Dear Faculty and Staff —
Items discussed in the Chancellor’s Cabinet meeting included completion of the campus listening sessions; de-escalation training for faculty and staff; the onboarding process for new vice chancellors and deans; the establishment of a steering committee for the Title III grant proposal to strengthen institutions; and the multiple professional development services provided by Academic Impressions.
Other meetings this week involved the Deans and Directors Council (DDC), where the use of instructors was discussed as well as personnel evaluations. The budget guidelines were also reviewed as well as work proceeding on receiving the Carnegie classification for UIS. Another meeting involved the review of the distribution of indirect cost recovery (ICR) funds from external federal grants. The goal of this review process is to further incentivize faculty and staff colleagues to pursue grant proposals for academic programs and institutional initiatives such as Title III.
As part of ECCE course requirements and the STARS program, Doug Hamilton presented a public lecture on Ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI) Wednesday evening, which I attended. Hamilton is a graduate of UIS (Mathematics, 2012 and now is Associate Vice President, Managing Director, and Head of AI Research at the NASDAQ exchange in New York. His lecture was very well attended (over 120 present). Hamilton shared his insights about the use of AI in complex decision-making, risk issues, generalized vs. niche applications, the limitations of AI applications, and the role of regulation for this burgeoning technology field.
The three provosts of the University of Illinois system met again Thursday morning via Zoom. Topics discussed included the legislative intent to expand transfer students’ guarantee for access to all Illinois public institutions and decrease educational migration to other states; academic risk response plans; freshman and transfer student tracking systems, and workplace behavior. Further, the reimbursement rate has been increased to .655 per mile for use of personal autos with a modest increase also for meals. Changes in reimbursement rates were effective January 1, 2023.
At the University Planning and Budget Committee meeting this week, some SIF proposals, all of which had been ranked by voting members of the Committee, were discussed and reviewed by the Committee. The Committee meets again next week.
My week will end with the Beta Gamma Sigma Induction Ceremony on Saturday to recognize student scholars in the College of Business and Management. I look forward to a thought provoking and inspiring address by Ms. Debbie Thompson (UIS: BA, 1993; MA, 1998; and professionally distinguished in field of human resources and the greater Springfield and Illinois communities) as well as the opportunity to meet more of our current and excellent UIS students.
Thank you,
Linda
Linda M. Delene, PhD
Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (VCAA) and Provost
University of Illinois Springfield
OPEN OFFICE HOURS:
UHB Room 2002
3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Thursday, April 27, 2023