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Good evening everyone.

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Appreciate everybody
being here tonight and

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if you want to go
ahead and grab a seat we'll

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get started.

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I know there are
some people joining us

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online so we'll give
them a minute to get logged

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in and so forth but I
just wanted to say good

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evening I'm Matt
Wilson I'm president of the

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UIUC chapter of SUA.

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I'd like to welcome
everybody here those

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in person and those
joining us online but

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before I introduce
our speaker tonight I

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want to make a note
that we're going to have a

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very brief
business session after her

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presentation and then
following that there'll be a reception

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out in the foyer with
some wine and cheese

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and so forth and we
hope everybody can stick

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around for that as well.

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So I would like to introduce and
thank our speaker for being here.

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She is associate chancellor Robin Kaler.

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She leads the campus
office of strategic

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communications and
marketing and serves as

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chancellor Jones's
senior leadership team

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advising on issues
management and crisis communications.

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She is the
university's official

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spokesperson and leads the
university's crisis response

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communications team.

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Prior to joining
the university she

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served as news director
at WDWS and WHMS radio.

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Robin holds three
University of Illinois

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degrees and is the mother
of two Illinois graduates.

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Her father's Air
Force career brought her

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to Rantoul and she
knew the Air Force base

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as a child.

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Rantoul is still
where she and her husband

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Chris who's joining
us here today are still

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call home today.

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So please welcome
associate chancellor Robin Kaler.

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Good evening.

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So Matt asked me to
talk a little bit about

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some of the things
going on at the university

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and some reasons to be
proud of the university.

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So let's just dive right in.

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So obviously the thing we're always
the most proud of is our students, right?

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And we had our newest class of freshmen
ever this fall which is pretty amazing.

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That came from an
initial set of 67,398

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applications and ended
up in a class of 8,325.

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So we're very popular and part of
that of course is the common application.

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Right now students can
apply lots and lots of places.

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So we do tend to get a lot more.

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But of course that's
not something where you

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can say, oh that
student doesn't really want

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to go here, right?

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So we have to
look at every single

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application and make sure
they're thoughtfully reviewed.

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And then we really
try to get anybody who's

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applied who's really
well qualified to attend.

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So our admissions
office has been doing an

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amazing job of
trying to plow through all

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of that the past few years
since we've joined Common App.

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But that record
number of applications and

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acceptances has now
led to a total enrollment

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of 56,403 students.

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That's counting undergrad and graduate.

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So we're getting bigger all the time.

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But when we do that
we're doing that still

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with really good,
oops sorry that doesn't

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seem to want to go away.

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There we go.

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With really good
academic qualifications

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among our students and
with a profile that has a

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really diverse group of backgrounds
and experiences which is really nice.

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And one of my favorite
statistics is that more

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than one in five of our
first year undergraduates

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identify as African
American, Hispanic, or multiracial.

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And we have the largest number of
in-state students in nearly two decades.

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And we're still the
largest provider of

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undergraduate education
in the state of Illinois.

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And here's another really good one.

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As a first
generation student myself, one

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in four of our
students in this class are

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first generation.

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Which when you
think about all the

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opportunities for higher
education and all the years that

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we've been offering,
the fact that there

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are still that many
kids who are first gen is

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pretty amazing and
that we really welcome

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them and we provide
some really good wraparound

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services to make sure they succeed.

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And of course we're
really still trying to

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make sure that an
Illinois education is affordable

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because we've all seen how the cost
of education is going up and up and up.

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This year was our fifth class
under our Illinois Commitment Program.

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And that's the
scholarship program that

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guarantees four years of
tuition and fees to any Illinois

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resident who
qualifies for admission and

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comes from a family with
an income of $67,100 or

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less.

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And that number, as
the student continues,

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that number, the
parents are allowed to make

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a little more money each year
too so we don't drop them for that.

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And about one in
three of those Illinois

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residents that I just
mentioned is here on the Illinois

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Commitment Program.

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So it is really, really
impacting a lot of students' lives.

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And our financial aid
investments allow our

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graduates to leave
here with much less debt

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than you might think.

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For students who do leave with loans,
they owe less than $25,000 on average.

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And here's the number
though that makes people stop.

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55% of our students
graduate with zero debt.

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55% with zero debt.

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That's pretty cool.

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And that's one that
people say, are you sure?

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Is that right?

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Did you calculate?

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And yes, we did.

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And that goes up every year.

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And then, so we get them here.

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We get them out of here
with zero or low debt.

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And then they find jobs, right?

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95% of our students
in the latest year we

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have data for, which
would be the 21-22 year

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because we're not far
enough out of 22-23 yet.

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95% of them secured
a job, went into a

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graduate program or
voluntarily took a position that

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might volunteer job within
six months of graduation.

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So within six months
of graduation, 95% of

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our students, our
graduates have found their

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first destination.

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And 75% of those
in-state students who

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graduate and take a job
or go to a graduate program

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stay in Illinois to do that.

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So again, we're
adding to the intellectual

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property of the
state of Illinois, if you

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will, and the economic
engine of the state of Illinois.

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And now here's the
really exciting number.

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For the students who
took full-time jobs,

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they did so with an
average starting salary

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of $74,974.

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So pretty good.

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So that's just a little bit
about our students this year.

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So we've also been working on
our leadership in the past year.

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We have recently
hired a wonderful, lovely

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man named John
Coleman as our new provost.

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He started with us
just a few months ago.

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He was at the
University of Minnesota before

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and the University of
Wisconsin before that.

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And he is a poli-sci guy,
really, really witty and very fun.

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So we've enjoyed getting to know John.

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Also a proud
grandparent who has been

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dressing his grandchildren
in orange and blue, which

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is lovely to see.

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And his wife is an alum of ours.

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And in some other areas, we've got
four new deans in four key colleges.

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Hermann Bolero is now
the permanent dean of ACES.

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Jamel Sharp is now the
permanent dean of the College of Law.

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Ben Lowe is at Social Work.

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Yay!

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And Claire Stewart is the
new university librarian.

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So really exciting to see all of them.

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And speaking of the
library, we just added our

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15 millionth volume to
the library collection.

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As you know, when
the University of

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Illinois started, one of
our first regents said, we

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want to be a
world-class university, right?

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And we can't do that
without a world-class library.

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And so they set aside a pretty fair
amount of money every year to acquire books.

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And they did that.

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And we became, obviously,
a destination for scholars.

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And so it's always a
really nice thing, as

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you know, when we get
another million volumes

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in.

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And this one is on
husbandry, if you can't

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read that old, really,
really old middle-aged

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writing.

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But it's a pretty cool book.

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And if you ever want to see it,
you can go to the Rare Book Room.

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And they will pull it out
for you and let you see it.

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So even these really rare and
exotic books, you can access them.

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One of my favorite
things in the Rare Book

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Room, we have one of
the best collections

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of pop-up books anywhere.

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I think of pop-up books.

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And I think of my girls
when they were little, right?

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Pop-up books started for
people who were not literate, right?

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And instruction manuals to
show you how to do something.

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I mean, there are
pop-up books from way back.

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And they're really cool.

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And if you go into the Rare Book
Room, they'll pull them out and show you.

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They'll make you put gloves on.

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But they're super exciting to see.

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So that's a very fun thing.

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And let's see here.

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Speaking of that,
speaking of library, I

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don't know if you know,
we've begun phase one of

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the renovation of the
whole library complex, right?

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And we're moving both
the archives and the

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special collections,
so the Rare Book Room

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as part of that, into what was
the undergraduate library, right?

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The underground library.

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As it turns out, that is
actually a better place to store.

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Underground is a better place to store
books and keep them from disintegrating.

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So we're going to put
them underground and

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then put the students
above ground where there's

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sun and stuff.

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So that's kind of a fun,
crazy thing we're doing.

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Very fun.

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So in the process of that, we're
doing lots of renovation on campus, too.

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The library's not the only one.

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Does anybody know what
that picture on the left is?

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Altgeld, yeah.

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Dirty Altgeld and clean Altgeld.

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And if you haven't
had a chance to walk by

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and see that while
it's in process of being

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clean, it is amazing.

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You know, it's just like when
they took Alma away to clean her.

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And I was one of those people who was
kind of like, I don't want to change Alma.

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I like the way she looks.

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And they took her away
and they brought her back.

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And I thought, oh my gosh, she
was disgusting before, wasn't she?

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And it's like this.

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When you see it clean, you think, oh,
how did we have company over for this?

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It's really bad.

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But it's looking wonderful.

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So that's the exterior
work they're doing on Altgeld.

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And then later on, they'll be doing
quite a bit of interior work as well.

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Then the picture
on the right is the

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Stephen Wymer Hall, which
is a four-story, 100,000

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or so square feet
classroom and office and

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whatnot building that
will be used a lot by

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the Geese College of Business.

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But also other colleges
can have classrooms in there.

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And it's really,
really going to be lovely.

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Construction began
back in the spring, and

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it's supposed to be
finished in early 2025.

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So if you go by, you can kind
of see the progress on that.

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And of course, you
know where that is, is

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in the parking lot
between Huff and Biff,

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which means parking gone, right?

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Yeah, those of us
who are volleyball fans

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are like, wait,
that's where I park, right?

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So that's why they
took the law lot, and

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they're now building or
have built a parking structure

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there.

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It's lot E15.

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And that's a really nice space now.

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00:10:55,880 --> 00:10:59,640
It has many more spaces, obviously,
than in those two lots originally.

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00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:01,240
So that's kind of a nice thing.

250
00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:03,620
Also, the University
of Illinois Foundation

251
00:11:03,620 --> 00:11:05,640
has built a new
building or is in the process

252
00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:08,800
of it, which is down by the I Hotel.

253
00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:11,040
And that's one starting to look good.

254
00:11:11,040 --> 00:11:13,089
And then the Doris
Kelly Christopher

255
00:11:13,089 --> 00:11:15,140
Illinois Extension
Center, they're in the planning

256
00:11:15,140 --> 00:11:16,280
process for that now.

257
00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:19,360
And that's going to be
right by the Arboretum,

258
00:11:19,360 --> 00:11:22,440
which has a new
director, by the way, my little

259
00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:23,440
sister.

260
00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:27,480
So watch for the Arboretum
to get way better than it was.

261
00:11:27,480 --> 00:11:29,620
And I'll call you
all to volunteer and

262
00:11:29,620 --> 00:11:31,760
help us pull weeds
and stuff sometime soon.

263
00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:33,500
But that's going to
be a really lovely

264
00:11:33,500 --> 00:11:35,240
building, the Doris Kelly
Christopher Illinois Extension

265
00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:36,240
Center.

266
00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:38,440
So be ready for that one, too.

267
00:11:38,440 --> 00:11:40,440
It'll be a nice facility.

268
00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:42,400
So another really
cool thing, of course,

269
00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:44,360
you all are familiar
with all of the work that

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00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:46,900
we did during COVID
and all of the really

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00:11:46,900 --> 00:11:49,440
hard work that people
did to keep our campus

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00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:54,960
safe and try to kind of create
that bubble over Champaign-Urbana.

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00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:57,620
Our video team put
together a really, really

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00:11:57,620 --> 00:12:00,280
lovely documentary
called The New Normal that

275
00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:03,419
really walks you
through all of the work and

276
00:12:03,419 --> 00:12:06,560
all of the really
tough decisions people had

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00:12:06,560 --> 00:12:10,740
to make and all of the exciting
achievements that we had during COVID.

278
00:12:10,740 --> 00:12:12,690
And if you have a
chance, you can just pull

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00:12:12,690 --> 00:12:14,640
it up on your
computer, just go to YouTube.

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00:12:14,640 --> 00:12:16,920
And if you just
type in The New Normal,

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00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:19,200
University of Illinois,
the video will pop up.

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00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:20,200
It's free to watch.

283
00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:23,240
It's, I think it's about 22 minutes.

284
00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:25,240
It was created to go
on the Big Ten Network

285
00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:27,240
initially, but then
obviously we can share

286
00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:28,640
it wherever we want now.

287
00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:30,500
And it's just really
nice, and I think it

288
00:12:30,500 --> 00:12:32,360
will make you
really, really proud of the

289
00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:34,200
university.

290
00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:36,880
Here's my favorite slide.

291
00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:41,920
This is just a little tiny list of
some of our research achievements lately.

292
00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:43,000
And I know it's
really small, and there are

293
00:12:43,000 --> 00:12:44,080
a whole bunch of them
on there, so I'm just

294
00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:45,300
going to walk you through them.

295
00:12:45,300 --> 00:12:47,870
So we continue to be
central to the success

296
00:12:47,870 --> 00:12:50,440
of the Discovery
Partners Institute and the

297
00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:54,600
Illinois Innovation Network, which
I'll talk about a little more in a minute.

298
00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:57,420
So again, Discovery
Partners Institute,

299
00:12:57,420 --> 00:13:00,240
it's something the
whole system is doing.

300
00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:02,259
There's going to be
actually a building in

301
00:13:02,259 --> 00:13:04,280
Chicago, but our
faculty are very involved.

302
00:13:04,280 --> 00:13:05,280
Our students are involved.

303
00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:10,440
It allows us to kind
of plug into the Chicago

304
00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:15,600
area, all of our experts
in new and more engaging

305
00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:16,600
ways.

306
00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:17,600
So that's really exciting.

307
00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:20,659
And we always hear
about Illinois being

308
00:13:20,659 --> 00:13:23,400
great at engineering
and business, right?

309
00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:25,760
But we're great at
lots of things, right?

