2.6.23

Good afternoon:

I hope everyone enjoyed the dose of sunshine we got this weekend! I was glad to be back in Springfield last week following a busy three days in Chicago the prior week for Board of Trustees activities. This week is the Investiture at 2 p.m. Wednesday, and I’m so grateful to everyone who is working hard to make this a special event.

New Information

Spring Enrollment

Census Day for Spring 2023 was Jan. 30, and we are thrilled with our enrollment numbers this semester! Total enrollment is 4,107 – an increase in 363 students from Spring 2022. We saw great growth compared to last spring, including a 9.7% increase in head count, a 10.3% increase in credit hours and a 12.5 percent increase in total FTE. We also saw a 97% persistence rate from fall to spring; this is up from our typical rate of 94%. All are indicators of our hard work paying off and excellent leadership from our Enrollment Management colleagues.

Black History Month

February is Black History Month, and there is some wonderful programming planned on campus throughout the month. A full calendar is online.

Campus Visits Begin Feb. 13

Campus visits are a great way for prospective students to see why UIS is the best public regional university in Illinois. Visits begin Feb. 13 and take place almost daily. A schedule is on our website. Please encourage anyone you know who is beginning to search for their future university home to visit UIS this spring! We also will host an Open House on Feb. 20, which offers a more in-depth look at life at UIS.

Deadlines to Share with Students

Please be sure students are aware of the Feb. 15 deadline to apply for an institutional scholarship and the Feb. 17 deadline to apply for graduation. Students must complete the graduation application to participate in Commencement.

BDJ Website

To keep everyone updated on our initiatives and resources related to Belonging, Dignity and Justice at UIS, we have launched a new website. To request additions to the site, please email Kelsea Gurski at kgurs2@uis.edu.  

Tuition News

Tuition costs at UIS will not increase for the 2023-24 academic year. The Board of Trustees decided to keep the current rates in place during its Jan. 26 meeting.

Information that Bears Repeating

Executive Searches

The searches for our vice chancellor and dean openings continue to move forward. Search firm WittKiefer is partnering with UIS for all five positions. Here is a quick snapshot of each search:

• Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs/Provost: The search committee members have finalized the leadership profile and met last week to receive their charge from the chancellor. Dr. Vickie Cook and Dr. Ty Dooley are co-chairing the search.
• Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs: Semi-finalists will be interviewed beginning late next week. Search committee chair is Dr. Vickie Cook.
• Vice Chancellor for Finance & Administration: Semi-finalists are scheduled to be interviewed in late February or early March. Search committee chair is Dr. Jeff Lorber.  
• Dean of the College of Health, Science and Technology: First-round interviews are expected to occur in late February. Search committee chair is Dr. Frances Chen.
• Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences: Application materials are due by Feb. 17, and first-round interviews are expected to occur in late March. Search committee chair is Dr. Devin Hunter.

Our goal is to have all positions filled by July 1. Thank you to all who are serving on the search committees for these important leadership positions.

Investiture Reminder

If you haven’t yet, please RSVP for the upcoming Chancellor Investiture, which begins at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 8, in Sangamon Auditorium. Release time is authorized for this event subject to supervisory approval. All faculty, staff and students should have received an invite via email the week of Jan. 9.

Listening Sessions

For the remainder of the academic year, I am hosting listening sessions for any faculty or staff member who wants to share their thoughts about our university climate and culture. Please complete this online form to express your interest in participating in a listening session. A member of the Chancellor’s Office will work to schedule you prior to May. To date, I have completed one group session and several individual sessions with faculty and staff in the College of Business and Management.

Chancellor’s Committee for Belonging, Dignity and Justice

I have decided to form a Chancellor’s Committee for Belonging, Dignity and Justice to launch our campus-wide DEI strategic planning efforts and coordinate subsequent efforts to monitor progress, recommend initiatives and serve as a resource for campus constituents. The committee’s charge was shared in my Jan. 17 email. Shelby Bedford, assistant director for access and equity, will chair this committee. We discussed membership nominations last week and expect to send out invites to join the committee soon.

Orbit Reminder

Don’t forget to check out Orbit, the new web hub for all things employee-related at UIS. 

Celebrating our Star Power

Dr. Vickie Cook, vice chancellor for enrollment and retention management, has been elected to the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) Board of Directors. OLC is a collaborative community of higher education leaders and innovators, dedicated to advancing quality digital teaching and learning experiences. It has approximately 800 member institutions.

UIS has been named a “best affordable online college” by Forbes. Read more on the UIS Newsroom.

Have a wonderful week!

Janet

Janet L. Gooch, PhD

Chancellor

University of Illinois Springfield