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University of Illinois System News
Read the latest University of Illinois System news from the Office of External Relations and Communications.

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  • UIC Engineering Innovation Building

    UIC opens new Engineering Innovation Building

    The University of Illinois at Chicago’s new 57,500-square-foot Engineering Innovation Building will add depth and breadth to the university’s expanding engineering footprint. The building will house engineers investigating phenomena on a scale from the very large — bridge and highway components — to the exceedingly small, such as nanoscale components that will drive the next generation of thermal batteries.

  • UIC new building exterior

    UIC opens new state-of-the-art living and learning community

    When students arrive on the University of Illinois at Chicago campus next month, nearly 550 will move into its newest building, the Academic and Residential Complex, where they will have the opportunity to take classes in new spaces that foster learning through technology and collaborative design.

  • IIT campus

    U of I System and Illinois Tech announce new research partnership

    Illinois Institute of Technology signed an agreement Wednesday to partner in a new research center led by the University of Illinois System that will spark breakthrough discoveries, fueling economic growth of the state of Illinois and city of Chicago while nurturing and retaining next-generation talent.

  • UIC campus

    New budget? 'It's definitely good news for colleges and universities.'

    Tim Killeen, president of the U of I System, spoke with the Chicago Tribune about what the increase in state funding means for public higher education. 

  • Tim Killeen

    2019-20 Salary Program

    Today President Killeen announced a 2 percent, merit-based salary program for faculty, academic professional and civil service staff to take effect August 16.

  • Main Quad in Urbana-Champaign

    U of I at Urbana-Champaign honored for fundraising excellence

    The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been named a recipient of the 2019 Educational Fundraising Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

  • State Capitol building

    Legislature approves budget with nearly 5% increase for U of I System

    The following message was sent to University of Illinois System students, faculty and staff regarding the budget for fiscal year 2020 approved by the Illinois General Assembly.

  • University Seal

    Illinois public universities unite to advocate for increased funding

    The University of Illinois System has joined with all of the state’s public universities in a united effort to advocate for robust funding to Illinois higher education. The universities launched a statewide advocacy campaign today that includes a call-to-action for alumni and appearances from university presidents around the state to build grassroots community and legislative support for higher education.

  • Spring 2019 UIC graduates

    U of I System expects degrees will top 22,000 for second straight year

    The University of Illinois System expects to award more than 22,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees for the second straight year, and continued enrollment growth could push degrees over 25,000 by 2026, President Tim Killeen announced today.

  • IIN logo and map

    Illinois Innovation Network adds 9 new hubs

    The Illinois Innovation Network (IIN), a group of hubs across the state that aims to boost Illinois’ economy through entrepreneurship, research and workforce development, announced the addition of nine new members today. IIN now has 15 hubs, including all of Illinois’ public universities and spans the entire state.

  • Killeen

    President Tim Killeen calls on lawmakers to invest in higher education

    U of I System President Tim Killeen calls on lawmakers to provide capital funding for repairs, renovation and construction at all public universities throughout Illinois.

  • DPI names inaugural director of academic affairs

    Phyllis Baker, whose nearly 30-year career in higher education includes experience in classrooms, research and high-level administration, has been named to lead academic activities for the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI), a pioneering new research institute led by the University of Illinois System.

  • West Loop logo & Chicago skyline

    UIC and Deerfield Management Launch West Loop Innovations, LLC

    The University of Illinois at Chicago and Deerfield Management announced today the establishment of West Loop Innovations, LLC. The company will help accelerate the commercialization of therapeutics developed at UIC. Deerfield will provide up to $65 million in translational research funding and commercialization expertise to advance promising UIC discoveries.

  • Impact Illinois 2019

    2019 report highlights initiatives from across the U of I System

    Impact Illinois 2019, the annual report from the University of Illinois System, highlights recent initiatives of the system, our three best-in-class universities, and our leading hospital and health sciences system.

  • Grainger Engineering Library

    College of Engineering to be named in recognition of Grainger support

    The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s College of Engineering will become The Grainger College of Engineering, recognizing a new $100 million gift from The Grainger Foundation and more than $300 million in total support, after consultation with the Chancellor’s Joint Advisory Committee on Investment, Licensing, and Naming Rights and pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

  • U of I seal

    Paid gift days announced for 2019

    University of Illinois System leaders have announced that a program providing additional paid days off during December/January holidays has been extended to a fourth straight year.

  • Illinois Connections advocates outside the Capitol.