310
00:13:25,760 --> 00:13:27,529
And our Humanities
Without Walls initiative

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00:13:27,529 --> 00:13:29,300
was awarded more than
a million dollars in

312
00:13:29,300 --> 00:13:32,269
new multidisciplinary
research team grants,

313
00:13:32,269 --> 00:13:35,240
which is amazing if you
think about humanities

314
00:13:35,240 --> 00:13:38,920
and the amount of funding
that you need to do cool things.

315
00:13:38,920 --> 00:13:43,400
And you get a pile like that, and
they do some amazing stuff with it.

316
00:13:43,400 --> 00:13:48,040
Our Center for Quantitative Cell
Biology was awarded $30 million.

317
00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:50,440
Yeah, pretty cool.

318
00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:52,940
We got a second
seven-year $13 million award

319
00:13:52,940 --> 00:13:55,440
from National
Institutes for Health to continue

320
00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:58,220
working on the Illinois
Kids Development Study.

321
00:13:58,220 --> 00:14:00,629
The Department of
Defense announced 31 new

322
00:14:00,629 --> 00:14:03,040
multidisciplinary
university research initiative

323
00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:04,040
awards.

324
00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:05,450
We participated in
six of those, and I'm

325
00:14:05,450 --> 00:14:06,860
going to tell you a
little bit more about that in

326
00:14:06,860 --> 00:14:08,320
just a minute.

327
00:14:08,320 --> 00:14:12,100
We led the statewide
effort that saw our

328
00:14:12,100 --> 00:14:15,880
state win the competition
for the new $250 million

329
00:14:15,880 --> 00:14:19,380
Zuckerberg, Chan Zuckerberg Biohub.

330
00:14:19,380 --> 00:14:22,500
We're doing that with
University of Chicago.

331
00:14:22,500 --> 00:14:24,100
That's going to be a game changer.

332
00:14:24,100 --> 00:14:27,299
This effort to
really make Illinois a

333
00:14:27,299 --> 00:14:30,500
center for quantum and
things like that is really

334
00:14:30,500 --> 00:14:32,820
starting to pick up a lot of steam.

335
00:14:32,820 --> 00:14:35,320
The Center for
Advanced Bioenergy and

336
00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:37,820
Bioproducts Innovation
received $120 million.

337
00:14:38,320 --> 00:14:39,320
Oops, not $120.

338
00:14:39,320 --> 00:14:41,320
That's very cute, wouldn't it be?

339
00:14:41,320 --> 00:14:42,320
Yay.

340
00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:45,600
$120 million from the
Department of Energy.

341
00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:49,240
And we now rank third in the nation in
Department of Energy research funding.

342
00:14:49,240 --> 00:14:54,640
We also lead three of the nation's
22 federally funded AI institutes.

343
00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:56,940
And obviously, we're
all a little excited

344
00:14:56,940 --> 00:14:59,240
and worried about
where AI is going, so it's

345
00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:01,779
really nice to know
that our faculty and

346
00:15:01,779 --> 00:15:04,320
our students and our
scholars are going to be

347
00:15:04,320 --> 00:15:06,360
really involved in that.

348
00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:07,520
So that's really good.

349
00:15:08,220 --> 00:15:11,100
And as you know, we've
worked over the past few years.

350
00:15:11,100 --> 00:15:14,259
We've always had a
lot of funding from the

351
00:15:14,259 --> 00:15:17,420
federal government,
but NIH has not been a

352
00:15:17,420 --> 00:15:18,420
big area for us.

353
00:15:18,420 --> 00:15:20,859
So increasing our
NIH funding by nearly

354
00:15:20,859 --> 00:15:23,300
40% over the past five
years has been a huge,

355
00:15:23,300 --> 00:15:24,620
huge game changer for us.

356
00:15:24,620 --> 00:15:27,440
And obviously, the
Carl Illinois College

357
00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:30,260
of Medicine has
helped a lot in that area.

358
00:15:30,260 --> 00:15:31,620
So what are we doing now?

359
00:15:31,620 --> 00:15:34,000
We are in the middle
of our, actually pretty

360
00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:36,380
near the end of our
latest strategic planning

361
00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:37,680
effort.

362
00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:40,400
This plan is called Boldly Illinois.

363
00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:43,819
And we really kind of
said, this time, let's

364
00:15:43,819 --> 00:15:47,240
not go and tell
everybody, do this, do that.

365
00:15:47,240 --> 00:15:48,399
Here are the four
things we're going to do

366
00:15:48,399 --> 00:15:49,560
or the five things
we're going to do, and

367
00:15:49,560 --> 00:15:51,160
you've got to figure out how to do them.

368
00:15:51,160 --> 00:15:55,320
Instead, we're saying, what does
it mean to think and act boldly?

369
00:15:55,320 --> 00:15:57,720
What does that look like
at a place like Illinois?

370
00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:00,360
And then second, how
do we put together a

371
00:16:00,360 --> 00:16:03,000
plan that lets all of
the colleges and units

372
00:16:03,180 --> 00:16:05,339
have plenty of
flexibility and freedom to

373
00:16:05,339 --> 00:16:07,500
figure out how to
implement that in their

374
00:16:07,500 --> 00:16:10,440
areas and answer that
first question in their

375
00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:13,380
areas so that they're
the ones deciding where

376
00:16:13,380 --> 00:16:18,500
they want to go within this
idea of thinking of bold things.

377
00:16:18,500 --> 00:16:20,259
And so really making
sure that everything

378
00:16:20,259 --> 00:16:22,020
we do is really
focused on the goals that

379
00:16:22,020 --> 00:16:24,180
we have, which are
obviously to foster

380
00:16:24,180 --> 00:16:26,340
scholarship discovery and
innovation, provide transformative

381
00:16:26,340 --> 00:16:28,980
learning experiences,
make a significant and

382
00:16:28,980 --> 00:16:31,620
visible societal
impact, and obviously steward

383
00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:33,480
our resources, of course.

384
00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:36,040
And then do that all in
a very values-based way.

385
00:16:36,040 --> 00:16:39,800
So how do we improve the world
through collaboration and solving problems?

386
00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:43,200
How do we create strong communities
by being inclusive and compassionate?

387
00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:46,120
And then how do we empower
people to make a difference?

388
00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:48,059
So those are the
things that we're really

389
00:16:48,059 --> 00:16:50,000
focused on, and
we'll be rolling that out

390
00:16:50,000 --> 00:16:52,060
in January, February of next year.

391
00:16:52,060 --> 00:16:53,060
So watch for that.

392
00:16:53,060 --> 00:16:55,520
It'll be really exciting.

393
00:16:55,520 --> 00:16:57,379
And then, of
course, we want to always,

394
00:16:57,379 --> 00:16:59,240
always, as we said in
this previous slide, how did

395
00:16:59,260 --> 00:17:00,780
we say it?

396
00:17:00,780 --> 00:17:03,940
Create strong communities by
being inclusive and compassionate.

397
00:17:03,940 --> 00:17:07,100
We're doing a lot of work to
build our campus community.

398
00:17:07,100 --> 00:17:10,740
We want to make it more
resilient, more welcoming, more engaging.

399
00:17:10,740 --> 00:17:12,940
And of course,
that's not just within our

400
00:17:12,940 --> 00:17:15,140
little bubble here,
right, but within all

401
00:17:15,140 --> 00:17:17,340
of the things happening
in the world right now.

402
00:17:17,340 --> 00:17:20,380
And that's not an easy task, right?

403
00:17:20,380 --> 00:17:22,860
So one thing we're
doing is we're going to

404
00:17:22,860 --> 00:17:25,340
launch our
all-campus climate assessment.

405
00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:27,500
That is the first
campus climate survey that

406
00:17:27,500 --> 00:17:29,560
we've done in almost a
decade, and we're hoping

407
00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:32,380
that that's going to
give us some really

408
00:17:32,380 --> 00:17:35,200
critical and important
information about what people

409
00:17:35,200 --> 00:17:37,059
are thinking now,
how they're feeling, so

410
00:17:37,059 --> 00:17:38,920
that we can make sure
that we're addressing

411
00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:42,720
the concerns and the needs
of our current community.

412
00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:44,800
We're also in the
process of getting our

413
00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:46,880
latest round of
proposals for the Call to Action

414
00:17:46,880 --> 00:17:48,760
Research Program.

415
00:17:48,760 --> 00:17:51,210
That's in the Vice
Chancellor for Diversity,

416
00:17:51,210 --> 00:17:53,660
Equity, and Inclusion
office, and it supports

417
00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:56,700
and prioritizes
research scholars working

418
00:17:56,700 --> 00:17:59,720
on issues of
systemic racism in the U.S.

419
00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:03,060
and in our own
community, so that's cool.

420
00:18:03,060 --> 00:18:05,610
Our campus NAGPRA
office, if you're not

421
00:18:05,610 --> 00:18:08,160
familiar with NAGPRA,
that's the Native American Graves

422
00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:10,680
Protection and Repatriation Act.

423
00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:13,460
And as you may have
heard, universities,

424
00:18:13,460 --> 00:18:16,240
museums, I just heard
today that the, I think it was

425
00:18:16,260 --> 00:18:21,119
the Smithsonian
Natural History Museum, has a

426
00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:25,980
lot of human remains
that they have on display.

427
00:18:25,980 --> 00:18:26,980
I mean, hundreds of them.

428
00:18:26,980 --> 00:18:29,159
I heard a story
today that they had one

429
00:18:29,159 --> 00:18:31,340
family, they'd been
looking for the remains of their

430
00:18:31,340 --> 00:18:33,819
grandfather
for 100 years, or

431
00:18:33,819 --> 00:18:36,300
great-grandfather, I guess it
was, and they found that he had

432
00:18:36,300 --> 00:18:38,579
been on display,
I guess it wasn't

433
00:18:38,579 --> 00:18:40,860
Smithsonian, it was a
natural history museum in New York,

434
00:18:40,860 --> 00:18:44,540
and he'd been on display in New
York for 80 years or something.

435
00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:46,720
So they're going to try to
give that back to that family.

436
00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:49,259
Well, we have a lot
of human remains, too,

437
00:18:49,259 --> 00:18:51,800
and a lot of
artifacts and things that are

438
00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:55,380
from Native American
cultures, and we're

439
00:18:55,380 --> 00:18:58,960
working to try to find
whose they are, who are their

440
00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:03,320
families, who are their
descendants, and to repatriate those things.

441
00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:06,199
It's a very
painstaking process, and we were

442
00:19:06,199 --> 00:19:09,080
not early in doing
this, but Chancellor Jones

443
00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:13,840
made that a huge priority, and now we
have an office that's been working on it.

444
00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:17,089
We've already managed
to repatriate quite a

445
00:19:17,089 --> 00:19:20,340
few things, a second
repatriation to a tribal

446
00:19:20,340 --> 00:19:24,500
nation of a group
of human remains and

447
00:19:24,500 --> 00:19:28,660
artifacts, so that's a
really good thing to see.

448
00:19:28,660 --> 00:19:33,250
In these days of
challenging safety issues,

449
00:19:33,250 --> 00:19:37,840
we have established a
threat assessment office.

450
00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:41,380
So this office is, they're not thinking
about, this is not a risk office, right?

451
00:19:41,380 --> 00:19:43,500
This is not saying,
oh, if we invest money

452
00:19:43,500 --> 00:19:45,620
here, what do we risk
losing, or if we build

453
00:19:45,620 --> 00:19:47,620
this building, what do we risk there?

454
00:19:47,620 --> 00:19:50,569
This is about saying,
is there someone who's

455
00:19:50,569 --> 00:19:53,520
in our community who
might be troubled, and

456
00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:55,769
we need to look for
signs that there could

457
00:19:55,769 --> 00:19:58,020
be a problem, and
that we need to get help

458
00:19:58,020 --> 00:20:00,560
for them and protect our
community, that sort of thing.

459
00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:05,519
So we have this
office of threat

460
00:20:05,519 --> 00:20:10,480
assessment, and it has
already begun to help us think

461
00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:13,159
differently about
things that happen on

462
00:20:13,159 --> 00:20:15,840
campus and what we need
to look for and watch for

463
00:20:15,840 --> 00:20:20,100
to make sure that we can keep
our community as safe as possible.

464
00:20:20,100 --> 00:20:22,560
So that has been a huge help.

465
00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:24,000
We're really excited about that.

466
00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:25,579
Another thing that
we've done recently, I

467
00:20:25,579 --> 00:20:27,160
don't know if you've
followed that in the

468
00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:31,220
local news, but over the past year,
we worked with the city of Champaign.

469
00:20:31,220 --> 00:20:34,070
They had a real
shortage of police

470
00:20:34,070 --> 00:20:36,920
officers, and so we now,
they contract with us, and

471
00:20:36,920 --> 00:20:39,900
we hired more police
officers, and we now

472
00:20:39,900 --> 00:20:42,880
patrol a much bigger
area around our campus.

473
00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:46,800
So that has been
helpful for us in removing

474
00:20:46,800 --> 00:20:50,720
guns and being able
to respond to all sorts

475
00:20:50,720 --> 00:20:57,160
of issues that pop up in our
area but are not in our buildings.

476
00:20:57,160 --> 00:20:59,740
When we say campus,
some of us mean the

477
00:20:59,740 --> 00:21:02,320
buildings owned by the
University of Illinois, and some

478
00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:06,600
people mean Green Street and
apartment buildings and that sort of thing.

479
00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:08,659
Those are two
different things, but if

480
00:21:08,659 --> 00:21:10,720
you're a criminal, you
don't know the difference

481
00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:11,960
or care about the difference, right?

