develop the statements began at a July meeting hosted by the U of I Board of Trustees. More than 100 people participated in the daylong retreat, which brought national experts on those subjects together with trustees, faculty, staff, students and leadership from the three universities and System Offices.
Afterward, Killeen appointed working groups to distill the ideas that surfaced during the retreat and then draft value statements, which were later finalized through input from students, faculty, chancellors and other stakeholders. From start to finish, he said, more than 200 people across the system were involved in the process.
Here are excerpts from the new Guiding Principles:
- Excellence with Integrity. The statement recommits to a relentless pursuit of excellence, citing the potential it holds “to transform the lives of those that it touches” through teaching, research, outreach and engagement. But excellence must be rooted in integrity, which underlies the trust that attracts students and faculty, or the confidence that inspires employers to hire graduates. “Just as we embrace a culture of innovation and a tolerance for risk-taking, so will we always strive to act morally and ethically – to do better and to learn more. In this way, we will ensure that our institution continues to thrive and hold true to its land-grant mission of promoting excellence with integrity for the next 150 years.”
- Fostering Healthy Relationships Across the Campuses. The statement reaffirms the system’s commitment to healthy relationships that cultivate the diverse talents of students, faculty, staff and everyone in the campus community. Those relationships will be defined by “mutual respect, trust and an expectation of transparency and fair treatment,” and will be safe from discrimination, harassment, sexual misconduct and bullying. “Diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences enriches campus conversations in and out of the classroom, inspires our creative endeavors, and drives innovative solutions to the world’s problems. Our capacity to listen to and learn from each other is fundamental to our mission of excellence in teaching, research, and learning – and to the cause of the common good.
- Financial and Environmental Sustainability. The statement reaffirms the system’s responsibility to preserve both its own fiscal future and the environment, saying the two are interdependent and each require “our ingenuity and commitment as stewards.” It pledges innovative, evidence-based decision making to sustain both its financial operations and the environment, and an unwavering commitment to affordability and academic excellence to ensure its universities remain go-to destinations for top students. It also calls for marshalling the system’s “wide-ranging and ever-evolving talents” on interdisciplinary collaborations that “produce not just breakthroughs, but sustainable environmental and economic improvements to the human condition.”
