U of I To Announce Next President On Wednesday
Foellinger Auditorium on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (JanetandPhil/flickr)
University of Illinois trustees plan to announce the university’s next president Wednesday.
Board Chairman Christopher Kennedy will introduce the new president on the Chicago campus at 8:30 AM. Other events will follow on the campuses in Springfield and Urbana.
B. Joseph White served for five years as U of I president, and says whoever gets the job faces some significant challenges, starting with resources. White says the next president will not be able to count on extra funding from the state --- and any tuition increases must be moderate at most. But he says outside funding holds some potential.
"I think there continues to be big opportunities for the University in the areas of grants and contracts", said White. "We’re highly productive in that realm. And I think there are big opportunities for the university in private fundraising and philanthropy, with the help of the University of Illinois Foundation."
White says amid the challenges, there will be opportunities for the new U of I president to expand distance learning and service to non-traditional students … and to commercialize the university’s technological research to help the state and national economy.
The new president will succeed Robert Easter, who plans to retire at the end of June.