482
00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:14,639
And if you're a
person who's walking, a

483
00:21:14,639 --> 00:21:17,320
student who's walking
home at night, you think,

484
00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:20,200
I live at the University of
Illinois, I'm going to be safe here, right?

485
00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:22,599
So we need to make
sure that, again, that

486
00:21:22,599 --> 00:21:25,000
kind of that bubble
that we try to create

487
00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:28,520
protects people as much as possible.

488
00:21:28,520 --> 00:21:32,700
Hope Village is a project
that we're working on with Carl.

489
00:21:32,700 --> 00:21:35,579
It is a project to
build tiny homes for

490
00:21:35,579 --> 00:21:38,460
some of the people who
are home insecure in our

491
00:21:38,460 --> 00:21:43,620
community and who also are facing
health challenges, right, medical challenges.

492
00:21:43,620 --> 00:21:46,900
So the goal of it is
to be able to bring

493
00:21:46,900 --> 00:21:50,180
support to them and to
be able to get them easily

494
00:21:50,180 --> 00:21:52,670
to and from the
medical care that they

495
00:21:52,670 --> 00:21:55,160
need, and so that's
kind of an exciting project

496
00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:56,160
that we're working on.

497
00:21:56,160 --> 00:21:58,740
I'm really excited to
partner with them on that.

498
00:21:58,780 --> 00:22:00,799
And then we've had a
couple of events with

499
00:22:00,799 --> 00:22:02,820
the Campus Community
Compact to accelerate

500
00:22:02,820 --> 00:22:05,460
social justice,
again, trying to reach out

501
00:22:05,460 --> 00:22:08,100
to Champaign-Urbana
and say, how can we make

502
00:22:08,100 --> 00:22:10,740
our community, not
just our campus community,

503
00:22:10,740 --> 00:22:13,380
but our entire
community more welcoming, more

504
00:22:13,380 --> 00:22:16,860
kind and more engaging?

505
00:22:16,860 --> 00:22:19,480
And we recently
opened the Salaam Middle

506
00:22:19,480 --> 00:22:22,100
East and North Africa
Cultural Center on campus.

507
00:22:22,100 --> 00:22:26,740
A delightful man named Awad,
Awad is the director of that.

508
00:22:27,380 --> 00:22:30,099
He's been really,
really helpful with a

509
00:22:30,099 --> 00:22:32,820
lot of the things
happening on campus lately.

510
00:22:32,820 --> 00:22:36,539
This is a space for
any student who has an

511
00:22:36,539 --> 00:22:40,260
interest in or a
connection to that area,

512
00:22:40,260 --> 00:22:43,500
you know, whether
you're from Israel, you

513
00:22:43,500 --> 00:22:46,740
know, Saudi Arabia, you
know, any place, you're

514
00:22:46,740 --> 00:22:48,140
welcome there.

515
00:22:48,140 --> 00:22:50,079
It doesn't matter
what your religion is,

516
00:22:50,079 --> 00:22:52,020
what your nationality
is, you know, if you want

517
00:22:52,020 --> 00:22:55,220
to go there and make
connections, it's open for everybody.

518
00:22:55,220 --> 00:22:56,340
And so it's really exciting.

519
00:22:56,340 --> 00:22:58,260
It's a lovely, a lovely space.

520
00:22:58,260 --> 00:23:04,380
And I think it'll be a
nice asset to campus.

521
00:23:04,380 --> 00:23:05,580
Let's see, rankings.

522
00:23:05,580 --> 00:23:07,080
We always want to know that, right?

523
00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:09,940
We always say we don't
care about the rankings.

524
00:23:09,940 --> 00:23:12,620
Unfortunately, a lot of
other people do, right?

525
00:23:12,620 --> 00:23:14,960
Our ranking is who
chooses to come here and

526
00:23:14,960 --> 00:23:17,300
be a faculty member,
who chooses to come here

527
00:23:17,300 --> 00:23:20,160
and be a staff member, who chooses
to come here and be a student, right?

528
00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:21,300
Those are the rankings we care about.

529
00:23:21,300 --> 00:23:23,580
And then how well do we take
care of them while we're here?

530
00:23:24,020 --> 00:23:29,340
How much do we prepare them to go out
and make a positive impact on the world?

531
00:23:29,340 --> 00:23:31,619
But I, you know, we
all know we live in a

532
00:23:31,619 --> 00:23:33,900
world where people
care about those things,

533
00:23:33,900 --> 00:23:34,900
right?

534
00:23:34,900 --> 00:23:38,060
And some students won't even
consider us if we're not highly ranked.

535
00:23:38,060 --> 00:23:40,300
So it's always nice when that happens.

536
00:23:40,300 --> 00:23:42,340
And this year, we
were 35th among all

537
00:23:42,340 --> 00:23:44,380
national universities, and
that was up six spots from

538
00:23:44,380 --> 00:23:45,380
last year.

539
00:23:45,380 --> 00:23:46,460
So that was really nice.

540
00:23:46,460 --> 00:23:50,380
And that puts us 12th among all
public universities, which is great.

541
00:23:50,380 --> 00:23:52,420
And as you can see
there, we have 34 of our

542
00:23:52,420 --> 00:23:54,460
undergraduate
programs are in the top five

543
00:23:54,460 --> 00:23:59,580
in the nation, 57 among the
top 10, and 87 among the top 20.

544
00:23:59,580 --> 00:24:05,420
So when we talk about having excellence
on a massive scale, that's what we mean.

545
00:24:05,420 --> 00:24:08,220
And that's kind of a cool pride point.

546
00:24:08,220 --> 00:24:10,259
So a couple of
things that I mentioned

547
00:24:10,259 --> 00:24:12,300
earlier that I want to
go into a little bit more.

548
00:24:12,300 --> 00:24:16,680
Earlier this summer, the governor
announced his Innovate Illinois program.

549
00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:18,920
And the idea of that
is to kind of aggregate

550
00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:21,160
all of the state
public and private resources

551
00:24:21,160 --> 00:24:23,259
to compete for some
of this unprecedented

552
00:24:23,259 --> 00:24:25,360
federal funding, you
know, the CHIPS Act and

553
00:24:25,360 --> 00:24:26,360
things like that.

554
00:24:26,360 --> 00:24:28,339
There are a lot of
opportunities coming out

555
00:24:28,339 --> 00:24:30,320
of Washington right
now, and we want to make

556
00:24:30,320 --> 00:24:34,280
sure that Illinois gets our
fair share or more, right?

557
00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:37,059
So being part of
this Illinois Innovation

558
00:24:37,059 --> 00:24:39,840
Network has been really
a game changer for us.

559
00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:42,099
Governor Pritzker
cares about it enough

560
00:24:42,099 --> 00:24:44,360
that he is
personally chairing the group.

561
00:24:44,360 --> 00:24:46,200
And he chose two co-chairs.

562
00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:52,320
One is a woman named Jenny Scanlon,
who is with Underwriters Labs in Chicago.

563
00:24:52,320 --> 00:24:55,540
And the other one is our
own Chancellor Robert Jones.

564
00:24:55,540 --> 00:24:57,349
So that's been
really exciting for him to

565
00:24:57,349 --> 00:24:59,160
have not just a seat
at that table, but a

566
00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:00,920
leadership seat at that table.

567
00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:04,620
And already, we have had some success.

568
00:25:04,620 --> 00:25:07,630
We were named, I
think it was last week or

569
00:25:07,630 --> 00:25:10,640
the week before, two
of the 30 hubs that were

570
00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:14,280
chosen across the whole
country are in Illinois.

571
00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:15,480
We're partners in two of them.

572
00:25:15,480 --> 00:25:16,880
One of them is right on our campus.

573
00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:19,440
So the, I'm going to say it
wrong, so I'm going to read it here.

574
00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:22,220
The Central
Illinois Fermentation and

575
00:25:22,220 --> 00:25:25,000
Agriculture
Biomanufacturing Hub, right here, was one

576
00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:26,320
of the ones that was selected.

577
00:25:26,320 --> 00:25:30,240
They call it the IFAB, if
you want to be, you know, hip.

578
00:25:30,240 --> 00:25:33,100
And then the other one is the
Quantum Tech Hub in Chicago.

579
00:25:33,100 --> 00:25:36,720
So again, we are part
of that quantum group.

580
00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:39,740
And that now positions
us, so now that they've

581
00:25:39,740 --> 00:25:42,760
taken it down from all
of the people who applied,

582
00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:45,000
all of the
institutions that applied across

583
00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:47,240
the nation, they've
got it down to just 30.

584
00:25:47,240 --> 00:25:49,380
And now we're just
competing against those

585
00:25:49,380 --> 00:25:51,520
30 for these kind of
large buckets of federal

586
00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:52,520
funding.

587
00:25:52,520 --> 00:25:55,840
And of course, the
governor's goal, and our

588
00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:59,160
goal, is to make Illinois
the, you know, Midwestern

589
00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:04,060
hub for innovation,
especially in quantum and bio.

590
00:26:04,060 --> 00:26:06,700
And this was a huge step along that way.

591
00:26:06,700 --> 00:26:08,509
Our Vice
Chancellor for Research and

592
00:26:08,509 --> 00:26:10,320
Innovation, Susan
Martinez, has played a huge role in

593
00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:14,480
this, and she has been really
tireless in getting us to this point.

594
00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:16,840
So if you happen to
run into Susan Martinez,

595
00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:19,200
buy her a drink,
because, yeah, she deserves

596
00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:20,200
it.

597
00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:21,200
Yeah.

598
00:26:21,200 --> 00:26:24,119
And then now I want
to conclude with my

599
00:26:24,119 --> 00:26:27,040
personal favorite thing
that we're working on, because

600
00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:28,920
it's the thing my office is leading.

601
00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:33,960
And that is, we are working on the
university's first ever brand platform.

602
00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:37,400
So we have had, you
know, many years, when

603
00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:40,840
I started in this,
the job I'm in now, we

604
00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:45,640
had over 800 logos in
use across the university.

605
00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:46,680
800.

606
00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:48,280
And we're down to one now.

607
00:26:48,280 --> 00:26:49,280
Woohoo!

608
00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:50,280
Yay.

609
00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:51,280
That took a long time.

610
00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:55,720
We had every shade of orange you
could imagine, every shade of blue.

611
00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:58,560
We called ourselves
many, many different things.

612
00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:01,199
And the goal in this
is not just to make

613
00:27:01,199 --> 00:27:03,840
those graphical
components, you know, the, the

614
00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:06,240
colors, the
typefaces, the, you know,

615
00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:08,560
different graphical
elements all match, but really to

616
00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:11,400
make sure that we're
all describing that value

617
00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:14,240
proposition, that if you
engage with the University

618
00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:16,519
of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign, what are you

619
00:27:16,519 --> 00:27:18,800
going to, what
should you expect from us,

620
00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:19,800
right?

621
00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:22,040
And so that, it's really
talking about what are our values?

622
00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:25,980
What are we going to, what are we going
to give you if you, if you work with us?

623
00:27:25,980 --> 00:27:31,400
And so all of the things we're
talking about are very, very value-based.

624
00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:33,079
You know, talking
about building community

625
00:27:33,079 --> 00:27:34,760
and being innovative
and helping students

626
00:27:34,760 --> 00:27:36,940
discover their path
and that sort of thing.

627
00:27:36,940 --> 00:27:39,750
So it's not just
the, the logo and the

628
00:27:39,750 --> 00:27:42,560
imagery, but it's what
are the words we say?

629
00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:45,200
How do we describe ourselves, you know?

630
00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:47,440
You know, just like
Coca-Cola or something, right?

631
00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:50,099
They use the same words
to describe themselves

632
00:27:50,099 --> 00:27:52,760
throughout, you know,
throughout their, their

633
00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:54,300
life journey, if you will.

634
00:27:54,300 --> 00:27:55,760
And we need to do that too.

635
00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:58,000
And I think sometimes
some of the challenges

636
00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:00,240
we've faced in the past
was that the university

637
00:28:00,280 --> 00:28:04,520
always seemed to try to be
everything to everyone, right?

638
00:28:04,520 --> 00:28:06,180
Which you can't really be.

639
00:28:06,180 --> 00:28:08,450
And I think when you
do that, you attract

640
00:28:08,450 --> 00:28:10,720
a lot of people who
now say in their head,

641
00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:13,040
oh, this is what I'm
going to get when I go there.

642
00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:16,520
And then when we don't deliver that,
then they're kind of chippy with us, right?

643
00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:17,960
And they get a little sassy.

644
00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:20,039
And if we could be
much more clear about

645
00:28:20,039 --> 00:28:22,120
this is what you should
expect when you come to

646
00:28:22,120 --> 00:28:24,099
the University of
Illinois as a student,

647
00:28:24,099 --> 00:28:26,080
as a staff member, as
a faculty member, this

648
00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:27,960
is what you should expect.

649
00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:30,199
And people will
either be able to say, you

650
00:28:30,199 --> 00:28:32,360
know, that actually,
I, that's not what I'm

651
00:28:32,360 --> 00:28:33,360
interested in.

652
00:28:33,360 --> 00:28:34,360
You know, I don't, I
don't like Coca-Cola.

653
00:28:34,360 --> 00:28:38,200
I'm going to go get, you
know, a 7-Up instead or whatever.

654
00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:42,400
Or they can come and know this place
is going to support them in these ways.

655
00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:46,640
And then it's up to all of us who work
here to deliver on that promise, right?

