Chancellor Blog List
Chancellor Blog List
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Dear Colleagues:
Every day since I arrived at Illinois last October I have seen something new and amazing--in classrooms, labs, and here on the Quad. This is a place that attracts people who believe that together we will make the world better.
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Dear Colleagues:
The following three major goals for higher education were listed in the Association of American Colleges and Universities’ recent report titled “A Crucible Moment.”
- Education for a fuller realization of democracy in every phase of living.
- Education directly and explicitly for international understanding and cooperation.
- Education for the application of creative imagination and trained intelligence to the solution of social problems and to the administration of public affairs.
These goals seem very appropriate for the times in which we live. After all, this great university is committed to graduating fully realized participants in democracy. As Thomas Jefferson said, “No one more sincerely wishes the spread of information among mankind than I do, and none has greater confidence in its effect towards supporting free & good government." As I’ve written about recently in this blog, we are most assuredly a global brand. Finally, we teach and practice innovation and creativity.
Yet, as timely as these three goals seem, the President’s Commission for Higher Education established them in 1947.
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Dear Colleagues:
This week the campus celebrates Earth Day with a week-long menu of educational community activities. According to Earth Day Network (earthday.org), U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin founded Earth Day on April 22, 1970, “after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California.” The occasion “activated 20 million Americans from all walks of life and is widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement. The passage of the landmark Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and many other groundbreaking environmental laws soon followed.”
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Dear Colleagues:
In late March I had the dual honor of speaking at the eleventh annual European Union Day and introducing the keynote speaker, EU Ambassador to the United States, João Vale de Almeida. This great event was the result of the wonderful efforts of our European Union Center, led by Director Bryan Endres, Associate Director Matt Rosenstein, and supported by Interim Associate Provost for International Affairs and Interim Director of International Programs and Studies, Wolfgang Schlör.
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Dear Colleagues:
Recently I met with some amazing student-athletes at the Illini Leadership Academy meeting. They asked me to share some thoughts regarding leadership.
I began by thanking them for representing our university so well. They put in countless hours at practices, compete before friendly and not so friendly fans, often have to endure high visibility in the media and Internet chat rooms, and spend many days on the road traveling as they keep up with their studies. Yet, many of our student-athletes devote their time to be outstanding ambassadors for our university. They visit hospitals and schools, and they inspire thousands of young people at a time when it seems that we are often short of role models. I so enjoyed meeting with them, listening to their experiences and answering their questions.
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Dear Colleagues:
This week I would like to share some of my remarks that I presented at the most recent Board of Trustees meeting held last week on our campus. It was the first meeting in Urbana-Champaign since I became Chancellor and I wanted to be sure that the Trustees had the opportunity to see the depth and breadth of our strengths and the ways we are embracing the potential to become even better.
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Dear Colleagues:
Not long after I became chancellor I spoke at the Center on Health, Aging, and Disability’s symposium on “Strategies for Healthy Aging.” I want to thank College of Applied Health Sciences Dean Tanya Gallagher for inviting me to that important event. Any effort to promote health and wellness, healthy aging across the lifespan, healthy communities, and optimal participation of individuals with disabilities is indeed a worthwhile mission.
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This week I will present a keynote address on higher education, the arts, and philanthropy for the Washington Women’s Foundation. The talk will take place at the Seattle Art Museum, where a new Paul Gauguin exhibition debuts.
Gauguin once said, “It is the eye of ignorance that assigns a fixed and unchangeable color to every object; beware of this stumbling block.” It’s that first part of his statement that resonates: the eye of ignorance that reduces the infinite number of hues into a gray, fixed world, a world none of us wants to live in. That’s where higher education—the reason we all work so hard—can make a real difference. Higher education gives us the eyes to see the subtle colors of our world. Higher education allows us the pleasure to enjoy diversity, not only in people but in ideas, books, and art. Higher education is the balm against ignorance.
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Dear Colleagues:
I need your help with a very important task. The Chancellor’s Committee on Access and Accommodations (CCAA) has developed a brief questionnaire to identify areas that are not accessible to all members of the university community. The goal is ambitious and necessary: to provide equal access to every physical space on campus. According to the survey, “Information from the questionnaire will allow the ADA Coordinator and CCAA representatives to visit the location in question, inquire with appropriate unit administrators about the reported claim, and seek corrective measures as warranted.”
As you read this I imagine you already have some buildings in mind, places where the restroom stall doors are too narrow to accommodate persons with disabilities; rooms where stairs are the only entry way into them; and obstructed walkways. I think you will agree that we can no longer allow these impediments to stand.
To complete the survey please go to following link. You will need your NetID and NetID password.
https://illinois.edu/fb/sec/6643470
Associate Chancellor Reginald Alston heads the CCAA. For more information about the survey, contact him directly at alston@illinois.edu.
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Dear Colleagues:
Installation of the Early Science System, the first phase of the sustained-petascale supercomputer Blue Waters, is now nearly complete in our National Petascale Computing Facility. When it comes online in March, the Early Science System will be the largest supercomputer in the portfolio of supercomputers supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). Installation of the remainder of Blue Waters is now beginning with the full system expected to be available this fall.
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Dear Colleagues:
Recently, I spoke at the Annual Mentoring Workshop, an event sponsored by the Graduate College for faculty members who mentor graduate students. The occasion gave me an opportunity to share my insights and reflect on my experiences with mentoring.
