David Eddington named Graduate College dean

Dear faculty, staff and students,

I am pleased to announce that following an internal search, David Eddington has been named dean of the University of Illinois Chicago Graduate College, effective July 1, 2024, pending approval by the University of Illinois System Board of Trustees.

Professor Eddington received his master of science degree and doctorate degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A member of the faculty and graduate student mentor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the College of Engineering since 2006, Professor Eddington also served as Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Biomedical Engineering from 2011 to 2021 where he was responsible for implementing significant improvements to programs under his purview, including enhancing recruitment efforts to improve student access and quality and clarifying student and advisor expectations, while actively supporting graduate students and faculty.

Through this service at UIC both in his own department and in the Graduate College, Professor Eddington has amassed substantial experience in graduate education. Professor Eddington served two terms on the Graduate College Executive Committee from 2019-2023 where he participated in a multi-year effort to edit and update the Graduate College bylaws to better support mentoring and advising and to create a process for students and faculty to address concerns about graduate student advisors. His substantial involvement with the Graduate College also includes participating in several committees, including the Awards Committee, and to both leading and serving as a member of several types of Graduate College disciplinary committees. In addition to having served on the GEO Contract Negotiating Team, Professor Eddington is also a member of the executive committee for UIC PREP, an NIH funded postbaccalaureate program that provides opportunities for individuals from groups underrepresented in biomedical sciences to get additional research experience before applying to PhD or dual degree programs.

I have the utmost confidence that Professor Eddington will leverage his wealth of expertise in graduate education to support the college and the entire UIC campus and I am excited to see how he leads the Graduate College in its next exciting chapter!

I would like to thank the search committee, chaired by Lisa A. Freeman, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, for their tireless work throughout the entire search process.

Please join me in congratulating Professor Eddington and welcoming him as the new Dean of the Graduate College.

Sincerely,

Karen J. Colley

Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

For more information, please contact:
Tyler Nielsen
pniels2@uic.edu