656
00:28:46,640 --> 00:28:48,590
So a lot of what
we'll be doing next year

657
00:28:48,590 --> 00:28:50,540
is not just rolling
out, you know, what the

658
00:28:50,540 --> 00:28:52,670
colors look like and
the little, you know,

659
00:28:52,670 --> 00:28:54,800
the, all the word marks
and the little graphical

660
00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:57,500
elements and things,
but also saying, no

661
00:28:57,500 --> 00:29:00,160
matter what your job is
here, here's the promise

662
00:29:00,160 --> 00:29:02,480
we need you to
deliver on every day and

663
00:29:02,480 --> 00:29:04,800
every interaction you
have with someone, whether

664
00:29:04,800 --> 00:29:07,799
your job is to answer
a telephone, to clean a

665
00:29:07,799 --> 00:29:10,800
floor, to discover a
cure for cancer, whatever

666
00:29:10,800 --> 00:29:14,520
it is that you need to understand
that this is, this is your role.

667
00:29:14,520 --> 00:29:16,560
And this is how we
need, how we say we do it.

668
00:29:16,560 --> 00:29:20,160
It's not what we do so much as
what we say about how we do it.

669
00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:22,430
So we'll be doing
a lot of training,

670
00:29:22,430 --> 00:29:24,700
obviously, for all the
employees, new ones, and then

671
00:29:24,860 --> 00:29:26,780
kind of retraining current employees.

672
00:29:26,780 --> 00:29:28,659
And then when we
have student orientation

673
00:29:28,659 --> 00:29:30,540
every year, we'll be
helping the new students

674
00:29:30,540 --> 00:29:32,100
understand what we are.

675
00:29:32,100 --> 00:29:33,859
And then, of course,
our admissions people,

676
00:29:33,859 --> 00:29:35,620
that's a really huge
place to make sure that

677
00:29:35,620 --> 00:29:37,619
as they're
talking to prospective

678
00:29:37,619 --> 00:29:39,620
students, that again,
they're making clear what you

679
00:29:39,620 --> 00:29:42,500
should expect in
that, in that arrangement.

680
00:29:42,500 --> 00:29:45,180
If you come to us, what
we'll be giving to you.

681
00:29:45,180 --> 00:29:47,620
So, so we're really excited about it.

682
00:29:47,620 --> 00:29:51,040
And we're really going to need
everybody to be a brand ambassador for us.

683
00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:53,319
So if you have any
interest in helping us

684
00:29:53,319 --> 00:29:55,600
assimilate that and
kind of get the campus

685
00:29:55,600 --> 00:29:58,199
to adopt it, please
let me know because we're

686
00:29:58,199 --> 00:30:00,800
going to need all
hands on deck for that one.

687
00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:03,120
And that was really everything
I wanted to talk about today.

688
00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:05,480
So I'm happy to answer
any questions to you.

689
00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:06,480
Yeah.

690
00:30:06,480 --> 00:30:07,480
Perfect.

691
00:30:07,480 --> 00:30:08,480
Great.

692
00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:09,480
Thank you.

693
00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:10,480
Oh, that one already.

694
00:30:10,480 --> 00:30:11,480
Does this work?

695
00:30:11,480 --> 00:30:12,480
Yeah.

696
00:30:12,480 --> 00:30:13,480
It works.

697
00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:14,480
Great.

698
00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:19,640
I'll bring the mic over to you.

699
00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:22,120
I love your letter jacket, by the way.

700
00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:23,600
That is totally on brand.

701
00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:24,600
Thank you.

702
00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:26,400
I'm sure it's the right shade of orange.

703
00:30:26,400 --> 00:30:27,400
It's perfect.

704
00:30:27,400 --> 00:30:28,400
It's perfect.

705
00:30:28,400 --> 00:30:29,400
Yeah.

706
00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:33,240
Robin, when you say the
number of total students

707
00:30:33,240 --> 00:30:37,080
we have now is 50,000,
does that include people

708
00:30:37,080 --> 00:30:40,160
who are full-time online?

709
00:30:40,160 --> 00:30:41,160
It does.

710
00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:42,160
Correct.

711
00:30:42,160 --> 00:30:43,520
So that's not the number of
bodies that are necessarily here.

712
00:30:43,520 --> 00:30:44,520
Correct.

713
00:30:44,520 --> 00:30:45,520
And that's a really good point.

714
00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:47,460
I'm glad you said that
because I think a lot

715
00:30:47,460 --> 00:30:49,400
of people, when they
hear we're getting bigger,

716
00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:51,559
say, we don't have
enough classrooms, we

717
00:30:51,559 --> 00:30:52,960
don't have enough
residence halls, we don't have

718
00:30:52,960 --> 00:30:55,000
enough apartments.

719
00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:57,440
A lot of the growth is coming online.

720
00:30:57,440 --> 00:30:59,920
And a lot of the growth is
coming in graduate programs, too.

721
00:30:59,920 --> 00:31:04,000
So we are very thoughtful
and mindful about the growth.

722
00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:06,480
But a lot of the
programs that we have that

723
00:31:06,480 --> 00:31:08,960
are online can scale
up a lot faster and a

724
00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:10,520
lot easier than in-person ones.

725
00:31:10,520 --> 00:31:12,960
And a lot of our
students on campus these

726
00:31:12,960 --> 00:31:15,400
days also like to
take some online classes.

727
00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:18,680
So that also relieves some of the
pressure on the facilities here.

728
00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:21,240
And of course, we are continuing
to grow and build more classrooms.

729
00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:22,240
But that's a really good question.

730
00:31:22,240 --> 00:31:24,360
Just briefly, a quick follow-up.

731
00:31:24,360 --> 00:31:26,960
So of that number
that you showed, I think

732
00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:29,560
it was 51,000,
somewhere in there, what would

733
00:31:29,560 --> 00:31:32,779
you estimate are
the total number of

734
00:31:32,779 --> 00:31:36,000
students who are not
physically here in any amount?

735
00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:39,120
I shouldn't say any number at
all because it's going to be wrong.

736
00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:42,280
But in my head, I think it's...

737
00:31:42,280 --> 00:31:45,280
I know it's at least 5,000.

738
00:31:45,280 --> 00:31:46,280
At least, yeah.

739
00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:47,880
I think, did you have...

740
00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:48,880
Yeah, here we go.

741
00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:56,280
Your first slide, I was fascinated
by 24% of the freshmen out of state.

742
00:31:56,280 --> 00:32:01,280
Back when I was about 9%,
we got lots of complaints.

743
00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:02,280
Yeah.

744
00:32:02,280 --> 00:32:04,480
Legislators and
parents of Illinois students

745
00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:06,680
say, I pay taxes, why
can't my son, daughter

746
00:32:06,680 --> 00:32:07,680
get in?

747
00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:09,680
Is that complaint level risen?

748
00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:11,280
Actually, you know what?

749
00:32:11,280 --> 00:32:18,880
It hit its peak, I want to
say, in maybe 2008 or 2009.

750
00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:20,640
Because I was there for all of that.

751
00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:22,119
And you're right,
when we went over 10% the

752
00:32:22,119 --> 00:32:23,600
first year, oh my gosh,
you would have thought

753
00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:25,040
we'd cut someone's arm off.

754
00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:26,480
It was awful.

755
00:32:26,480 --> 00:32:29,299
And we remain the
Big Ten school with the

756
00:32:29,299 --> 00:32:32,120
highest percentage
of in-state students.

757
00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:34,840
We just always have
more than anybody else.

758
00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:37,799
What we have found is,
by growing the class,

759
00:32:37,799 --> 00:32:40,760
we're able to make the
real number of students

760
00:32:41,240 --> 00:32:45,640
we're giving an Illinois education
to, who are from Illinois, higher.

761
00:32:45,640 --> 00:32:48,559
And so the percentage
becomes less of a thing,

762
00:32:48,559 --> 00:32:51,480
and so we really make
sure that we frame that

763
00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:53,950
well so that people
know we're providing

764
00:32:53,950 --> 00:32:56,420
many more opportunities
for in-state students.

765
00:32:56,420 --> 00:32:59,880
We would love to have more in-state
students, but they don't choose us.

766
00:32:59,880 --> 00:33:01,800
A lot of them choose
to go somewhere else.

767
00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:03,799
And that's really a
bigger challenge for

768
00:33:03,799 --> 00:33:05,800
us, is how do we get
the Illinois kids to stay

769
00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:06,800
here?

770
00:33:07,240 --> 00:33:10,360
As you saw earlier
when I said that if a

771
00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:13,480
student goes to school
here, they tend to have their

772
00:33:13,480 --> 00:33:15,240
career in this state.

773
00:33:15,240 --> 00:33:17,659
And if we could keep
75% of all the kids

774
00:33:17,659 --> 00:33:20,080
who are from Illinois
in Illinois, if we could

775
00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:24,800
make that 78%, again, the higher we
make that number, the better it is.

776
00:33:24,800 --> 00:33:26,279
And then when we
bring all these students

777
00:33:26,279 --> 00:33:27,760
in from other places,
then if we can get them

778
00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:31,480
to stay here too,
now we've got that

779
00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:35,200
economic engine in
Illinois, which is what we need.

780
00:33:35,200 --> 00:33:37,840
We want to have as many
people stay here as possible.

781
00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:39,920
So yeah, oh, that was painful.

782
00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:41,680
That was really painful back then.

783
00:33:41,680 --> 00:33:43,720
And now it tickles me
some days when I see

784
00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:45,760
the numbers and I
think, oh boy, we all would

785
00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:49,760
have been dead back then because they
would have said, you're out of here.

786
00:33:49,760 --> 00:33:51,760
Okay.

787
00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:59,480
I remember one time
in the 60s, acceptance

788
00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:07,200
was determined by a
lottery, which didn't

789
00:34:07,200 --> 00:34:08,200
last very long.

790
00:34:08,200 --> 00:34:09,200
Are you serious?

791
00:34:09,200 --> 00:34:12,720
That is a good piece of trivia.

792
00:34:12,720 --> 00:34:13,720
Wow.

793
00:34:13,720 --> 00:34:16,400
But I do have a question.

794
00:34:16,400 --> 00:34:18,880
This has been very
interesting and thank you.

795
00:34:19,040 --> 00:34:22,160
But I have a athletic question.

796
00:34:22,160 --> 00:34:23,600
Okay, I'll do my best.

797
00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:28,159
Someone told me
today, a friend, that

798
00:34:28,159 --> 00:34:32,720
beginning next year, the
only way you can get tickets,

799
00:34:32,720 --> 00:34:36,320
DIA will let you get
tickets is on your phone.

800
00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:42,240
And some people don't like to do that
and some people don't know how to do that.

801
00:34:42,240 --> 00:34:44,160
I wondered if you
know anything about it.

802
00:34:44,160 --> 00:34:46,000
I do not, but I will
check into that and I

803
00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:47,840
will let Matt know
and he can reach out to

804
00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:48,320
the group.

805
00:34:48,400 --> 00:34:48,880
Okay.

806
00:34:49,920 --> 00:34:52,560
It would not surprise me because
that's kind of how the world's going.

807
00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:55,440
But yeah, I'm with you.

808
00:34:55,440 --> 00:35:02,880
I am of an age where my husband and I
call our kids to, how do we do this?

809
00:35:02,880 --> 00:35:04,800
In fact, our
daughter came, our older

810
00:35:04,800 --> 00:35:06,720
daughter came home a
couple of weeks ago and stayed

811
00:35:06,720 --> 00:35:10,640
two nights and we had a whole list of
IT things we needed her to do for us.

812
00:35:10,640 --> 00:35:11,200
Can you do this?

813
00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:11,920
Can you do that?

814
00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:14,559
So I feel your pain,
but I will find out

815
00:35:14,559 --> 00:35:17,200
that and I'll let Matt
know so he can reach to

816
00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:18,000
the group.

817
00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:19,360
But how about that game last night?

818
00:35:19,360 --> 00:35:20,880
Anybody watch the Kansas game?

819
00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:22,240
Woo, that was great.

820
00:35:22,240 --> 00:35:22,800
Yeah.

821
00:35:22,800 --> 00:35:25,519
I almost didn't go
because I'd had a long

822
00:35:25,519 --> 00:35:28,240
day and Chris said,
no, let's go and let's,

823
00:35:28,240 --> 00:35:29,760
I said, well, we could
go and stay for half.

824
00:35:29,760 --> 00:35:31,440
He said, no, if we go, we're
staying for the whole thing.

825
00:35:32,080 --> 00:35:33,040
Glad we did.

826
00:35:33,040 --> 00:35:33,540
Yeah.

827
00:35:35,840 --> 00:35:41,120
I hope this hasn't been asked
before because I'm not hearing very well.

828
00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:43,680
I'm having problems
with that food in my ear.

829
00:35:43,760 --> 00:35:48,960
Will the number of
individuals working from home increase?

830
00:35:48,960 --> 00:35:51,680
Is that a part of what
they're trying to do?

831
00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:54,640
I know everywhere else they
are with the hospitals and all.

832
00:35:54,640 --> 00:35:57,960
And number one and
quickly, number two is

833
00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:01,280
the architecture
students, you know, for years

834
00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:03,520
went to Versailles for that year.

835
00:36:03,520 --> 00:36:10,800
And I think in 2014, they
started going to Barcelona, Spain.

836
00:36:10,880 --> 00:36:14,000
Do you know where are they going now?

837
00:36:14,000 --> 00:36:14,800
I do not know.

838
00:36:14,800 --> 00:36:15,920
I'll have to find that out, though.

