Dear Colleagues,
It is with mixed emotions that I write today to share that Vice Chancellor for Administration and Operations Mike DeLorenzo has been named the first-ever Vice President for Operations at University of Chicago. Mike will begin his new appointment Sept. 15, so his last day at Illinois will be Sept. 13.
During his 17-year tenure on campus, Mike has worked as Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs/Director of Auxiliary Services, Associate Chancellor for Administration, Senior Associate Chancellor for Administration and Operations and now as Vice Chancellor for Administration and Operations.
In each of those roles, Mike has accepted any project or challenge, no matter how complex or difficult, and has assumed leadership over a large, diverse portfolio that includes oversight of Facilities & Services, the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics, Public Safety, the Fire Service Institute, the Police Training Institute, Purchasing, Strategic Project Management, Parking, Allerton and Willard Airport.
The list of Mike’s accomplishments is long, and includes:
- Leading our COVID-19 response team that created the ecosystem that allowed our campus to return to in-person activities long before most other institutions and that kept transmission rates in our community among the lowest in the nation,
- Initiating the Operational Excellence effort to streamline and increase efficiency in processes in information technology, human resources, procurement and capital delivery,
- Launching a new Strategic Project Management Office to oversee implementation of Operational Excellence initiatives as well as other campus strategic initiatives,
- Creating a new Threat Assessment Office which includes coordination of threat assessments among staff, students and faculty to increase safety by identifying and resolving threats quickly,
- Worked with Purchasing and the University System to develop a diversity dashboard to track the university's spending on diverse businesses and find potential spend opportunities with actively certified diverse vendors and
- Worked with Allerton to create accessible nature trails, so people with disabilities can safely access the park more fully.
While I am sorry to see him leave our university, I look forward to continuing to work with Mike on initiatives such as our quantum partnership with UChicago.
I plan to conduct a national search for Mike’s replacement, and I will share information soon on how his duties will be handled during that process.
Please join me in congratulating Mike on this exciting new leadership position.
Sincerely,
Robert J. Jones
Chancellor