Dear colleagues,
We are delighted to announce the 2026-27 President’s Executive Leadership Program (PELP) Fellows. The selection process this year was extremely competitive; we received over 100 nominations from across the University of Illinois System and our three universities for the limited number of slots available. Diversity of background and experiences, as well as a balanced university representation, were factors in the selection process.
PELP is a unique professional development program for senior leaders designed to broaden participants’ understanding of higher education issues and to strengthen their leadership skills related to overseeing a public institution at the university or system level. The program consists of four multi-day seminars in Chicago, Urbana-Champaign, Springfield, and Washington, D.C.
Please join us in congratulating the following individuals selected for the 2026-27 program:
Chicago
- Rachel Caskey, head, department of medicine, University of Illinois College of Medicine
- Sue Etminan, chief of oral health, Mile Square Health Center, UI Health
- Scott Jones, interim chief executive officer, University of Illinois Hospitals and Clinics
- Sangeetha Madhavan, associate dean for strategic initiatives, College of Applied Health Sciences
- Jason Maslanka, chief technology officer
- Kim Ricardo, associate dean of experiential education, College of Law
- Julius Ross, head, department of mathematics, statistics and computer science, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Trevonne Thompson, regional dean, University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford
Springfield
- Michele Gribbins, associate provost for institutional research and effectiveness
- Steven Johnson Jr., interim vice chancellor for student affairs
- Jill Wilberg, chief financial officer and vice chancellor for finance and administration
Urbana
- Jose Atiles, director, center for global studies, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
- Becky Fuller, head, department of evolution, ecology and behavior, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
- Adil Haider, chief artificial intelligence officer, Carle Illinois College of Medicine
- Aimee Heeter, senior vice chancellor for finance and administration
- Patty Jones, associate vice chancellor for research and innovation-compliance, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation
- Shari Mickey-Boggs, senior associate chancellor for human resources
U of I System Offices
- Katie Ross, senior assistant vice president, System Human Resources Services
- Jeffrey Stein, secretary of the board of trustees
- Michael Wilson, senior assistant vice president, Office of Capital, Utilities and Real Estate
Thank you to all who participated in the process, either as nominators or as candidates. We are fortunate to be part of a community with so many dedicated leaders who are interested in furthering their skills and enhancing our institution. We strongly encourage the many talented individuals not selected this year to apply again in the future.
Sincerely,
Timothy L. Killeen
President
University of Illinois System
Nicholas P. Jones
Executive Vice President and Vice President for Academic Affairs
University of Illinois System