Celebrating commencement and a prosperous year ahead

Dear campus community,

Perhaps the greatest joy of serving as chancellor is seeing our graduates cross the stage at commencement. This December, our 2,985 graduates bear testimony to the tangible and transformative work you do daily.

I write to share some of the extraordinary achievements across UIC during 2024 regarding student success. Student success remains our highest priority. It is central to expanding access and delivering excellence. UIC is increasingly recognized for accelerating social mobility, ranking 10th among U.S. universities and first in Illinois according to U.S. News & World Report and The Wall Street Journal, respectively.

Last year, we established a student success working group to deepen and scale up proven practices across campus. This effort identified eight essential elements for student success that we are working to iteratively improve and scale across all students. The eight elements include recruitment and degree pathways, pre-matriculation programs, financial support, intensive advising, teaching and learning innovation, responsive academic support, research and experiential learning, and health and well-being resources. This work is being done centrally and across all our colleges.

Our efforts are paying off: This year, the six-year graduation rate rose 1.3%, and retention improved by 1.8%, with gains across all racial and ethnic groups, Pell Grant recipients and non-Pell recipients, and first-generation and continuing-generation students. Looking ahead, we have set the ambitious goal of increasing graduation rates by 10 percentage points over the next decade.

UIC’s mission to provide the broadest access to the highest levels of educational, research, and clinical excellence is vital to Chicago, our state, and our globally connected world. We will always care for and serve our students, patients, and community. As we look to 2025, I am optimistic about what we can achieve together, even as we acknowledge our increasingly complex environment. Thank you for your dedication to our shared mission.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season filled with joy and some time for rest and rejuvenation.

Go Flames!

Marie Lynn Miranda, PhD
Chancellor