A Message from the Chancellor
Dear colleagues:
The story of Illinois is the story of remarkable people who dedicated their knowledge and creativity to building a place of excellence. Today, you are those remarkable people, and it is your turn to leave upon this great University your mark of excellence.
In January 2006, we published a strategic plan for the Urbana campus, outlining just how we intend to achieve our goal of preeminence among public research institutions. Over the past year, faculty and administrators have worked together to improve upon that plan, and this website shares with you the newest version of the strategic plan.
Based on considerable input from deans and faculty over the past year, we are moving forward with strategic research initiatives; focusing development activities around strategic goals; and embedding our planning principles into key processes, including the budget process, promotion and tenure and hiring practices.
Working with the Council of Deans, we have developed value statements for the institution and aligned the key strategic initiatives around five broad goals. The resources section now includes principles that will guide decisions about critical investments required to achieve our vision. Finally, we have developed progress indicators for our campus to assess whether we are achieving the goals of our plan. Information about our progress will be added to this site in the coming weeks and months, and I encourage you to use it as a resource for your unit.
I am thankful for the dedication of those who have worked many long hours to improve upon the strategic plan and to put our ambitious goals into action. They know, as you and I do, that our moment to elevate Illinois to a new level of excellence is now.
Thank you for your help in making the next chapter in the story of Illinois the best ever.
Richard Herman
Chancellor