Dear deans, directors, and department heads,
We continue to make progress on the expanded vision for the Discovery Partners Institute. I last shared that the steering committee charged with creating a strategic framework had completed its work and that key priorities had emerged. We can now provide updates to these.
Governance structure changes: When we last wrote to you, I shared that I had delegated the authority and responsibility for DPI’s operations and management to the chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and that then-Chancellor Robert Jones had appointed Dean Rashid Bashir from The Grainger College of Engineering as the interim principal officer overseeing this effort. DPI will now be a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign institute managed by Dean Bashir in a new role as vice chancellor for Chicago Strategic Partnerships. In this role Bashir will report to Chancellor Charles Isbell who, as we have communicated previously, has ultimate responsibility for DPI. Bashir will also continue as Grainger Engineering’s dean.
A new DPI Guidance Committee and a separate Chicagoland Advisory Committee will be formed and will be the primary mechanisms for, respectively, shared governance and Chicagoland engagement. These committees will be initiated in FY26 and, until then, DPI’s Executive Committee will continue in its advisory role.
Finally, a new National Advisory Board will also be created in FY26 to provide scientific guidance and ensure industry relevance for DPI’s research, education, and economic-impact endeavors.
Implementation team recommendations: In our last communication, we mentioned that I had also appointed an implementation team led by Dean Bashir with representation from each of our universities and from the U of I System Office. The team was charged with developing a comprehensive transition plan for DPI’s future direction. The team has also now provided its recommendations. They include:
- Focusing the next phase of DPI on making it a hub for the future of computing, data science, and AI.
- Solidifying the governance structure, as discussed above.
- Creating greater connection between DPI’s headquarters downtown and DPI at the Illinois Quantum & Microelectronics Park (IQMP). Complementary programming will be developed.
- Identifying how existing programs will be managed in the near term within, outside of, or alongside the expanded DPI mission.
Finally, we also continue actively working on identifying a permanent location for DPI’s headquarters in downtown Chicago and establishing the formal DPI presence at the IQMP. We hope to have more news on this front in the coming weeks.
As the implementation recommendations continue to take shape, DPI will continue growing its role as an important part of the technology and innovation ecosystem in Chicago and across the state, shaping the future of computing and economic development for Illinois, the Midwest, and beyond.
Tim Killeen
President
University of Illinois System