Urbana interim chancellor named executive vice president

Barbara J. Wilson is the new university vice president for academic affairs. ­(Photo: Brian Stauffer)

Barbara J. Wilson, interim chancellor at the Urbana-Champaign campus, has been named executive vice president and vice president for academic affairs of the three-university U of I system.

University President Tim Killeen said Wilson’s appointment, subject to Board of Trustees approval, fills a newly restructured role that establishes a clear second-in-command to the president, and adds responsibilities as senior operating officer to traditional duties as chief academic officer.

Wilson will work with Killeen to advocate for the U of I system and elevate its national profile by building on connections with legislators, funding agencies and leaders in higher education, communities and industry.

“Barb’s leadership, passion and vision have been invaluable in steering the university through a turbulent year with its excellence intact,” Killeen said. “I am delighted that she will now share her many talents to serve the entire U of I System, and elevate our standing as a global leader in education, innovation and service to the public good.”

Wilson, a faculty member and administrator in Urbana-Champaign since 2000, will assume her new duties Sept. 26, serving in a designate capacity pending approval by trustees at their Nov. 10 meeting in Chicago.

“The challenges facing the entire U of I system and public higher education are going to require us to make decisions together that will impact the university for generations to come,” Wilson said. “I hope my perspective both as a long-time faculty member and as a campus administrator will help us make choices that foster academic excellence as well as sound stewardship of our resources. I know I have a lot to learn and I’m looking forward to getting started.”

In the newly created role of executive vice president, Wilson will serve as second-in-command to the president and senior operating officer for a $5.6 billion U of I higher education and health care system with universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield. Major responsibilities will include the coordination of planning and budgeting across the system.

As vice president for academic affairs, Wilson will be the system’s senior academic officer, collaborating with campus chancellors, provosts, faculty and academic staff on educational and student programs. In that role, she replaces Christophe Pierre, former vice president for academic affairs, who resigned last month to become provost of the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey.

Wilson, 58, has served as interim chancellor in Urbana-Champaign since August 2015, following the resignation of former chancellor Phyllis Wise. In July, trustees approved a new permanent chancellor – Robert J. Jones, president of the State University of New York at Albany, who takes office Sept. 26.

As interim chancellor, Wilson helped the university weather significant reductions in state funding during an ongoing state budget impasse. Despite the financial shortfall, enrollment continued to grow, including a record freshman class for the fall semester. Her leadership also played a key role in developing a new strategic framework to guide the university’s growth for the next decade.

Wilson joined the Urbana-Champaign faculty in 2000 and became the Harry E. Preble Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2014. She retained her title as dean while serving as interim chancellor, but will leave the post when she takes her new position. Before becoming dean, she was executive vice provost for faculty and academic affairs.

A professor of communication who was a member of the faculty at the University of California at Santa Barbara for 12 years, Wilson is an elected fellow of the International Communication Association. A three-degree alumna of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wilson earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and her master’s degree and Ph.D. in communication.

An internal search to fill the new vice presidency was launched in July, assisted by an advisory committee chaired by UIC Chancellor Michael Amiridis.