Springfield—The University of Illinois Board of Trustees at its regular meeting today approved new names for buildings on two U of I campuses.

In other business, a new vice president for technology and economic development was approved, a new dean for the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health was named and two laboratories at the UIC College of Dentistry were renamed in honor of donors.

The refurbished auditorium at the UIC College of Medicine at Rockford was officially designated the Robert J. Vickrey M.D. Auditorium. Dr. Vickrey is the son of University trustee Robert F. Vickrey, whose employer’s charitable trust, Miller Group Charitable Trust, has pledged $450,000 to the auditorium renovation and reconstruction.

Trustee Vickrey is vice president of the News Tribune in LaSalle, Ill., which is owned by the Miller Media Group. He is in the 40th year with the company, and he began his second six-year term as a University of Illinois trustee this year. His son received his M.D. degree from the UIC College of Medicine at Rockford in 2002.

The auditorium, originally built in 1975, will be incorporated into a new building. The auditorium will be completely refurbished and brought up to date as a teaching and event facility seating 350 people.

The trustees also approved naming the residence hall Founders Hall, in honor of the Springfield community members and the administration and faculty who established Sangamon State University in 1969. In 1995, the University joined the U of I system as the University of Illinois at Springfield.

The trustees approved the appointment of Avijit Ghosh as the U of I system vice president for technology and economic development. Ghosh, currently dean of the Urbana campus’ College of Business, will lead commercialization of University-based technologies and intellectual property from all three campuses.

Ghosh’s areas of academic research and expertise are retail and marketing strategy, technology commercialization and entrepreneurship. His forthcoming book is entitled “Strategic Marketing Management.”

The trustees approved appointment of Paul Brandt-Rauf as dean of the UIC School of Public Health, succeeding Sylvia E. Furner, who has served as interim dean. Dr. Brandt-Rauf is department chairman of environmental health sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University.

Brandt-Rauf has an M.D. and holds doctorates in both science and public health, all from Columbia. His research focuses on environmental and occupational causes of cancer, basic research on cancer-related proteins and their treatment. He also examines ethical issues in this kind of research.

The trustees approved the appointment of the retiring UIC Chancellor Sylvia Manning as Chancellor Emerita. Her official retirement date is Dec. 31, 2007. Her chancellor emerita status will be effective Jan. 1, 2008.

Two laboratories at the UIC College of Dentistry were named: They are the Brodie Tooth Development Genetics and Regenerative Medicine Research Laboratory and the Delta Dental Plan of Illinois Pre-doctoral Pediatric Dentistry Clinic.

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