Ilesanmi Adesida
Getting a clearer focus on the academic future of Illinois’ Urbana campus is now a mouse click away as a result of the recent release of the final report on the Visioning Future Excellence initiative.
The report, the culmination of months of intensive information-sharing sessions with focus groups on and off campus, initiated and led by Chancellor Phyllis M. Wise, is an easy-to-follow road map listing campus needs and accompanying strategies for the next several decades.
Phyllis M. Wise
The report’s findings also play prominently in the campus’ strategic plan, which was finalized and sent to the university president in June.
Wise and Provost Ilesanmi Adesida announced the initial Visioning Future Excellence findings at a campus town hall meeting in April.
“We really do want this to be a two-way conversation,” Wise said at the meeting. “Your advice, your guidance and your engagement in our planning process this year is being put into visible and strategic action.”
The focus groups were charged with developing broad themes that the university should focus on during the next 20-50 years. The themes: education, economic development, energy and environment, health and wellness, information and technology, and social equality and cultural understanding.
For the final report, a group of faculty and staff members, and students met with administrators to study the focus group recommendations, prioritize them and integrate them into a plan of action.
Adesida said the Visioning Future Excellence report is a perfect example of how the U. of I. works – with an eye to the future and the input of all who have a stake in it.
“The administration has been open and inclusive and has sought advice at every level of the university – even outside of it,” Adesida said. “This report is proof that that advice is being listened to and followed thoughtfully. Our goal is to be the pre-eminent public research university with a land-grant mission and a global impact.”
Wise said many of the initiatives outlined in the report are already being implemented – but it will take continued cooperative input to make them flourish.
“We are going to move rapidly but strategically,” she said. “Everyone has to be at the table and everyone has to share this vision to be successful.”
Highlights of the “initiatives for continuous improvement” outlined in the report:
- Make 500 strategically targeted faculty hires, including clusters within the six areas of focus, in the next five to seven years.
- Revise general education by promoting interdisciplinary curricula that focus on societal challenges.
- Create a single “teaching excellence” unit.
- Improve recruitment and retention of underrepresented faculty.
- Create a campus-level committee on diversity and cultural understanding.
- Increase seed funding, create an office for proposal development and create a database of faculty expertise.
- Create the Institute for Sustainability, Energy and the Environment.
- Develop clinical and translational health research infrastructure, implement data sciences and curation initiative.
- Establish the Office of Local Community Economic Development and a veteran’s education and support systems research initiative.
