CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost Andreas C. Cangellaris will leave the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in August to become the Founding President of NEOM University in Saudi Arabia, Chancellor Robert J. Jones announced today.
Cangellaris, appointed to his current post in 2018, previously served five years as the dean of the Grainger College of Engineering. A member of the Illinois faculty for 25 years, Cangellaris played a major leadership role in maximizing safety during the COVID-19 pandemic; revised campus promotion and tenure processes; laid the groundwork in securing a private gift for the Siebel Center for Design; and was among the core group of faculty members and administrators who developed the vision that led to the Carle Illinois College of Medicine.
“I am sorry that our university will lose such a dynamic, innovative and empathetic scholar, teacher and leader,” Jones said in a message to the university community. “But it is hard to feel anything but excited for Provost Cangellaris about this chance to shape the future of the first university in this new sustainable regional development in Saudi Arabia.”
The U. of I. plans to name an interim vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost in the coming weeks. An international search will begin later this summer, with plans for the new provost to begin by the start of the spring semester.
Editor’s notes: For more information, contact Robin Kaler, associate chancellor for public affairs, 217-333-5010, publicaffairs@illinois.edu. Cangellaris will be available for media interviews today from 5:15-5:45 p.m. CDT.
