UIUC Updates

This post contains updates from the recent UI Board of Trustees meeting in Chicago. It also contains  other updates (jump to link) with:

• A couple professors and pending litigation. 
• A couple local professors in the news for good reasons.
• Link to an overview of UI initiatives moving forward
• Local coverage of upcoming Illinois Fire Service Institute training on campus.

UI Trustees Meeting:

The News-Gazette had several articles previewing the Board of Trustees meeting (e.g. on tuition and Killeen's raise) in Chicago as well as later coverage of various measures approved. The Daily Illini had a quick summary of the top headlines out of the meeting Friday:

Incoming students will see a 1.8% increase if they choose to attend either the Urbana-Champaign or Chicago campus, while students attending the Springfield campus will see a 1% increase.

The tuition increase will not affect current students, as the Illinois Truth in Tuition law ensures the price students pay in their first year of attendance is what they will pay for their four years in college.

This is the first time since 2014 that President Tim Killeen will not recommend a tuition freeze after initially doing so to attract more Illinoisans, ending the longest freeze in UI System history. 

Full article here with some basic details on Killeen's pay raise. This News-Gazette article from Friday was probably the most comprehensive here. Excerpt:

In addition to a tuition hike and extending Tim Killeen’s contract, UI trustees signed off on a number of other items Thursday in Chicago. Among them:

— The appointment of two-degree UI mechanical engineering grad William Jackson as executive director of the Discovery Partners Institute. His annual salary will be $414,000.

— The appointment of former Parkland College trustee and UI assistant libraries dean Greg Knott as secretary of the Board of Trustees and UI System. His annual salary will be $182,500.

— A $67.5 million budget for upgrades at two Illinois Street residence halls — Townsend (to be completed in July 2020) and Wardall (July 2021).

Full article with a great deal of additional information here. There was also a lot of detailed information on the meeting items at the UI System's press release here, including specifics on tuition and fees:

Trustees also approved student fees for the 2020-21 academic year. In Urbana, those fees will increase 2.5 percent, or $76, to $3,162 per year, and Chicago’s fees will rise 1 percent, or $32, to $3,340 per year. In Springfield, fees will be unchanged, remaining at $2,426 a year. Fees help pay for student health services, library maintenance, student unions and other services and are set in consultation with committees that include students.

Undergraduate room-and-board costs in Urbana, based on the standard double-occupancy room and meal plan, will rise 3.65 percent, or $394, to $11,168 per year. In Chicago, costs will increase 2.6 percent, or $293, to $11,553 per year. In Springfield, the cost for a double-occupancy room in Lincoln Residence Hall with a gold meal plan will remain unchanged at $10,810.

That full press release here as well as one specifically on Killeeen's contract extension and raise here along with biographical information. The News-Gazette also had information on the Discovery Partners Institute's new Executive Director approved at this meeting in coverage earlier this month here.


Other Updates:

In the last month there have been a couple updates with professors facing accusations. First on Jay Kesan from WILL last month:

A University of Illinois law professor previously accused of sexual misconduct and slated to return to teach in January will instead go on "university-sanctioned leave."

That’s according to an email sent this week to College of Law faculty and students on behalf of the college’s dean, Vikram Amar, and reviewed by NPR Illinois. The email says Jay Kesan, faculty at the U of I’s flagship campus in Urbana-Champaign, will not teach two courses he had previously been scheduled to begin in January 2020. Instead, on January 1, he will go on leave “during which he will not be teaching” the email says...

A 2019 investigation by ProPublica and NPR Illinois detailed several cases where U of I professors had been found to have violated university policy after facing accusations of sexual misconduct and had their reputations protected by the university. Some were promised the university would not disclose the details of their resignations. Others, including Kesan, were allowed to remain on faculty.

Full article with an overview and timeline of the accusations and fallout here. ProPublica investigation into several UI cases here.

Also about a month ago, a professor who has been inaccessible (believed to be in China) was finally served legal documents via email. From the News-Gazette last month:

The alleged victims of former University of Illinois Professor Gary Xu were finally able to serve their federal lawsuit to him over email.

Their civil lawsuit had been held up by their inability to deliver the lawsuit to Xu, despite multiple attempts to do so since it was filed Sept. 10, and earlier this month, they were granted an extension to serve the lawsuit.

When the extension was granted at a Dec. 6 hearing, the attorneys also discussed with a magistrate judge a sealed motion to serve the lawsuit by email, which was apparently granted.

Full article here. Background information on the accusations here and in the ProPublica series and article here. I haven't found any further updates on the Kesan and Xu situations more recently. [UPDATE 1/22: WCIA has a short blurb on their website saying Gary Xu is denying the accusations in a federal lawsuit, but it doesn't have any additional information here.]

In better news, two local UI professors are in the news for good news and accomplishments. Ming Kuo will be speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos. From Smile Politely:

Ming Kuo, associate professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, will be speaking on "the connections between mental health, urbanization, and loss of contact with nature, making the case that investments in urban greening could improve mental and physical health."

Kuo, an expert in urban greening, is the first person from the University of Illinois to speak at the forum's annual meeting, which takes place in Davos, Switzerland next week. Thousands of global business leaders and heads of state attend each year with the goal of, according to the website, shaping "the global, regional and industry agendas at the beginning of each year."

Full blurb with additional information and links here. Another professor was awarded a fellowship from the NEH. From WCIA:

A UI music professor has been awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship for 2019.

The recipient, Christina Bashford, is a professor of musicology...

The NEH awarded $30.9 million in grants for 188 humanities projects across the nation. The fellowship program supports advanced research in the humanities, and the recipients produce articles, books, digital materials or other scholarly resources.

The NEH has received an average of 1,110 applications per year for fellowships in the last five rounds of competition, according to the NEH website. Over that time, it awarded an average of 79 fellowships per year for a funding rate of 7%, making the fellowships among the most competitive humanities awards in the country.

Full article available here.

The Sunday News-Gazette had a five year outlook on issues facing the University. Excerpt from the description:

Enrollment continues to rise, but administrators have their eye on a declining number of high school graduates and the growth of online programs.

Faculty hiring is ramping up after a budgetary dry spell, with aggressive efforts to recruit new talent. But finances, and affordability for students, remain a concern.

Two huge new projects — the Discovery Partners Institute in Chicago and the Carle Illinois College of Medicine in Urbana — are up and running but still in fundraising mode.

And after a year of headlines about sexual misconduct, the campus is moving to implement new procedures to protect students and staff.

Full article here.

And finally, the Illinois Fire Service Institute on campus has its winter training coming up. WCIA had a blurb with some preview coverage:

Nearly 300 of the state’s bravest will descend on Central Illinois this weekend. The Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI) is hosting the 25th annual Winter Fire School this weekend.

The attending first responders will experience in-depth, hands-on training from more than a dozen classes and live fire courses. Topics include traditional essential skills, large animal rescue, active shooter for EMS, investigation, wildland firefighting and advanced level rescue training.

Full blurb here. More information on the training event from the institute's website here, including registration and class information here.