U Of I Leaders Talk Inclusion, Funding At Panel Discussion

Faculty, staff and students at the University of Illinois Urbana campus heard from campus administrators Tuesday on issues ranging from state funding to making the campus more inclusive and accessible. 

Chancellor Robert Jones was one of six guest speakers, including Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Danita Brown Young, and Provost Andreas Cangellaris, with College Of Law Dean Vikram Amar moderating the panel discussion. 

Brown Young says U of I needs to strive to be a welcoming campus. 

“When we’re talking about our perception and the narrative around the state and around this campus is that we invest in buildings and facilities and that’s great, but we have to invest in people," Brown Young said. 

She says U of I needs to make sure its staff is reflective of its community. 

Provost Cangellaris says Chicago often looks to the University of Illinois’ Urbana-Champaign campus for talented people, as the city is looking to become a global center of innovation.

“The beauty about Urbana-Champaign is that we are the umbilical cord that connects the entire state of Illinois to the future.” 

Cangellaris says students at the U of I Urbana campus will be the ones to solve problems in energy, transportation and other fields. 

However, he says the university often has to raise its own funds to ensure those students have the financial means to finish their education.