University of Illinois

President // Biography

University of Illinois President B. Joseph White took office as the University of Illinois' 16th president on Jan. 31, 2005, to lead the further development of what he calls the university of the future.

"The University of Illinois is the university of the future because of our richness and our reach," he said. "Everything I love about public higher education, the University of Illinois does on a large scale and with excellence."

White is familiar with both public higher education and the Midwest. He spent nearly three decades affiliated with the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he received his doctorate in business administration in 1975. He also served there as interim president, dean of the business school and a faculty member.

Upon the announcement of his selection as president by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees in November 2004, White stated four aspirations:

-- To continue to build the performance, stature, reputation and resources of the University

-- To ensure that the work of the University is hard-wired to the needs of the people of Illinois, especially in education, economic development and health care, vital matters that touch every citizen

-- To focus intensively on maintaining access to the University as a gateway of opportunity as well as the excellence of the University

-- To ensure that University campus communities are models of diverse people working together.

"The University has never been more important than it will be in the decades ahead," White said during his formal investiture in September 2005. "We will be a great gateway of opportunity for students. And we will address the world's most pressing problems, such as safety and security, economic opportunity, energy and the environment, healthcare and nutrition, peace and justice."

Among White's primary focuses since taking office have been development of a strategic plan and launching "Brilliant Futures: The Campaign for the University of Illinois" in 2007. He has also forged what he calls a "compact" among five principal parties to provide the resources needed to ensure excellence:

-- State support continuing to play a vital role

-- Tuition payers and their families carrying an increasing share of the burden while the University provides financial aid to ensure access

-- Faculty members doing their part through excellent work and success in winning competitive research grants and contracts

-- Donors doing their part through generous giving

-- University leadership making the best use of resources with which they have been entrusted.

Before coming to the University of Illinois, White was the Wilbur K. Pierpont Collegiate Professor, a professor of business administration and a research professor in the Life Sciences Institute at Michigan, leading the development of the Project for a Positive Healthcare Future. The project focuses on improvements in efficacy, patient and provider empowerment and efficiencies that can result from advances in biology, engineering and information science applied to the practice of medicine.

White is a native of Detroit who was reared in Kalamazoo. He earned his bachelor's degree, magna cum laude, in international economics from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1969 and an MBA, with distinction, from Harvard University in 1971. He received a doctorate in business administration in 1975 from the University of Michigan. He first joined the Michigan faculty as assistant professor of organizational behavior and industrial relations in 1975; was associate professor from 1978-80; associate dean in the Business School 1987-90; interim dean 1990-91; president of the William Davidson Institute, a center of expertise on economic and business development in emerging market economies, 1993-2001; dean of the Business School 1991-2001; and interim president in 2002.

He is on the board of the American Council on Education, which serves as a consensus leader on key higher-education issues and seeks to influence public policy through advocacy, research and program initiatives. He also serves on the National Merit Scholarship Board and the Chicago 2016 Evaluation Committee for Chicago's bid to host the Olympic games.

White also has private-sector experience, including six years at Cummins Engine Co. Inc., 1981-87, first as vice president for management development and then as vice president for personnel and public affairs.

He has written, taught and lectured extensively on leadership, management and organizational matters. He is the author of "The Nature of Leadership: Reptiles, Mammals, and the Challenge of Becoming a Great Leader" (AMACOM Press, 2007). He received an honorary degree from Wabash College in 2003.

He and his wife, Mary White, are the parents of two grown children and have four grandchildren.