The University of Illinois Board of Trustees today approved budgets for two construction projects that are connected to the Illinois Innovation Network (IIN).
Trustees approved a $52 million budget for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) contribution to the replacement of Illini Hall and renovation of Altgeld Hall at UIUC and a $5.6 million budget for the portion of the expansion of the Innovation Center at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) that UIC will finance.
The costs for each project are being shared by the universities and the state of Illinois through a mix of university funding targeted for IIN and the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI), as well as state capital appropriations.
The total cost of the Altgeld Hall and Illini Hall project is $192 million with a state contribution of $140 million. The Innovation Center project will cost $10 million with a state contribution of $4.4 million.
“These projects represent a major stride for the Illinois Innovation Network and they build on the momentum driving IIN and DPI forward. DPI and IIN are rapidly becoming the engines for innovation-driven economic transformation that we envisioned,” system President Tim Killeen said. “I want to again express my gratitude to Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the state legislators for their decision to provide this vital funding, and to our trustees for their commitment to these projects.”
IIN is a network of university-, community- and industry-based hubs throughout the state working together to drive innovation as well as economic and workforce development. DPI, based in downtown Chicago, is one of those hubs and serves as a magnet for top tech talent, training people for careers while providing funding and space for companies, entrepreneurs and students to engage in applied research and development and helping address the racial and gender imbalances in the city’s tech community.
Late last year, Pritzker released the first $142 million of $500 million in state capital funding that has been approved for the development of DPI and the IIN hubs.
The project at UIUC will renovate Altgeld Hall, which opened in 1897 and was last renovated in 1956, and replace Illini Hall with a new home for the departments of mathematics and statistics. That new building will include a data science center that will be part of the Urbana-Champaign hub of IIN.
The UIC Innovation Center is a collaborative education and design-development hub connecting research and education with industry partners, increasing opportunities for students to develop next-generation solutions. The 15,000-square-foot expansion will add space for interdisciplinary courses, business incubator work, and prototype development.
Interim executive vice president
Trustees approved the appointment of Vice President/Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Avijit Ghosh as system interim executive vice president and vice president for academic affairs, effective July 15. Ghosh will serve until a national search is conducted for a permanent successor to Barbara J. Wilson, who will become president of the University of Iowa.
Trustees also approved the appointment of Paul Ellinger as system interim vice president/CFO. Ellinger currently serves as associate chancellor and vice provost for budget and resource planning at UIUC.
A national search also will be conducted for a permanent vice president/CFO. Ghosh, 71, plans to retire when his service as interim executive vice president ends.
Continuing budget resolution
The board also approved a resolution that will keep the university system operating legally after its current fiscal year ends June 30. The resolution is required to pay bills and maintain operations until the legislature finalizes a new state budget for fiscal year 2022, which begins July 1.
The resolution, a routine measure, authorizes expenditures based on state funding levels for the current fiscal year. The budget for fiscal 2021 was $6.74 billion. Trustees will consider the U of I System budget for fiscal 2022 after a state budget is approved.
Ubben Complex improvements
Trustees awarded a construction contract to Williams Brothers Construction of East Peoria for the expansion of the Ubben Basketball Complex at UIUC. The $39.8 million expansion will add additional practice space, provide new coaches’ offices and meeting rooms, and add new space for sports medicine, strength training and locker rooms. Work is expected to be complete in August 2022.
Renaming law school
Trustees approved a plan to rename the UIC John Marshall Law School as the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, effective July 1, 2021.
The law school opened in 1899 and merged with UIC in 2019, enrolling its first class as part of UIC later that year.
In 2020, a task force that included faculty, students, alumni and staff evaluated a potential name change due to Chief Justice John Marshall’s ownership of slaves and, after weighing input from a wide range of stakeholders, recommended the change. Law school faculty and the faculty Senate both voted earlier this year to support the name change.
UIUC health insurance rate
Trustees approved a decrease in student health insurance rates for UIUC for the 2021-22 academic year.
Since the board approved student health insurance rates in January, the Division for Intercollegiate Athletics decided to remove student athletes from the UIUC policy and cover them under a separate policy.
This will lower the rate for other students by $11 a semester, dropping to $712 for undergraduates and $916 for graduate students.
Appointments
In other business, trustees made a series of appointments to fill leadership positions across the system.
Karen J. Colley was appointed acting provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at UIC, effective May 24. Colley, who is dean of the Graduate College and a professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics, will succeed Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Susan Poser. Poser will leave UIC July 30 to become president of Hofstra University.
Adrienne Nazon was appointed as the U of I System’s inaugural vice president of external relations and communications. Nazon joins the system from The Ohio State University, where she was vice president of marketing and chief marketing officer. She succeeds Thomas Hardy, who retired in March as the executive director of university relations.
Arnold Henning was appointed as interim vice chancellor for finance and administration at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS), and will serve through June 30, 2022. Henning has served in the role in a designate capacity since April 12, following the February retirement of Associate Provost for Budget and Administrative Planning Gerard L. Joseph. A national search is being conducted to fill the position.
Ann Comerford was appointed as interim vice chancellor for student affairs at UIS, effective July 1. Comerford is now the executive director of the Student Union and will succeed Van Lee Vieregge, who is retiring June 30.
Student trustees
Trustees also recognized the selection of three student trustees, who will join the board for one-year terms on July 1.
Mariama Mwilambwe will serve as student trustee at UIUC, Lavleen Mai will be the trustee from UIC, and Austin Verthein will return for a second term as trustee from UIS.
Current student trustees Ali Mirza from UIUC and Jocelyn Bravo from UIC will step down from the board at the end of their terms on June 30. Student trustees are elected by their universities, with one of them selected by the governor as a voting trustee.