839
00:36:15,920 --> 00:36:16,720
That sounds fascinating.

840
00:36:16,720 --> 00:36:18,640
I wish I would have
majored in architecture.

841
00:36:18,640 --> 00:36:19,440
That's a great one.

842
00:36:19,440 --> 00:36:19,940
Yeah.

843
00:36:20,720 --> 00:36:23,399
To your question
about working from home,

844
00:36:23,399 --> 00:36:26,080
the university has
spent a lot of time after

845
00:36:26,080 --> 00:36:29,480
COVID once, you
know, things became safe

846
00:36:29,480 --> 00:36:32,880
enough to get back to
regular work to say, let's

847
00:36:32,880 --> 00:36:34,400
keep everybody comfortable first.

848
00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:37,360
Let's try to do our best to make
sure everybody's comfortable and safe.

849
00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:39,400
Let's give units as
much flexibility as we

850
00:36:39,400 --> 00:36:41,360
can, because as we
know, the world has changed,

851
00:36:41,360 --> 00:36:41,860
right?

852
00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:45,400
One of our
daughters, she just always

853
00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:47,280
works remotely and lots
of her friends, they'll

854
00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:49,840
be in, I'm going to
fly to Washington this

855
00:36:49,840 --> 00:36:52,400
week and putz around
Seattle while I work.

856
00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:53,880
And then I'm going
to fly to Rhode Island

857
00:36:53,880 --> 00:36:55,360
and putz around there
and they're still in

858
00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:55,920
the same job.

859
00:36:55,920 --> 00:36:58,720
And we're not quite at that point.

860
00:36:58,720 --> 00:37:02,560
But we do have a lot more
opportunities for people to be hybrid.

861
00:37:02,720 --> 00:37:05,360
Some jobs, totally remote.

862
00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:07,600
Many people,
obviously, if you're in direct

863
00:37:07,600 --> 00:37:09,840
services to students,
you can't work in dining

864
00:37:09,840 --> 00:37:11,360
services and do that remotely, right?

865
00:37:11,360 --> 00:37:12,480
You've got to be there.

866
00:37:14,400 --> 00:37:16,320
A lot of us work in
the office every day.

867
00:37:17,120 --> 00:37:19,599
But I have, like, for
example, a lot of our

868
00:37:19,599 --> 00:37:22,080
writers will work
remotely most of the time.

869
00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:25,519
In our office, for
example, the rule is if

870
00:37:25,519 --> 00:37:27,840
you are not in the
office for three days a

871
00:37:27,840 --> 00:37:29,920
week, you don't have
an office in the office.

872
00:37:29,920 --> 00:37:33,360
For three days a week, you
don't have an office anymore.

873
00:37:33,360 --> 00:37:36,000
You had to get, you had to clear
all your stuff out, give it up.

874
00:37:36,000 --> 00:37:40,160
And we have a few offices that
are, they call them what, hotel space?

875
00:37:40,160 --> 00:37:41,200
We call them hot desks.

876
00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:44,560
Although one of my
colleagues went around

877
00:37:44,560 --> 00:37:46,800
and named some of
them warm desks and some

878
00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:49,120
cool desks and some just right desks.

879
00:37:49,120 --> 00:37:50,480
Hot desk, they call them.

880
00:37:50,480 --> 00:37:53,199
And so you can come
in and have this sort

881
00:37:53,199 --> 00:37:55,920
of, you know,
temporary space on those days

882
00:37:55,920 --> 00:37:57,280
when you do come in the office.

883
00:37:57,280 --> 00:37:59,200
And for some people,
they said, that's fine.

884
00:38:00,160 --> 00:38:00,960
I'll use that.

885
00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:02,400
And some people said, you know what?

886
00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:03,600
I want to have an office.

887
00:38:03,600 --> 00:38:05,559
And so they come in
and do the three or

888
00:38:05,559 --> 00:38:07,520
four or five days a
week so they can keep their

889
00:38:07,520 --> 00:38:07,840
office.

890
00:38:07,840 --> 00:38:10,720
But what the
university is trying to do,

891
00:38:10,720 --> 00:38:13,600
though, is obviously
figure out are there spaces now

892
00:38:13,600 --> 00:38:14,880
that aren't being used?

893
00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:17,400
And can we maybe shrink
the footprint some and

894
00:38:17,400 --> 00:38:19,920
use it a little more
carefully and thoughtfully

895
00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:22,400
and mindfully once that all settles out?

896
00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:24,559
But we're still in the
stage where some folks

897
00:38:24,559 --> 00:38:26,720
are trying stuff and
they haven't really said,

898
00:38:26,720 --> 00:38:29,360
yeah, we're definitively
going to just stay with this.

899
00:38:29,360 --> 00:38:32,560
We do have
guidelines then for all

900
00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:35,760
managers, all unit
executive officers to use to make

901
00:38:35,760 --> 00:38:36,560
those decisions.

902
00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:40,400
You know, some just have a preference
for their people being in the office.

903
00:38:40,400 --> 00:38:43,120
And if they do, then that
office tends to be more in person.

904
00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:46,320
And some have a preference for
not being in the office so much.

905
00:38:46,320 --> 00:38:47,680
And that happens, too.

906
00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:50,640
What we try to do in our office
is to make it fun to be there.

907
00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:51,760
We have a lot of snacks.

908
00:38:51,840 --> 00:38:54,600
In the process of
doing this brand alignment

909
00:38:54,600 --> 00:38:57,360
work, the chancellor
moved a couple of other

910
00:38:57,360 --> 00:38:58,480
units into our unit.

911
00:38:58,480 --> 00:39:00,240
And one of them was special events.

912
00:39:00,240 --> 00:39:01,840
Oh, my goodness.

913
00:39:01,840 --> 00:39:04,560
They have the best snacks
of anybody in the world.

914
00:39:04,560 --> 00:39:06,800
So we do a lot of
things like that and try to

915
00:39:06,800 --> 00:39:09,040
have some different
activities to get people

916
00:39:09,040 --> 00:39:09,280
in.

917
00:39:09,280 --> 00:39:11,239
But we don't make
people come in every day,

918
00:39:11,239 --> 00:39:13,200
you know, if they
don't need to be there and

919
00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:14,800
they prefer not to.

920
00:39:14,800 --> 00:39:17,320
What we found in
our office was that

921
00:39:17,320 --> 00:39:19,840
during COVID, our
productivity actually went up.

922
00:39:20,080 --> 00:39:23,600
When we looked at our annual
metrics, they actually went up.

923
00:39:23,600 --> 00:39:26,239
And I think part of
it is that people can,

924
00:39:26,239 --> 00:39:28,880
some people don't
really enjoy being around

925
00:39:28,880 --> 00:39:29,680
a lot of folks, right?

926
00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:33,920
So if they can work quietly
in their home, they just crank.

927
00:39:34,880 --> 00:39:37,920
And some people get
distracted when they're in the office.

928
00:39:37,920 --> 00:39:42,160
So actually, you find that it
can actually be a better thing.

929
00:39:42,160 --> 00:39:45,000
And then obviously, at
least what I have seen

930
00:39:45,000 --> 00:39:47,840
across campuses, people
who really value being

931
00:39:48,720 --> 00:39:51,280
able to work from home,
they're just really grateful.

932
00:39:51,280 --> 00:39:53,800
And so they want to
make sure that the

933
00:39:53,800 --> 00:39:56,320
university gets their
money's worth out of them, if you

934
00:39:56,320 --> 00:39:56,480
will.

935
00:39:56,480 --> 00:39:58,720
And so we've had
pretty good luck with it.

936
00:39:58,720 --> 00:40:01,520
I'm not saying that's been perfect
everywhere and we're still learning.

937
00:40:02,240 --> 00:40:05,359
But our head of HR,
Sherry Mickey Boggs, has

938
00:40:05,359 --> 00:40:08,480
done an amazing job of
getting us to a point

939
00:40:08,480 --> 00:40:10,720
where we have
really good protocols and

940
00:40:10,720 --> 00:40:12,960
really good ways to make
decisions and really good

941
00:40:12,960 --> 00:40:15,920
tools to support people, whether
they're in-person, hybrid, or remote.

942
00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:17,040
Yeah.

943
00:40:18,400 --> 00:40:19,120
Any other questions?

944
00:40:20,800 --> 00:40:22,400
We'll go over here first
and then come back to you.

945
00:40:25,440 --> 00:40:27,440
This is not something
you've mentioned, but

946
00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:29,440
I wonder whether the
university is enforcing

947
00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:31,200
the no smoking policy.

948
00:40:31,200 --> 00:40:33,639
And the reason I ask
that is because sometimes

949
00:40:33,639 --> 00:40:36,080
when you walk past the
line I grove, somebody's

950
00:40:36,080 --> 00:40:36,560
smoking.

951
00:40:36,560 --> 00:40:40,400
And when you mention it, they say,
well, our manager tells us to smoke here.

952
00:40:40,400 --> 00:40:43,680
And it's the food people from PAR.

953
00:40:43,760 --> 00:40:45,680
And I said, does your manager?

954
00:40:45,680 --> 00:40:47,920
And the person said, well, our
manager comes and smokes with us.

955
00:40:47,920 --> 00:40:48,400
Oh, no.

956
00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:48,400


957
00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:52,080
So I'm just wondering whether
there's any enforcement whatsoever.

958
00:40:52,080 --> 00:40:52,640
There is.

959
00:40:52,640 --> 00:40:53,600
It tends to be.

960
00:40:54,480 --> 00:40:56,680
I mean, obviously,
initially, we did a lot

961
00:40:56,680 --> 00:40:58,880
of enforcement to
get people to learn the

962
00:40:58,880 --> 00:40:59,600
rules.

963
00:40:59,600 --> 00:41:01,440
Now it's pretty much
on a complaint basis.

964
00:41:01,440 --> 00:41:05,520
So now that you've complained, I'll let
someone know and we'll work on that one.

965
00:41:07,840 --> 00:41:08,640
Thank you for that.

966
00:41:09,520 --> 00:41:11,520
You might have just saved
their lives, bless your heart.

967
00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:11,760
Yeah.

968
00:41:12,240 --> 00:41:19,200
Robin, in terms of new students in
that, has the percentage, the yield gone up?

969
00:41:19,200 --> 00:41:21,520
In other words, obviously,
there's more applications.

970
00:41:21,520 --> 00:41:26,320
But the thing you measure is
how many students actually enroll.

971
00:41:26,320 --> 00:41:26,640
Yeah.

972
00:41:26,640 --> 00:41:30,480
Our yield has been really good
and getting stronger every year.

973
00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:31,040
It is going up.

974
00:41:31,920 --> 00:41:34,800
And that's our
admissions folks have just

975
00:41:34,800 --> 00:41:37,680
worked really hard on
getting applications,

976
00:41:37,920 --> 00:41:39,600
getting people to accept.

977
00:41:40,560 --> 00:41:42,800
Yeah, it's they've
been they've it is one

978
00:41:42,800 --> 00:41:45,040
of the most
sophisticated operations I've

979
00:41:45,040 --> 00:41:45,600
ever seen.

980
00:41:45,600 --> 00:41:47,040
And we've partnered with them.

981
00:41:47,040 --> 00:41:49,079
One thing in our
office we've tried to do

982
00:41:49,079 --> 00:41:51,120
is to help find
communication challenges

983
00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:52,240
across campus.

984
00:41:52,240 --> 00:41:54,880
And one that Doug
Burgett in admissions

985
00:41:54,880 --> 00:41:57,520
pointed out to us
was that admissions was

986
00:41:57,520 --> 00:41:58,640
using one system.

987
00:41:58,640 --> 00:42:03,200
I don't know if you all know, depending
on where you worked, you know, you the

988
00:42:03,200 --> 00:42:05,040
admissions office does
a lot of the recruiting.

989
00:42:05,120 --> 00:42:07,840
But of course, you
apply to a college, right?

990
00:42:07,840 --> 00:42:09,520
And you don't apply to
the admissions office.

991
00:42:09,520 --> 00:42:12,319
So there are two
separate things, you

992
00:42:12,319 --> 00:42:15,120
know, and for
admissions, it's, you know, 15

993
00:42:15,120 --> 00:42:18,000
separate things or whatever
that they have to coordinate.

994
00:42:18,000 --> 00:42:19,960
And they had two
separate computer

995
00:42:19,960 --> 00:42:21,920
systems, two separate
platforms that they were

996
00:42:21,920 --> 00:42:22,400
doing it on.

997
00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:24,559
So you would if you
were in a college,

998
00:42:24,559 --> 00:42:26,720
you might create a
little social media post

999
00:42:26,720 --> 00:42:29,840
and then you would have to kind of
cut and paste it into this other system.

1000
00:42:30,720 --> 00:42:34,160
And if you've ever tried to do
anything like that, the formatting gets lost.

1001
00:42:34,320 --> 00:42:35,920
It's a hot mess, right?

1002
00:42:35,920 --> 00:42:38,720
And so we said, well, what
would it take to fix that?

1003
00:42:38,720 --> 00:42:43,600
And he said, well, if we could get this
platform centrally funded, then we could

1004
00:42:43,600 --> 00:42:47,920
all be on this one system and it would
just make things so much more seamless.

1005
00:42:47,920 --> 00:42:51,920
And so, you know, there was
not really anybody else to do it.

1006
00:42:51,920 --> 00:42:54,720
And so I talked to the chancellor and I
said, could we just pull it out of our

1007
00:42:54,720 --> 00:42:58,160
budget because that seems
like a communications problem?

