UIS Perspectives: It has been an incredibly fulfilling two years
Two years ago, I agreed to serve as interim chancellor at UIS. Given the university’s history of public service and its commitment to students and community, I was all in from the start. I knew there would be challenges that we would have to face together — from the pandemic, to many great social and cultural challenges, to the usual challenges of enrollment and budget, to working with folks with different opinions about the university.
As I reflect on the past two years, I am filled with many emotions, and first among them is pride. Together, we more than rose to the challenges of COVID-19 — all because we stayed United in Safety. Managing UIS’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic was No. 1 of my top 10 priorities, and we led the way in our response. We wore masks. We tested. We got vaccinated. And we showed care and compassion toward one another by extending grace and flexibility where we could.
More: University of Illinois Springfield's 51st annual commencement ceremony
We also continued to capably handle the business of educating our next generation of leaders! Just last week, I stood on the Bank of Springfield Center stage to congratulate 622 new UIS alumni who have earned their bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degrees. This may be one of my favorite UIS memories because of the victories it represents — the personal victories of our students to get to that milestone moment, the professional victories of our faculty and staff to persevere in an unfamiliar time, and the victories that were felt from waiting two years to celebrate a traditional Commencement together to provide closure to another amazing academic year at UIS.
Other important “points of pride” that highlight UIS’ major accomplishments since spring 2020 include:
We are preparing to launch new colleges and schools designed to best position UIS to even better serve our students, community and state. Effective July 1, UIS will launch a new College of Health, Science & Technology, harnessing the incredible power of these areas of teaching and research in ways that will best advance our mission in a post-pandemic world. Other notable outcomes of this multiyear effort led by Provost Dennis Papini, with the incredible leadership of our deans, department chairs/heads and faculty, has resulted in a new School of Education; School of Health Science; School of Integrated Science, Sustainability and Public Health; School of Communication and Mixed Media; School of Public Management and Policy, and School of Politics and International Relations.
More: UIS union faculty overwhelmingly vote to ratify 4-year labor contract
Our Reaching Stellar Campaign was a complete success! UIS’ most ambitious campaign surpassed our original $40 million goal a year ahead of schedule and will have raised over $42 million by the close of the campaign June 30. This campaign was dedicated to funding scholarships, academic excellence, the Center for Lincoln Studies, and advancing our commitment to the public good.
Our commitment to downtown Springfield and leading through innovation continues to grow. We are very grateful for the support from the University of Illinois System and the State of Illinois, which has provided funds to support our economic and innovation-advancing work through Innovate Springfield. Expanding our programs, services and physical footprint in downtown Springfield will advance our commitment as a capital city public university dedicated to the public good.
With the next chancellor of UIS named, I am ready and excited to pass the baton to incoming Chancellor Designate Janet L. Gooch, who officially steps into the role July 1. In the time I have spent with Chancellor Designate Gooch during her preboarding these past few months, I have found her to be smart, innovative and gracious. She is just what UIS needs at this moment in our university’s proud history.
It has been an incredibly fulfilling two years. I am so grateful to the UIS and Springfield communities for their trust and support. I will miss this beautiful campus, colleagues who became friends, the inspirational students and so much more. What an amazing university and what a lasting experience!
Through it all, we have and will continue to be UNITED at UIS.
I hope our paths cross again in the future. I will always be a Prairie Star and always cheering for UIS!
Go Stars!
Karen Whitney is the interim chancellor at University of Illinois Springfield.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: UIS interim chancellor: It has been an incredibly fulfilling two years
