6.11.25

Dear colleagues —

Dr. Vickie Cook, vice chancellor for enrollment and retention management, has shared her intention to retire from UIS on March 1, 2026.

Vickie is an accomplished and respected leader in higher education, and we have been so fortunate to benefit from her expertise. Beyond her 16 years with UIS, her career path has also included leadership roles at Kaskaskia College and Greenville College, and she is a highly regarded speaker and consultant, providing professional development for higher education faculty and staff nationally and internationally.

As VCERM, Vickie guided the transition of UIS’ critical enrollment and retention management functions to a standalone division during the 2022-23 academic year. The team has had great success under her leadership, including an 11-percent enrollment increase in Fall 2023.

One of Vickie’s most significant professional passions is online learning. She has assisted numerous organizations in enhancing or assessing their online education initiatives and leadership, and she has authored multiple articles and chapters in various national educational journals and books. At UIS, she served as an assistant professor of educational leadership, executive director of COLRS and founding executive director of Online, Professional and Engaged Learning (OPEL), among other leadership roles. A 2021 article in Inside Higher Ed called Vickie “among the most well-known and respected leaders and scholars in the world of higher education and online learning,” and in 2024, she received the Mildred B. and Charles A. Wedemeyer Award for Outstanding Writer/Scholar in Distance Education from the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA).

Vickie is a wonderful colleague who cares deeply about our faculty, staff and students. We will launch a nationwide search for our next VCERM immediately and hope to have a successful hire prior to Vickie’s well-deserved retirement early next year.

Thank you,

Janet

Janet L. Gooch, Ph.D.

Chancellor

University of Illinois Springfield