1008
00:42:58,160 --> 00:42:59,360
And he said, absolutely.

1009
00:42:59,360 --> 00:43:01,039
And so we were
able to fund that

1010
00:43:01,039 --> 00:43:02,720
software, even though it
wasn't really something

1011
00:43:02,800 --> 00:43:04,440
that you would
intuitively say, oh,

1012
00:43:04,440 --> 00:43:06,080
yeah, that belongs in
the Office of Strategic

1013
00:43:06,080 --> 00:43:08,800
Communications and Marketing
because it's kind of an internal thing.

1014
00:43:08,800 --> 00:43:14,000
But we could see that that was going
to be really, really important for our

1015
00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:15,200
ability to do that sort of thing.

1016
00:43:15,200 --> 00:43:18,320
So they've been really creative and
they've partnered with lots of folks across

1017
00:43:18,320 --> 00:43:21,440
campus and and just
really worked really hard.

1018
00:43:21,440 --> 00:43:24,320
We actually had at the chancellor's
retreat this year for that for his

1019
00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:28,160
leadership team, the
admissions folks came in and led.

1020
00:43:28,160 --> 00:43:31,520
We brought all the deans in, all the
vice chancellors, all the associate

1021
00:43:32,480 --> 00:43:39,760
chancellors, and they brought in a
sort of a mock admissions thing because,

1022
00:43:39,760 --> 00:43:42,640
you know, everybody complains about
why did these kids get in and those ones

1023
00:43:42,640 --> 00:43:46,880
not get in? And, you know, even some
deans didn't really understand how it

1024
00:43:46,880 --> 00:43:50,560
worked. So because they
didn't do it on a day to day basis.

1025
00:43:50,560 --> 00:43:55,920
So they came in and they took actual
cases, changed the name so, you know,

1026
00:43:55,920 --> 00:43:57,600
so you couldn't tell who anybody was.

1027
00:43:57,600 --> 00:44:01,360
And they gave us the same amount of
time that admissions people have to look

1028
00:44:01,360 --> 00:44:05,040
through these things. And they said
they gave us a sample from one was

1029
00:44:05,040 --> 00:44:07,840
College of Engineering, one was
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and one

1030
00:44:07,840 --> 00:44:12,160
was the College of Business. And
they gave us I think it was five or six.

1031
00:44:12,160 --> 00:44:14,320
And we had a half hour. You
have a half hour to look through.

1032
00:44:14,320 --> 00:44:18,320
Yeah, and I mean, you know, those
applications are pretty robust, right?

1033
00:44:18,320 --> 00:44:20,000
And these kids have done amazing things.

1034
00:44:20,000 --> 00:44:24,160
And so they in each one of them that
like maybe in engineering, they said

1035
00:44:24,160 --> 00:44:26,320
you're going to accept two, you're
going to wait list two and you're going to

1036
00:44:26,320 --> 00:44:29,920
deny one. And, you know, whatever they
had, the parameters that each of those

1037
00:44:30,880 --> 00:44:36,560
entities had. And it was so stressful.
And then they would tell they would ask

1038
00:44:36,560 --> 00:44:39,760
us at the end, did you let that
person who you let in, who you let in, who

1039
00:44:39,760 --> 00:44:43,200
didn't let in. And then they tell us
what actually happened in the real world.

1040
00:44:43,200 --> 00:44:46,240
And it was fascinating to see. And
then they told us why they'd made the

1041
00:44:46,240 --> 00:44:49,040
decisions. They were like, boy, we
would not make a very good admissions

1042
00:44:49,040 --> 00:44:52,560
committee because we did not know what
we were doing. But it's pretty crazy.

1043
00:44:52,560 --> 00:44:57,120
And, you know, when you have 67,000
plus applications and that's gone up

1044
00:44:57,200 --> 00:45:01,040
every year exponentially and, you know,
and the admissions people, they've just

1045
00:45:01,040 --> 00:45:05,280
got to go through those. They are.
Yeah, they are so good at it. But they are.

1046
00:45:05,280 --> 00:45:09,840
It is all hands on deck over there
from, you know, start November one, right?

1047
00:45:09,840 --> 00:45:13,760
Just going through till till they get
to the, you know, the final deadline day.

1048
00:45:14,560 --> 00:45:15,520
Yeah, it's pretty crazy.

1049
00:45:16,160 --> 00:45:19,680
Can I ask a follow up? Well, I have
the mic. One of the questions you don't

1050
00:45:19,680 --> 00:45:23,520
want to hear. What's what is
the status of the Kingfisher?

1051
00:45:24,480 --> 00:45:30,480
So the university does not have a
mascot and we don't have any any intention of

1052
00:45:30,480 --> 00:45:33,599
having one
anytime soon. What the

1053
00:45:33,599 --> 00:45:36,720
chancellor is doing is
focusing on new traditions.

1054
00:45:36,720 --> 00:45:40,559
So really trying to
get. Broadly find what

1055
00:45:40,559 --> 00:45:44,400
are some new things
that can be exciting and

1056
00:45:44,400 --> 00:45:46,640
engaging for people
and actually bring

1057
00:45:46,640 --> 00:45:48,880
us together. So, you
know, if that if that

1058
00:45:48,880 --> 00:45:50,960
includes a mascot,
that may include a mascot.

1059
00:45:50,960 --> 00:45:53,040
But right now we're
not quite at that stage.

1060
00:45:53,120 --> 00:45:56,960
So he's really wanting to focus on new
traditions. He has spent the past several

1061
00:45:56,960 --> 00:45:59,960
years, as I kind of
alluded to earlier on,

1062
00:45:59,960 --> 00:46:02,960
you know, we had a
back back when when he

1063
00:46:02,960 --> 00:46:05,680
first came and
he created that

1064
00:46:05,680 --> 00:46:08,400
conversation, the campus
conversation on native imagery.

1065
00:46:09,280 --> 00:46:11,720
What became clear
to him was that while

1066
00:46:11,720 --> 00:46:14,160
we said that, you
know, the chief had been

1067
00:46:14,160 --> 00:46:16,840
designed to honor
Native Americans, you know,

1068
00:46:16,840 --> 00:46:19,520
Native Americans said
this does not honor me.

1069
00:46:19,520 --> 00:46:21,880
Can you please not do
that? And he said, well,

1070
00:46:21,880 --> 00:46:24,240
why don't we kind of
flip this and let's what

1071
00:46:24,240 --> 00:46:27,119
what would Native
American, you know, what

1072
00:46:27,119 --> 00:46:30,000
would, you know, tribal
nations want and really

1073
00:46:31,440 --> 00:46:33,760
dove into that. And
that's why we have

1074
00:46:33,760 --> 00:46:36,080
things like the NAGPRA
office now and and some

1075
00:46:36,960 --> 00:46:38,960
relationships,
partnerships, research

1076
00:46:38,960 --> 00:46:40,960
partnerships with some
of the Native nations.

1077
00:46:40,960 --> 00:46:43,880
Now we provide some
scholarships to Native

1078
00:46:43,880 --> 00:46:46,800
students. Any Native
student who is in a tribe

1079
00:46:46,800 --> 00:46:49,320
that has a historic
connection to Illinois gets

1080
00:46:49,320 --> 00:46:51,840
in-state tuition at
Illinois if you're a member

1081
00:46:51,840 --> 00:46:55,640
of that tribe. So so
he's really tried to focus

1082
00:46:55,640 --> 00:46:59,440
on that first and then,
you know, also now think

1083
00:46:59,440 --> 00:47:01,360
about what are new
traditions. So I don't know

1084
00:47:01,360 --> 00:47:03,280
if you those of you
who go to football games,

1085
00:47:03,280 --> 00:47:05,480
if you've seen the you
know, there's a little

1086
00:47:05,480 --> 00:47:07,680
Red Grange guy who
races with a kid and they're

1087
00:47:07,680 --> 00:47:09,519
trying to find things
like that, you know,

1088
00:47:09,519 --> 00:47:11,360
it doesn't
necessarily have to be a mascot,

1089
00:47:11,360 --> 00:47:13,760
but just things that
bring people together,

1090
00:47:13,760 --> 00:47:16,160
make them happy. We have
fun, that sort of thing.

1091
00:47:17,040 --> 00:47:20,720
And then we hope the rest will take care
of itself. But he's really been focused

1092
00:47:20,720 --> 00:47:24,160
more on how do we build those
relationships with those Native nations.

1093
00:47:29,920 --> 00:47:35,840
What percentage of the new admissions
are transfers from community colleges?

1094
00:47:35,840 --> 00:47:37,720
You know, I wish I
knew that number and

1095
00:47:37,720 --> 00:47:39,600
I'm so sorry that I
don't, but it's growing.

1096
00:47:39,600 --> 00:47:42,720
We have worked really
hard on the Pathways

1097
00:47:42,720 --> 00:47:45,840
program and the state has
been a great partner in that

1098
00:47:45,840 --> 00:47:49,000
with us in really
working hard to make sure

1099
00:47:49,000 --> 00:47:52,160
that students who are
interested in starting

1100
00:47:52,160 --> 00:47:55,679
at a community
college can very easily

1101
00:47:55,679 --> 00:47:59,200
transfer to Illinois and
have those credits transfer

1102
00:47:59,840 --> 00:48:02,159
to make sure that they
can graduate on time.

1103
00:48:02,159 --> 00:48:04,480
And that number is
growing every year. And that is

1104
00:48:04,480 --> 00:48:06,199
that is a very
mindful thing that's

1105
00:48:06,199 --> 00:48:07,920
happening. And I wish I had
that number in front of me.

1106
00:48:07,920 --> 00:48:09,519
I'm so sorry, I
don't. I can also give

1107
00:48:09,519 --> 00:48:11,120
that to Matt and he
can share it with you.

1108
00:48:11,760 --> 00:48:13,520
Yeah, I just wanted,
could you give us a quick

1109
00:48:13,520 --> 00:48:15,280
update on the College of
Medicine and the Research

1110
00:48:15,280 --> 00:48:18,640
Park? Yeah, well, so
you could do the Research

1111
00:48:18,640 --> 00:48:22,000
Park. Yeah. In fact,
I'm going to make you do

1112
00:48:22,000 --> 00:48:24,039
the Research Park.
College of Medicine doing

1113
00:48:24,039 --> 00:48:26,080
great. You know, we've
graduated a couple of

1114
00:48:26,080 --> 00:48:30,279
classes now. It's been
really exciting. As I

1115
00:48:30,279 --> 00:48:34,480
showed you in the
PowerPoint, the NIH funding is way up

1116
00:48:35,040 --> 00:48:37,480
and that's a really,
really critical thing for

1117
00:48:37,480 --> 00:48:39,920
the university. And the
students in the college

1118
00:48:40,000 --> 00:48:42,800
of medicine have been
amazing with, you know, the

1119
00:48:42,800 --> 00:48:45,600
number of patents and
things that they come to us

1120
00:48:45,600 --> 00:48:47,720
with and the
number of patents and

1121
00:48:47,720 --> 00:48:49,840
inventions and ideas that
they give while we're here,

1122
00:48:49,840 --> 00:48:52,000
while they're here, and
then as they leave. And

1123
00:48:52,000 --> 00:48:54,160
we've got a new dean,
you know, we had King Lee

1124
00:48:54,160 --> 00:48:57,039
was amazing. And now we
have Mark Cohen, who is

1125
00:48:57,039 --> 00:48:59,920
equally amazing, and
really kind of taken us to

1126
00:48:59,920 --> 00:49:02,400
the next level. So
it's been really excited.

1127
00:49:02,400 --> 00:49:04,880
And of course, during
COVID, a lot of what you saw

1128
00:49:05,680 --> 00:49:08,079
coming out of the
university, a lot of those

1129
00:49:08,079 --> 00:49:10,480
discoveries and
advances came out of people who

1130
00:49:10,480 --> 00:49:12,640
had affiliations with
the College of Medicine. So

1131
00:49:12,640 --> 00:49:14,800
it's doing really well.
And you tell us about the

1132
00:49:14,800 --> 00:49:17,840
Research Park. Well,
it seems to be thriving.

1133
00:49:17,840 --> 00:49:20,880
I mean, the times I've
been out there and the

1134
00:49:20,880 --> 00:49:23,880
the it seems a lot of
growth, a lot of new

1135
00:49:23,880 --> 00:49:26,880
affiliations, if
that's the right term. So it

1136
00:49:26,880 --> 00:49:28,960
looks and everything
I've read about it is very,

1137
00:49:28,960 --> 00:49:31,040
very positive. And I
think it's a great asset for

1138
00:49:31,440 --> 00:49:37,640
very, very impressive.
So yeah, it's doing really

1139
00:49:37,640 --> 00:49:43,840
well. It's, they have
been such an anchor for us,

1140
00:49:43,840 --> 00:49:46,279
you know, it's been how
many years now? Gosh, I

1141
00:49:46,279 --> 00:49:48,720
was a I was brand new at
the university when that

1142
00:49:48,720 --> 00:49:51,519
was being developed.
That's how long so I guess

1143
00:49:51,519 --> 00:49:54,320
30 plus years, right? I
was gonna say. Yeah, yeah.

1144
00:49:55,280 --> 00:49:57,920
And it really is
exciting to see it continue to

1145
00:49:57,920 --> 00:50:00,560
grow. And to see all
the opportunities students

1146
00:50:00,560 --> 00:50:03,199
have. One of our
daughters, her undergrad

1147
00:50:03,199 --> 00:50:05,840
is in, she has two
degrees from Illinois,

1148
00:50:05,840 --> 00:50:08,560
her undergrad is in
journalism and her graduate

1149
00:50:08,560 --> 00:50:11,280
degree is in the iSchool.
And she got an internship

1150
00:50:11,280 --> 00:50:13,680
with Ameren at the
Research Park as an undergrad.

