University of Illinois System President in line for contract extension
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University of Illinois System President Timothy Killeen is poised to receive a three-year contract extension pending a formal vote and approval by the U of I Board of Trustees at its meeting in Springfield March 28.
The 71-year-old Killeen has been the system's president since 2015.
The system includes universities in Springfield, Urbana-Champaign and Chicago.
Killeen’s current salary of $916,770 would remain the same. The proposed extension would take effect July 1.
Board Chairman Don Edwards, in a news release, said the proposed extension "reaffirms the board’s confidence in President Killeen’s continued leadership of the university system and its universities.”
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Enrollment across the system reached a record high for the 10th consecutive year last fall. About 94,700 students attend the three universities.
Tuition for U of I undergraduate students has been frozen across the system in six of the last nine years, while the availability of financial aid has increased significantly.
Under Killeen, the system’s universities have raised $3.6 billion in fundraising.
“The U of I System under Tim Killeen’s leadership has navigated a period of extraordinary challenge and emerged stronger and more committed to serving our students and the state of Illinois,” Edwards added.
A native of Wales, Killeen was a principal investigator on research projects for NASA and the National Science Foundation before going into higher education administration.
He was vice chancellor for research and president of the research foundation at the State University of New York before being tapped by the U of I System.
Killeen's wife, Roberta Johnson, is also a geophysicist.
Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: U of I System President Timothy Killeen in line for 3-year extension