    University of Illinois Day at the Capitol

    Alumni, students, Illinois Connection advocates, and leaders from across the university system descended on Springfield on April 3, 2019 for University of Illinois Day at the Capitol. The annual event is a chance for legislators to hear from our advocates about the importance of supporting higher education and the University of Illinois System's three universities.

  • In-state tuition freeze.

    Tuition rates frozen for new in-state undergraduates across the U of I System

    We know paying for college can be a challenge. That is why, for the fifth year in a row, we have frozen tuition rates for new in-state undergraduates across the University of Illinois System. These rates are guaranteed for four years at our universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, and Springfield. 

  • Chicago skyline

    DPI announces first round of seed funding recipients

    Helping communities utilize sustainable development strategies, creating a statewide pipeline to train computer science teachers, and integrating people with autism spectrum disorders into the technology and innovation workforce are among the projects funded in the Discovery Partners Institute’s (DPI) first round of seed grants.

  • books

    U of I assessment calls for nearly 450 new tenure-system faculty

    Nearly 450 new tenure-system faculty are needed across the University of Illinois System over the next five years to ensure academic quality keeps pace with enrollment that has swelled to record highs for six straight years, a new assessment shows.

  • U of I seal

    U of I board approves new deans in Chicago and Springfield

    The University of Illinois Board of Trustees approved the appointment of new deans at its universities in Chicago and Springfield on Thursday, along with a series of master's degree programs for Chicago’s John Marshall Law School.

  • 64.8% raised

    Campaign fundraising for the U of I System crosses $2 billion mark

    In October 2017 the University of Illinois System officially launched a comprehensive fundraising initiative with an ambitious $3.1 billion goal. Now, less than a year and a half into the public campaigns, the U of I System has surpassed the $2 billion mark—or 64.8%—in funds raised toward this goal.

  • Illini graduates

    Illini Success report documents graduates' post-college experiences

    Graduates from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s undergraduate programs continue to experience exceptional success in securing a “first destination” – defined as a job, enrollment in graduate school or a volunteer position – within six months of graduation, according to the newly released Illini Success report.

  • Bousfield Hall

    Investing in facilities across the U of I System

    Over the last five years, we invested $1.2 billion in construction and renovation across the Univesity of Illinois System, even as a budget impasse sharply reduced state funding. Now, we are ramping up our efforts, setting priorities to do even more. 

  • headshot montage

    More world-class faculty added under U of I System initiative

    Seven additional professors have expanded the inaugural class to 14 in the first year of a new initiative launched by the University of Illinois System to add more world-class faculty and build its global standing as a leader in education and innovation.

  • U of I seal

    U of I System extends in-state tuition freeze

    The University of Illinois Board of Trustees on Thursday approved a fifth-straight tuition freeze for in-state freshmen next fall, extending an affordability initiative that is now the longest run of back-to-back freezes in more than a half-century.

  • Don Edwards

    Edwards elected chairman of U of I Board of Trustees

    Donald Edwards, an alumnus who now heads a Chicago-based private equity investment firm that he founded, was elected chairman of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees during its annual organizational meeting Thursday at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

  • U of I silver seal

    Statement on Pritzker trustee appointments

    Earlier today, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced five appointments to the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. U of I System President Tim Killeen issued a statement regarding these appointments. 

  • Killeen profile

    U of I System recommends extending in-state tuition freeze

    The University of Illinois System has proposed extending a tuition freeze for in-state freshmen to a fifth straight year next fall, its longest run of back-to-back freezes in more than a half-century, President Tim Killeen announced today.

  • Street Smarts artwork

    U of I System invests nearly $2 million in arts and humanities

    Pop-up galleries, an Illinois writer’s festival, theater renovations and using virtual reality to teach performance are among the projects funded in a new, nearly $2 million initiative by the University of Illinois System aimed at emphasizing the impact and influence of the arts and humanities across Illinois.

  • Cohen & Killeen hold agreement

    The Hebrew University of Jerusalem joins U of I-led research center

    The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, a globally recognized leader in education and innovation, signed an agreement Wednesday to partner in a new research institute led by the University of Illinois System that will foster broad-based collaboration to solve the world’s greatest challenges.

  • Peoria skyline

    Innovation hub to be developed in downtown Peoria

    OSF HealthCare, the University of Illinois System, Illinois Central College, and the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council are joining forces to develop a Peoria Innovation Hub that will be dedicated to finding solutions to improve wellness of underserved populations, and advance systems related to food, farming, and autonomous mobility systems.

  • U of I and IIS officials

    U of I System adds new academic, research partners in India

    The University of Illinois System signed agreements for new academic and research partnerships with seven of India’s top universities and research agencies during a weeklong visit to India by President Tim Killeen and a delegation of system and university officials.

