The Executive Committee of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved the appointment of Karen M. Whitney as interim chancellor of the University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS).
Whitney will follow Chancellor Susan J. Koch, who will retire at the end of June and become chancellor emerita of UIS. Whitney is president emerita of Clarion University in Pennsylvania and recently served as interim chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education.
Whitney has been serving as interim chancellor of UIS in a designate capacity since Monday, June 8, allowing her to work alongside Koch as she prepares for the role. Whitney’s appointment will last one year or until a permanent chancellor is found. A national search will begin later this year.
“Karen Whitney is a proven higher-education leader and brings experience as both an interim university system chancellor and a president of a university with a great deal in common with UIS,” University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen said. “We look forward to her continuing the work that provided a capstone to Chancellor Koch’s distinguished career.”
Whitney said she is eager to lead a university that plays a vital role in the state capital.
“At this historic moment of challenge and opportunity, it is an honor to join the University of Illinois family,” Whitney said. “I am looking forward to working with the dedicated university leadership, faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends as we guide UIS into the future fulfilling our promise of student success and civic engagement, thus enriching Springfield and the region.”
Whitney was interim chancellor of the 14-campus Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education in 2017-18. The Pennsylvania system has more than 100,000 students and more than 12,000 faculty and staff.
She was president of Clarion University, which has an enrollment of 5,200 and more than 700 faculty and staff, from 2010-17.
UIS has more than 4,200 students and more than 1,100 faculty and staff.
Standardized Tests
The Executive Committee on Wednesday also approved a plan for the University of Illinois at Chicago and UIS to allow high school students to apply for admission to undergraduate programs in fall 2021 without having taken a standardized test.
The two universities requested the one-year moratorium on the entrance requirement because large numbers of high school students have not been able to take standardized tests due to school closures and state-level restrictions on gatherings related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The SAT and ACT programs have cancelled all test administrations since March.
The universities will rely on other factors in their holistic admissions processes, such as course rigor, the number of Advanced Placement and honors courses taken, student involvement and recommendations to create an equitable admission rate for students who apply without submitting test scores. For those who still choose to submit test scores, those scores will be included in the admissions review process.
International students will still be required to submit evidence of English proficiency through the Test of English as a Foreign Language, International English Language Testing System and Pearson English Language tests.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is in the process of consulting with its Senate regarding the role of standardized test scores in admissions for Fall 2021.
A number of other universities around the country have set pandemic-related test-optional policies in recent months.
The Executive Committee meets when action is required before a regular board meeting, and the committee acts with the authority of the full board. Wednesday’s action, which occurred during a virtual meeting, will be reported to the board at its next regularly scheduled meeting, July 22-23. The committee currently consists of board Chairman Don Edwards and Trustees Patricia Brown Holmes and Ramón Cepeda.