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Dear Colleagues:
As previously mentioned in this space, we held a day-long retreat at the I Hotel and Conference Center on December 14. The goals of the retreat were to (1) critically review the accomplishments of Stewarding Excellence initiative; and (2) begin to discuss the vision of what the university should be 20-50 years from now. Deans, directors, faculty members, and others were invited to participate. I expect to do a shorter version of this with many groups of faculty, students and staff and external stakeholders during the coming months. I want to share with you some of the highlights of the retreat and outline the next step in this critical journey.
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Dear Colleagues:
Much to my delight I have discovered two common threads at this great university: learning never rests and helping others is a way of life. During Winter Break many of our students and faculty pursued fascinating educational and service-oriented opportunities in the United States and across the planet. Ports of call included New Orleans, Silicon Valley, India, Australia, China, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Peru. Here are just a few of the dispatches that were submitted to me recently:
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Dear Colleagues:
I have some exciting news to announce that will directly impact the learning experience that our students will experience. We will be undertaking a major renovation of many of our classrooms and laboratory facilities where instruction is provided to many of our students. But these remodels are not simply about upgrading aging classrooms and labs. They are about ensuring our future. They will allow us to address important questions in teaching and learning. For example, how will education be delivered and what will a classroom look like that combines a traditional lecture setting and a blend of online learning? What instructional methodologies and technologies will provide our students the best possible learning experience in the future?
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Dear Colleagues: On Monday we observed Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Called a 'Day of Service,' we are asked to answer one of Dr. King's most penetrating questions, 'What are you doing for others?' It is also a time of reflection in which we come together as a community to assess our own commitment to equality, social justice, and non violence. On Sunday I spoke at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Celebration held at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. I want to share an excerpt of my remarks:
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Dear Colleagues: Thanks to Director Laura Frerichs, I had a stunning tour of our Research Park where I met a young man, a graduate of ours who, although unique in his passions and interests, exemplifies so many of our graduates. He represents the reason we work so hard to maintain our ambitious vision to improve the quality of life for our students and for the planet. The young man's name is Jonathan Naber, a recent graduate from our Department of Materials Science and Engineering, last year's winner of the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize, and President and Founder of the non-profit organization Illini Prosthetic Technologies (IPT), housed in the Research Park. IPT's mission is to deploy a highly affordable, off-the-shelf, and ready-to wear below-the-elbow prosthetic arm for people living in developing nations, where 80 percent of amputees live.
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Dear Colleagues: I want to wish all of you a safe and relaxing holiday break. I also want to thank you for your hard work this past year. The ongoing excellence of this university is the culmination of your collective passion and the dedication and creativity you bring to your work. I look forward to an even greater year of successes in 2012.
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Dear Colleagues: On December 6, my 66th day as Chancellor, I held a Town Hall Meeting at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. I want to thank all of you who took time from your busy schedules to either attend the event or watched it online. In this post I want to recap some of my remarks.
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Dear Colleagues: Recent events at Penn State University (and now at Syracuse University) have been on my mind. Judging from the emails and phone calls from parents, students, and faculty members I know the incidents are on your mind, too. It is not my place to opine about the current situation at those universities. Obviously, all accusations of child abuse must be taken seriously and must be thoroughly and rigorously investigated. However, these events have made me carefully examine our own policies regarding the protection of the children and young adults who attend our many camps and conferences on the Urbana campus.
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Dear Colleagues: Recently I met with members of the university advancement community. It was an opportunity to thank them for their efforts in guiding us to the most successful fund-raising campaign in the university's history. The Brilliant Futures campaign concludes at the end of this calendar year. As of September 30, the campaign has brought in $1.61 billion to this campus (107 percent of the goal) and $2.284 billion (102 percent of the goal) to all three campuses combined. I spoke to them about why I believe philanthropy is more important than ever in the history of our university.
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Dear Campus Family: A terrible tragedy occurred early Sunday morning that will affect many lives for years to come. Three people were shot at a private house party near our campus. As the victims continue to recover, and as their families and friends cope with this terrible event, I ask all of us to come together, united as one campus, to send them our best thoughts and, if appropriate, prayers. A long and difficult road of healing lies ahead for the victims and their families, and we must let them know that we also share in their pain.
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Dear Colleagues: On Thursday morning of this week both President Hogan and I will speak at the 26th Annual Diversity Breakfast hosted by the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access. Diversity is one of our core values of this campus that I am passionate about and I am grateful to Dr. Hogan for his leadership in this critical area. On October 10 the President hosted and I attended the First Annual Presidential Lecture on Diversity at UIC, as part of the University-wide Diversity Summit.
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Dear Colleagues: The first stop on my Listening and Learning Tour was at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, where I had a discussion with a group of LAS faculty members. I want to thank them for taking the time to meet with me and I thank Dean Ruth Watkins for all her help in organizing this meeting. I opened the conversation with these questions: What are our strengths? What made you come to the university and what makes you stay? What should we aspire to be in the next 20 years? What are the challenges we face?
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Dear Campus Community, This weekend during a host of exciting Homecoming activities, I began my new responsibilities as Vice President of the University of Illinois and Chancellor of the Urbana-Champaign campus. I feel deeply honored to have the opportunity to lead one of most highly respected research universities in the world. I am eager to begin working with all of you to make this university an even more outstanding institution of higher education.