Board of Trustees
U of I is engine of state economic development
The University of Illinois is the state's most
important asset in assuring a prosperous future for
the State of Illinois and its citizens. The Board of
Trustees' leadership and guidance for making the
university an engine for economic development
has been critical in maintaining the university's
leadership role in the state and the region.
Eight years ago, the Illinois Senate made
economic development a focus for the U of I and
the Board responded with initiatives to enhance
the commercialization of new technologies and
scientific innovations and job creation. In the years
since, research parks on the Urbana and Chicago
campuses have attracted almost 100 tenants -
including Internet giant Yahoo in Urbana - with
1,800 employees. In 2000, University trustees
established IllinoisVENTURES to provide venture
capital and business infrastructure to engineering,
information technology and life and physical
sciences research with commercial potential. Four
years later the privately funded venture capital
Illinois Emerging Technology Fund was formed
in partnership with IllinoisVENTURES.
More recently, the board celebrated the grand
opening of Business and Industry Services, a
new university presence in Naperville. This new
U of I-BIS partnership, administered through
Urbana's Extension office in collaboration with the
state's Department of Commerce and Economic
Opportunity, brings engineering, technology and
business classes and consulting services to Kane,
Lake, Cook, DuPage and McHenry counties.
Trustees also work with the campuses to facilitate
a productive work environment that encourages
innovative research. Recent major Board-approved
initiatives include the genomic institute, petaflop
facility and magnetic imaging laboratory.
With more than $750 million yearly in funded
research, the University of Illinois is vital to the
state's economic engine. Fully leveraged, the
University of Illinois pumps an estimated $7 billion
into the state's economy annually.
