6.30.22
Dear Colleagues,
This is my last email to you as Chancellor, and I must first simply say THANK YOU.
Thank you for the opportunity to lead UIS over the last two years. Thank you for your hard work and commitment to our mission, vision and values — and most of all, to our students. We were not just united in safety, we were united to each other and to our students. This inspired me to work every day to be the best Chancellor I could be for you, the students and our community.
I appreciate that over the last two years we have worked together during some of the most difficult times in human history — the pandemic, great social unrest, political turmoil, economic uncertainty … yet we remain united. To be clear, “united” does not mean we all agree on all things. In fact, I think “disagreeing agreeably” is part of being united. Finding the strength and confidence to speak our truths AND be collegial is a hallmark of a truly excellent university. No matter our role, each of us is a human being and deserves to be treated with respect and understanding. Passion cannot be an excuse for bullying or incivility, and I think for the most part, as a community of educators (FYI: No matter our role we are all educators), we found our way to be colleagues.
To sum it up, I sincerely believe we rose to these challenges as a capital city university dedicated to the public good. As a result, we are a better, stronger and more resilient university today than we were two years ago. That’s awesome!
Over the last few weeks, I have offered my comments about our “awesomeness” in various venues. If you want to read further — here are two items for your review:
- The final report of goals and accomplishments achieved since 2020, or otherwise known as “The 10 Things I was Hired To Get Done List.” It is impressive to be reminded of all that we achieved.
- My final report to the UI Board of Trustees.
And now, I share my final thank you and wish you all the best as you work with Chancellor Gooch to ensure an even brighter Prairie Star future.
Stay united!
Karen
United In Safety, Since 2020
Karen M. Whitney, PhD
Interim Chancellor, University of Illinois Springfield
Interim Vice President, University of Illinois