1151
00:50:13,680 --> 00:50:16,080
They hired kids from
engineering, from business,

1152
00:50:16,080 --> 00:50:18,800
from LAS, from media. And
they'd put them on these

1153
00:50:18,800 --> 00:50:21,520
teams and have them
solve real world problems for

1154
00:50:21,520 --> 00:50:24,239
them. And when she
graduated, Ameren said, please

1155
00:50:24,239 --> 00:50:26,960
come work for us
immediately. And she made really

1156
00:50:26,960 --> 00:50:29,480
good money while she was
in school and went, you

1157
00:50:29,480 --> 00:50:32,000
know, and had this had
this great first job out of

1158
00:50:32,000 --> 00:50:34,880
college, so or out of
grad school. So it's

1159
00:50:34,880 --> 00:50:37,760
really, you know, for us,
the opportunity for those

1160
00:50:37,760 --> 00:50:40,760
students to get to
participate in research is

1161
00:50:40,760 --> 00:50:43,760
really the, to me is
the best benefit of the

1162
00:50:43,760 --> 00:50:46,440
Research Park. When
people ask me why go to

1163
00:50:46,440 --> 00:50:49,120
Illinois, as for a
student, why go to Illinois,

1164
00:50:49,120 --> 00:50:51,639
why not go somewhere
else? I say, it is a

1165
00:50:51,639 --> 00:50:54,160
very different
experience at a research intensive

1166
00:50:54,160 --> 00:50:56,279
university, right?
Especially at a world-class

1167
00:50:56,279 --> 00:50:58,400
research intensive
university. And to come here

1168
00:50:58,400 --> 00:51:02,119
and have those
opportunities when you're 18 years

1169
00:51:02,119 --> 00:51:05,840
old is really, really
transformational. And so to me,

1170
00:51:05,840 --> 00:51:08,320
that is just a huge
benefit. And the hundreds of

1171
00:51:08,320 --> 00:51:10,800
students every year who are
out there, it's really cool.

1172
00:51:14,160 --> 00:51:17,119
Any other questions? I
see the people with the

1173
00:51:17,119 --> 00:51:20,080
wine and the cheese out
there. Yeah, I have one or two

1174
00:51:20,080 --> 00:51:23,319
before we get to
that. One is, so the, you

1175
00:51:23,319 --> 00:51:26,560
mentioned the foundation
building, a new building out near

1176
00:51:26,560 --> 00:51:29,680
the IHotel and Harker Hall
is where I spent a lot of

1177
00:51:29,680 --> 00:51:32,800
my career at U of I.
Who's moving into Harker Hall?

1178
00:51:32,800 --> 00:51:35,519
Well, they're still
working on that, but it will

1179
00:51:35,519 --> 00:51:38,240
be used, I promise you
that. Yeah, I had classes

1180
00:51:38,240 --> 00:51:40,960
in Harker Hall too. It was
not nice then. It's a lot nicer

1181
00:51:40,960 --> 00:51:43,680
now. It was the nicest building
on campus when I worked there.

1182
00:51:43,680 --> 00:51:46,319
I think they might have
gussied it between me and

1183
00:51:46,319 --> 00:51:48,960
you then, because it was
not great when I was there.

1184
00:51:48,960 --> 00:51:51,760
No, I did both too. I had
a class there and then back

1185
00:51:51,760 --> 00:51:54,560
when it was transformed. But
my other question is about...

1186
00:51:55,280 --> 00:51:57,880
And also by Harker,
if you haven't seen him

1187
00:51:57,880 --> 00:52:00,480
yet, Tusky, the little
woolly mammoth. He's right

1188
00:52:00,480 --> 00:52:03,039
outside between Harker
and Natural History. Yeah,

1189
00:52:03,039 --> 00:52:05,600
he's adorable. So yeah. So
my other question is with

1190
00:52:05,600 --> 00:52:09,800
the increase in
enrollment, housing. So

1191
00:52:09,800 --> 00:52:14,000
there's, we see apartments
going up left and right and

1192
00:52:14,000 --> 00:52:16,480
high rises and all
that. That's really gone

1193
00:52:16,480 --> 00:52:18,960
kind of crazy the
last 10 years or so. How

1194
00:52:20,880 --> 00:52:23,360
are the university
housing facilities doing in

1195
00:52:23,360 --> 00:52:25,840
terms of capacity and
all that? Yeah, they're

1196
00:52:25,840 --> 00:52:31,920
at capacity. And we've been
systematically renovating all of them as well and

1197
00:52:31,920 --> 00:52:34,800
tearing some down and
rebuilding and really

1198
00:52:34,800 --> 00:52:37,680
trying to get to the
type of housing students

1199
00:52:37,680 --> 00:52:40,720
want today, right?
Nobody wants the bedroom

1200
00:52:40,720 --> 00:52:43,760
with four people and
then you go down to the

1201
00:52:43,760 --> 00:52:46,440
shower and you're, you
know, little things with the

1202
00:52:46,440 --> 00:52:49,120
little cart and all that
and you're in a, you know,

1203
00:52:49,120 --> 00:52:52,079
those just gang showers.
Students want something

1204
00:52:52,079 --> 00:52:55,040
that's more like home,
right? So maybe you have

1205
00:52:55,040 --> 00:52:57,880
little pods or it's
suites that have, you know,

1206
00:52:57,880 --> 00:53:00,720
four people who share a
bathroom, that kind of

1207
00:53:00,720 --> 00:53:03,119
thing. So we're really
trying to transfer to that

1208
00:53:03,119 --> 00:53:05,520
and of course get
everything air conditioned. As we

1209
00:53:06,080 --> 00:53:08,880
saw this fall when the
weather was so hot, we

1210
00:53:08,880 --> 00:53:11,680
still have several
thousand rooms that are not

1211
00:53:11,680 --> 00:53:14,359
air conditioned and
it's only for a few

1212
00:53:14,359 --> 00:53:17,040
weeks, right, that it's
uncomfortable. But as the,

1213
00:53:18,240 --> 00:53:20,639
you know, nation tends
to heat up even more,

1214
00:53:20,639 --> 00:53:23,040
that's going to be a
problem. So again, trying to do

1215
00:53:23,040 --> 00:53:25,800
that. But we have a
plan to get everything to

1216
00:53:25,800 --> 00:53:28,560
where we want it to be
and we've gotten really far.

1217
00:53:28,560 --> 00:53:30,800
And of course,
dining is another thing.

1218
00:53:30,800 --> 00:53:33,040
It's not just the
rooms, but students want

1219
00:53:33,840 --> 00:53:36,840
different dining and we
have a lot of students

1220
00:53:36,840 --> 00:53:39,840
with different dietary
needs. And so now we're

1221
00:53:39,840 --> 00:53:42,400
able to provide a lot
of those. If you have not

1222
00:53:42,400 --> 00:53:44,960
eaten there yet, the
Illinois Street Residence

1223
00:53:44,960 --> 00:53:48,319
Hall, go for lunch.
Isn't it yummy when?

1224
00:53:48,319 --> 00:53:51,680
Yeah, really, really good
food. And it's got seven

1225
00:53:51,680 --> 00:53:53,960
different stations and,
you know, all kinds of

1226
00:53:53,960 --> 00:53:56,240
different food. It's
really, really yummy. And of

1227
00:53:56,240 --> 00:53:58,319
course, students can eat
at any one of those that

1228
00:53:58,319 --> 00:54:00,400
they want to, not just
the one in their building.

1229
00:54:00,400 --> 00:54:03,039
And then of course,
they have some to-go

1230
00:54:03,039 --> 00:54:05,680
options and things like
that. The dining services has

1231
00:54:05,680 --> 00:54:08,519
come a really long way
since I was in school.

1232
00:54:08,519 --> 00:54:11,360
I know that. And
that's really exciting. But

1233
00:54:13,040 --> 00:54:16,680
capacity-wise, we fill
it. We definitely fill it

1234
00:54:16,680 --> 00:54:20,320
and we'll want to
continue to renovate those ones

1235
00:54:20,320 --> 00:54:22,159
we have. A lot of
people don't know that the

1236
00:54:22,159 --> 00:54:24,000
public can go into
some of these dining halls

1237
00:54:24,000 --> 00:54:26,239
and pay for their
lunch. You can. Yeah,

1238
00:54:26,239 --> 00:54:28,480
absolutely. And it's
really good. And it's pretty

1239
00:54:28,480 --> 00:54:31,319
affordable. And, you
know, it's like hometown

1240
00:54:31,319 --> 00:54:34,160
buffet, you know, so you
can go back and eat more.

1241
00:54:34,160 --> 00:54:36,679
It's really good. So
yeah, if you haven't been,

1242
00:54:36,679 --> 00:54:39,200
it's a great lunch spot,
ISR. And it's fun to see

1243
00:54:39,200 --> 00:54:41,599
the kids too. You know,
when I'm holed away in

1244
00:54:41,599 --> 00:54:44,000
my office or, you know,
in conference rooms for

1245
00:54:44,000 --> 00:54:46,400
meetings or I'm
diving away or whatever,

1246
00:54:46,400 --> 00:54:48,800
sometimes you kind of, you
forget a little bit about what

1247
00:54:48,800 --> 00:54:51,000
we're here for. And you
go out and you go have

1248
00:54:51,000 --> 00:54:53,200
lunch in a residence
hall and oh my gosh, you

1249
00:54:53,200 --> 00:54:56,039
see the kids and the
energy and the smiles and,

1250
00:54:56,039 --> 00:54:58,880
you know, all of them
meeting each other and making

1251
00:54:58,880 --> 00:55:01,119
new friends and, you
know, starting to kind of

1252
00:55:01,119 --> 00:55:03,360
figure out who they are
as adults. It's really,

1253
00:55:03,600 --> 00:55:05,800
it hits you in the heart.
It's a really nice thing. So

1254
00:55:05,800 --> 00:55:08,000
if you haven't done it, I
would strongly recommend it.

1255
00:55:11,040 --> 00:55:13,680
If there aren't any questions, we
have one back here. Okay, Linda.

1256
00:55:15,680 --> 00:55:21,520
I think this might be our last one. I
just wanted to say about the the wordmark.

1257
00:55:22,560 --> 00:55:29,120
I worked in communications. And so
that's great to hear. I saw a lot of the

1258
00:55:30,000 --> 00:55:34,079
struggles during my
time with the communication

1259
00:55:34,079 --> 00:55:38,160
changes and wordmark and
wow. So from all that to

1260
00:55:38,160 --> 00:55:41,119
one, I'd like to see
the rollout of that. I'm

1261
00:55:41,119 --> 00:55:44,080
really watching that. We
might have to have you be a

1262
00:55:44,080 --> 00:55:49,639
spokesperson for us.
Yeah. And then two, just

1263
00:55:49,639 --> 00:55:55,200
a question about maybe
you had it up there, the

1264
00:55:56,160 --> 00:56:00,560
percentage of students like from our
community, from the Champaign-Urbana area.

1265
00:56:01,760 --> 00:56:03,640
You know what, I did
not have that up there.

1266
00:56:03,640 --> 00:56:05,520
And that's one, let me
look that one up and I'll

1267
00:56:05,520 --> 00:56:07,519
send that to Matt as
well. And he can send it out

1268
00:56:07,519 --> 00:56:09,520
to the group. Okay, thank
you. That's a really good

1269
00:56:09,520 --> 00:56:12,359
question, though. But
we do work really hard to

1270
00:56:12,359 --> 00:56:15,200
keep the local kids
here because we need that,

1271
00:56:15,200 --> 00:56:17,880
right? Yeah, absolutely.
Thank you. Good question.

1272
00:56:17,880 --> 00:56:20,560
Yeah. Well, let's thank
Robin for her time today.

1273
00:56:21,120 --> 00:56:26,320
This was really informative. We heard
just about every type of question and

1274
00:56:26,320 --> 00:56:29,119
factor figure
about the university as

1275
00:56:29,119 --> 00:56:31,920
possible. So thank you very
much. You're quite welcome.

1276
00:56:40,560 --> 00:56:43,840
All right, so we'll
move on to just a couple of

1277
00:56:43,840 --> 00:56:47,120
business items here as
part of our fall meeting.

1278
00:56:47,360 --> 00:56:53,360
Before I start that, I actually, we had
a request from our communications chair,

1279
00:56:54,480 --> 00:56:56,599
Carol Livingstone, who
would like to know and I

1280
00:56:56,599 --> 00:56:58,720
think would help us all
to kind of figure out how

1281
00:56:59,360 --> 00:57:01,640
people heard about this
meeting and just so that

1282
00:57:01,640 --> 00:57:03,920
we can improve our
communications and make sure

1283
00:57:03,920 --> 00:57:07,319
we're hitting the
right channels. So online,

1284
00:57:07,319 --> 00:57:10,720
if you're listening,
type into the text box your

1285
00:57:10,720 --> 00:57:13,199
answer to this
question. But how did you hear

1286
00:57:13,199 --> 00:57:15,680
about this meeting? And
how did you get involved?