  • U of I seal

    U of I trustees dismiss professor

    The University of Illinois Board of Trustees on Friday dismissed a tenured professor in Urbana-Champaign following allegations that he falsified and fabricated research data in federal grant applications, neglected to properly mentor his graduate students, and failed to take responsibility for errors that occurred in his lab.

  • John Marshall Law school entrance

    U of I trustees approve juris doctor degree at UIC

    The University of Illinois Board of Trustees on Friday established a juris doctor degree for the new John Marshall Law School at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), which will offer the city of Chicago’s first and only law degree at a public university when it welcomes its first class next fall.

  • Tel Aviv University joins new U of I-led research center

    Tel Aviv University (TAU) officially signed on Friday as the first international partner in a pioneering new research center led by the University of Illinois System that will foster innovation to address real-world challenges and drive social and economic growth.

  • rendering of DPI

    Discovery Partners Institute and Illinois Innovation Network

    The Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) and Illinois Innovation Network (IIN), the pillars of a new statewide innovation enterprise led by the University of Illinois System, will magnify the time-tested formula for job creation and economic growth to a massive, unprecedented scale. 

  • Tim and Roberta Killeen, with dogs

    Holiday Greetings

    University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen and Dr. Roberta Johnson Killeen deliver best wishes for the holidays to faculty, students, staff, and friends.

  • U of I System seeks state funding increase

    The University of Illinois Board of Trustees on Thursday approved a request for increased state funding next year to continue building on educational and affordability initiatives that have helped push enrollment across the three-university system to all-time highs.

  • Three faculty named Presidential Fellows

    Today U of I System President Tim Killeen named three faculty members to serve as Presidential Fellows. They will share their talents on a part-time basis over the next year to help build on progress in developing the Discovery Partners Institute.

  • quantum lab equip

    New center to accelerate quantum information science and engineering

    The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is making a $15 million investment in the emerging area of quantum information science and engineering, a field poised to revolutionize computing, communication, security, measurement and sensing by utilizing the unique and powerful capabilities of quantum mechanics.

  • U of I System & NIU logos

    NIU joins U of I System-led Illinois Innovation Network

    A world-class research center targeting food systems, water resources and environmental change is planned at Northern Illinois University as part of a new statewide innovation network led by the University of Illinois System.

  • Students study in the Main Stacks in Urbana-Champaign

    U of I, NIU, WIU and Governors State partner on recruiting effort

    About 175 high-achieving high school and community college students from across northwestern Illinois attended an event today hosted by six of the state’s public universities to keep talented students from the region in Illinois for college.

  • students at college fair

    U of I, EIU and SIU partner to recruit southern Illinois students

    About 170 high-achieving high school and community college students from across southern Illinois attended an event today hosted by six of the state’s public universities to keep talented students from the region in Illinois for college.

  • Students at luncheon

    U of I System honors hundreds of top high school seniors

    The University of Illinois System honored hundreds of high-achieving high school seniors today during an annual event that promotes opportunities for Illinois students from traditionally underrepresented minority groups and geographic regions across the state.

  • U of I Seal

    Trustees approve $6.8 billion budget

    The University of Illinois Board of Trustees on Thursday approved a $6.8 billion budget for fiscal 2019 with nearly $300 million in projected new revenue that will help fund key educational and research priorities such as faculty, facilities and student financial aid.

  • Impact on Illinois: $17B

    U of I System impact: $17.5 billion annually on Illinois economy

    The University of Illinois System pumps $17.5 billion into the Illinois economy annually and supports 171,000 jobs – one in every 46 jobs across the state, according to a new economic impact study released today.

  • 56.4% of goal

    Record fundraising success in FY2018

    The University of Illinois System and the University of Illinois Foundation today announced recordfundraising for fiscal year 2018 with $498.5 million in new business, comprised of new gifts, grants, pledges and deferred commitments. The total for the fiscal year that ended June 30 is a $212.2 million, or 75 percent, increase from FY2017, and eclipses the all-time high of $434.9 million set in FY2013.

  • 85,600 students strong

    U of I System enrollment grows to nearly 85,600

    Total enrollment increased to nearly 85,600 students across the University of Illinois System this fall, up 2.7 percent and rising to a record high for the sixth straight year, President Tim Killeen announced today.

  • Obama receives award

    Barack Obama receives award, speaks to students

    On Sept. 7, former President Barack Obama was honored by the University of Illinois System with the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government, presented annually by the system's Institute of Government and Public Affairs. During his visit, Obama also spoke to students at Foellinger Auditorium.