May 3, 2024
Dear colleagues,
It is my pleasure to announce that, after a national search, Melissa Mlynski, the associate vice chancellor of human resources at the University of Illinois Springfield, will join my staff May 20 as chief ethics and compliance officer for the University Ethics and Compliance Office.
Melissa succeeds Donna McNeely, who retired at the end of January after nearly three decades of exemplary service to the University of Illinois System.
Melissa has worked in the UIS human resources office since 2016, first as senior director of human resources before assuming her current role in 2021. Over the last eight years she has ensured compliance with applicable federal and state laws and university policies and procedures related to human resources and Title IX; monitored university compliance with annual ethics training and annual Title IX training; and was responsible for employee development and training.
She earned a law degree and a bachelor's degree in English, both from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. More recently, she completed the University of Illinois System President’s Executive Leadership Program.
Prior to joining UIS, Melissa was executive director of the Illinois Labor Relations Board and labor relations counsel with the Illinois Department of Central Management Services, with both of those jobs in Springfield. She was admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1998.
In addition to serving as the system’s ethics officer, the chief ethics and compliance officer also is responsible for development and administration of all annual ethics training for the nine public universities in Illinois; administration of Title IX training for all faculty, staff, and students; and oversight of international, federal, and state compliance efforts.
The chief ethics and compliance officer reports to the president of the U of I System and to the chair of the governance, personnel and ethics board of trustees committee. This position also works closely with system officers, and leadership and staff from each of the universities.
As Melissa arrives in this critically important position, my gratitude also goes out to John Alsterda, who came out of retirement to serve as interim executive director of ethics and compliance during the search.
Please join me in welcoming Melissa to the University Ethics and Compliance Office.
Sincerely,
Tim Killeen
President
University of Illinois System