1287
00:57:17,520 --> 00:57:21,279
The answer could be
through Facebook or by an

1288
00:57:21,279 --> 00:57:25,040
email or word of mouth
or maybe there's another

1289
00:57:25,040 --> 00:57:27,159
way that you heard
about it. But if you could,

1290
00:57:27,159 --> 00:57:29,280
in the room here, if
you could raise your hand,

1291
00:57:29,280 --> 00:57:31,720
if you heard
about this through

1292
00:57:31,720 --> 00:57:34,160
Facebook, if you heard
about it through an email.

1293
00:57:35,440 --> 00:57:38,559
Okay, so almost
everybody email. The newsletter

1294
00:57:38,559 --> 00:57:41,680
would be the other one,
the annuitant. Yes. Okay.

1295
00:57:42,640 --> 00:57:46,000
Okay, good. Several
people heard it that way.

1296
00:57:46,000 --> 00:57:49,360
Good. Very good. Okay.
Thank you for that. So I

1297
00:57:49,360 --> 00:57:52,720
do want to thank our
program chair, Debbie McCall,

1298
00:57:52,720 --> 00:57:56,080
for her work in
organizing this. Debbie, where is

1299
00:57:56,080 --> 00:57:58,159
she in the back of the
room? Thank you very much

1300
00:57:58,159 --> 00:58:00,240
for organizing this
meeting and the reception that

1301
00:58:00,240 --> 00:58:02,359
we're about to enjoy. I
also want to thank Carol

1302
00:58:02,359 --> 00:58:04,480
Livingstone and the
communications committee for

1303
00:58:04,480 --> 00:58:07,960
getting the word out
and organizing the online

1304
00:58:07,960 --> 00:58:11,440
engagement with this
event tonight. And then I

1305
00:58:11,440 --> 00:58:14,519
just have a couple of
people I want to introduce

1306
00:58:14,519 --> 00:58:17,600
and have them give a
report. As you know, SUA does

1307
00:58:17,600 --> 00:58:20,239
a lot of work. Your
chapter does a lot of work

1308
00:58:20,239 --> 00:58:22,880
in terms of trying to
keep people informed as to

1309
00:58:22,880 --> 00:58:26,320
legislative activity and
things that are going on

1310
00:58:26,320 --> 00:58:29,760
in Springfield that
impact retirees and university

1311
00:58:29,760 --> 00:58:32,520
annuitants. And so I'd
like to invite John Marlin

1312
00:58:32,520 --> 00:58:35,280
to come up here and talk
a little bit about what

1313
00:58:35,280 --> 00:58:36,240
is happening lately there.

1314
00:58:44,080 --> 00:58:47,559
A little bit of light up
here. Last time I spoke

1315
00:58:47,559 --> 00:58:51,040
here, there were like
350 people in the room. So

1316
00:58:52,640 --> 00:58:57,159
I guess the fact that
we won put everybody back

1317
00:58:57,159 --> 00:59:01,680
to enjoying life. As
you know, that last year,

1318
00:59:02,480 --> 00:59:05,519
university
retirees on Medicare were

1319
00:59:05,519 --> 00:59:08,560
threatened by changes the
Illinois Department of Central

1320
00:59:08,560 --> 00:59:11,599
Management Services
was making to our health

1321
00:59:11,599 --> 00:59:14,640
care package. The big
change was dropping United

1322
00:59:14,640 --> 00:59:18,319
Health Care and
offering Aetna as the only

1323
00:59:18,319 --> 00:59:22,000
operation, the only
option statewide. In most

1324
00:59:22,000 --> 00:59:24,720
areas, this was not
viewed as a big deal since

1325
00:59:24,720 --> 00:59:27,440
Aetna was accepted in
most parts of the state by

1326
00:59:27,440 --> 00:59:30,840
most providers.
However, Carl said it would not

1327
00:59:30,840 --> 00:59:34,240
accept Aetna. This would
force thousands of people

1328
00:59:34,240 --> 00:59:36,840
to change health care
providers and find new

1329
00:59:36,840 --> 00:59:39,440
doctors. When we
learned that many hospitals

1330
00:59:39,440 --> 00:59:42,760
which took referrals
from Carl for various

1331
00:59:42,760 --> 00:59:46,080
procedures ranging
from transplants to cancer

1332
00:59:46,080 --> 00:59:49,960
treatment, they
would also not be served

1333
00:59:49,960 --> 00:59:53,840
because Aetna was not
accepted by those institutions

1334
00:59:53,840 --> 00:59:57,440
in St. Louis,
Chicago, and other places. Of

1335
00:59:57,440 --> 01:00:01,040
course, this upset
several of our SUAA chapters in

1336
01:00:01,040 --> 01:00:04,159
East Central Illinois,
including those at Eastern

1337
01:00:04,159 --> 01:00:07,280
Illinois University,
Illinois State, and Parkland.

1338
01:00:07,840 --> 01:00:10,760
We formed a loose
coalition to deal with the

1339
01:00:10,760 --> 01:00:13,680
issue. State Senators
Chapin Rose and Scott Bennett,

1340
01:00:13,680 --> 01:00:17,159
along with
Representative Mike Marin, joined

1341
01:00:17,159 --> 01:00:20,640
the effort along with
the state SUAA office.

1342
01:00:20,720 --> 01:00:23,239
Our chapter pulled
together local expertise,

1343
01:00:23,239 --> 01:00:25,760
worked with the press,
especially Channel 3,

1344
01:00:26,320 --> 01:00:28,720
and convinced the
University of Illinois President

1345
01:00:28,720 --> 01:00:31,120
and Chancellor to urge
Carl and Aetna to reach an

1346
01:00:31,120 --> 01:00:34,359
agreement. As you
know, we were successful in

1347
01:00:34,359 --> 01:00:37,600
this effort. Things are
now working well for most of

1348
01:00:37,600 --> 01:00:40,079
our members, but there
are still some issues,

1349
01:00:40,079 --> 01:00:42,560
especially for members
who live out of state.

1350
01:00:43,440 --> 01:00:46,319
As things stand now,
several of the legislators who

1351
01:00:46,319 --> 01:00:49,200
helped earlier, including
Chapin Rose, Mike Marin,

1352
01:00:49,280 --> 01:00:52,720
and Paul Faraci,
Senator Faraci, who replaced

1353
01:00:52,720 --> 01:00:56,160
Senator Bennett, are
looking into legislation

1354
01:00:56,720 --> 01:01:06,400
to provide more options in future
contracts, meaning more health care providers,

1355
01:01:07,200 --> 01:01:10,920
and improve the process
the state CMS uses to make

1356
01:01:10,920 --> 01:01:14,640
its selections. The
selection process that got rid

1357
01:01:15,440 --> 01:01:20,319
of our former provider
was a sham, to put it

1358
01:01:20,319 --> 01:01:25,200
mildly, and we don't
want that to happen again.

1359
01:01:26,560 --> 01:01:29,760
No details are yet
available on what is

1360
01:01:29,760 --> 01:01:32,960
being considered, but
we're open to new ideas and

1361
01:01:32,960 --> 01:01:36,000
suggestions, as are
the legislators. Our

1362
01:01:36,000 --> 01:01:39,040
SUAA chapter will have
input to the process.

1363
01:01:40,000 --> 01:01:42,800
I'll also mention that
at the federal level,

1364
01:01:42,800 --> 01:01:45,600
there's much discussion
of the problems associated

1365
01:01:45,600 --> 01:01:48,680
with how the Medicare
Advantage program was

1366
01:01:48,680 --> 01:01:51,760
changed over the years.
It's likely there will

1367
01:01:51,760 --> 01:01:54,440
be action on the
overall program in the coming

1368
01:01:54,440 --> 01:01:57,120
years, so that's
something else to be aware of.

1369
01:02:00,400 --> 01:02:03,800
That's just sort of
a synopsis of what

1370
01:02:03,800 --> 01:02:07,200
happened, and we made it
through that like we made it

1371
01:02:07,200 --> 01:02:10,920
through the prior
process 10 years before

1372
01:02:10,920 --> 01:02:14,640
that, when they also
changed health care.

1373
01:02:15,680 --> 01:02:22,240
And we also survived the attempt by
the legislature, under a former speaker,

1374
01:02:23,200 --> 01:02:26,119
who tried to do away
with the COLA and several

1375
01:02:26,119 --> 01:02:29,040
other things in the
other benefits. So the bottom

1376
01:02:29,040 --> 01:02:35,280
line is, SUAA is worth the less
than 40 bucks a year you pay for it.

1377
01:02:41,440 --> 01:02:44,480
Thank you, John. So we
have one more committee

1378
01:02:44,480 --> 01:02:47,520
chair that I'd like to
bring up, and that's Bill

1379
01:02:47,520 --> 01:02:50,199
Williamson, who's our
membership chair. I think

1380
01:02:50,199 --> 01:02:52,880
one of the topics we can
maybe discuss around the

1381
01:02:52,880 --> 01:02:54,720
reception is how to
attract more members to

1382
01:02:54,720 --> 01:02:56,560
this organization and
get more people here.

1383
01:02:57,520 --> 01:02:58,080
Thank you, Bill.

1384
01:03:02,480 --> 01:03:05,319
I usually ask to go
before John because he's

1385
01:03:05,319 --> 01:03:08,160
such a tough act to
follow, but I asked Matt

1386
01:03:08,160 --> 01:03:11,439
specifically to
follow him so that he would

1387
01:03:11,439 --> 01:03:14,720
dramatically
illustrate why membership is so

1388
01:03:14,720 --> 01:03:17,359
important in this
organization, make my job to

1389
01:03:17,359 --> 01:03:20,000
the degree I'm membership
chair along with Melinda

1390
01:03:20,960 --> 01:03:24,800
that much easier. So
you each should have

1391
01:03:24,800 --> 01:03:28,640
at least one of
these crucial brochures.

1392
01:03:28,640 --> 01:03:32,760
Please take as many as
you need. If you are not

1393
01:03:32,760 --> 01:03:36,880
a member, use it to
join. If you're a member but

1394
01:03:36,880 --> 01:03:40,680
not on dues deduct, use
it to deduct. If you're

1395
01:03:40,680 --> 01:03:44,480
a member on dues deduct,
thank you, and keep it.

1396
01:03:45,360 --> 01:03:48,239
The next time you're at
your bridge club, let's

1397
01:03:48,239 --> 01:03:51,120
see, what is my wife,
the various clubs you're

1398
01:03:51,120 --> 01:03:54,519
members of, find
out if there are other

1399
01:03:54,519 --> 01:03:57,920
university retirees, and
you can discreetly ask them,

1400
01:03:57,920 --> 01:04:02,239
are you a member? So if
they're not, you can say

1401
01:04:02,239 --> 01:04:06,560
how important this is and
give them this brochure.

1402
01:04:07,120 --> 01:04:11,359
If you don't want to
do that, write me an

1403
01:04:11,359 --> 01:04:15,600
email, billw.edu, and ask,
is Susan Smith a member of

1404
01:04:15,600 --> 01:04:18,840
SUA, and I can find out.
That's not as intrusive

1405
01:04:18,840 --> 01:04:22,080
as it sounds. We just get
a list of all the members

1406
01:04:22,080 --> 01:04:27,200
every month. So please join
me in this membership campaign.

1407
01:04:28,800 --> 01:04:31,920
Second thing I want
to report on is the

1408
01:04:31,920 --> 01:04:35,040
foundation. You should
get one of these rather nice

1409
01:04:37,360 --> 01:04:40,720
bookmarks. I've had
brochure in my mind. I keep

1410
01:04:40,720 --> 01:04:44,080
forgetting what this
is. A number of years ago,

1411
01:04:45,360 --> 01:04:50,119
the SUA, the SUR
setup for survivors was

1412
01:04:50,119 --> 01:04:54,880
very poor. The
information was badly written.

1413
01:04:54,880 --> 01:04:59,119
So the foundation
established that side of

1414
01:04:59,119 --> 01:05:03,360
this brochure, survivor
assistance information.

1415
01:05:03,360 --> 01:05:09,120
A lot of this is now not necessary
because the SUR's website is so effective.

1416
01:05:10,320 --> 01:05:12,400
But still, it's
useful to look through and

1417
01:05:12,400 --> 01:05:14,480
make sure all those
documents that are listed

1418
01:05:14,480 --> 01:05:18,159
are in fact on file
for you. So it makes it

1419
01:05:18,159 --> 01:05:21,840
easier when any
survivor assistance is needed.

1420
01:05:23,280 --> 01:05:26,279
The other side
just tells about the

1421
01:05:26,279 --> 01:05:29,280
foundation, which you can
join as well. Join SUA first,

1422
01:05:30,240 --> 01:05:34,720
and if you're still interested, join
the foundation. The four activities of the

1423
01:05:34,720 --> 01:05:37,880
foundation are listed
there. The one that's

1424
01:05:37,880 --> 01:05:41,040
become the most popular
is the scholarship program

1425
01:05:41,600 --> 01:05:46,159
and the grants
programs. And this year, one of

1426
01:05:46,159 --> 01:05:50,720
our fellow chapter
members, daughter I think it was,

1427
01:05:50,720 --> 01:05:54,159
won a scholarship. So
we actually got some

1428
01:05:54,159 --> 01:05:57,600
feedback on this. So
join, if you remember.

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01:05:58,160 --> 01:06:02,320
Have somebody else join and be aware
of the foundation. Thank you, Matt.

1430
01:06:10,000 --> 01:06:13,760
Thank you, Bill. And I don't
want to be the last person between

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01:06:14,400 --> 01:06:19,120
these, everybody here and some wine. So
we'll go ahead and adjourn the meeting.

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So thank you all for being
here and see you next time.