U of I Chancellor Outlines Initiative to Strengthen Urbana Campus

During a public forum on Monday, the chancellor at the University of Illinois’ Urbana campus unveiled an initiative to tackle major challenges facing the university.

Chancellor Phyllis Wise said about 3,000 faculty, staff, and students identified the challenges, which were narrowed down to a list of six that include economic development, education, energy and the environment, social equality and cultural understanding, health and wellness, and information and technology.

Wise said she plans to assemble different committees to try to come up with solutions to these problems.

“I’m going to try and gather a small group of probably around 30 leaders in each of those areas to prioritize in terms of what areas we should take, how do we fund it – cause you always have to think about where the money’s coming from - to make sure there’s action behind those words,” she said.

Given lagging state support, Chancellor Wise stressed the importance of boosting scholarship money for U of I students without raising tuition. She also wants to see an expansion of research, and more diversity on campus.