University of Illinois

Speeches and statements

Presidential Acceptance Speech

President B. Joseph White
November 2, 2004

Thank you, Chairman Eppley. I am honored to accept your invitation to serve as the next president of the University of Illinois.

Two months ago, I knew that the University was an impressive institution. Since I became involved in the presidential search, I have learned week by week that it is much more than that. The University of Illinois is an historic, consequential, dynamic institution that I would characterize as overachieving, somewhat under-recognized relative to its stellar performance, and under-resourced relative to its potential and importance to the state, nation and world.

I am thrilled to take on the challenge of leading the University of Illinois in the years ahead for one reason. For me, leadership is about service. And this is a University worth serving with all my heart and soul. Why? Because everything I love about higher education, the University of Illinois does on a large scale and with excellence. We educate first generation college students. We do Nobel Prize-winning science. We provide clinical medical care and graduate more M.D.s than any other university. We lead in many fields including agriculture, architecture, the arts and humanities, social works, and so many others. We win Big Ten basketball championships and field many sports in which student-athletes, men and women, play for sheer love of the game. Perhaps most important, the prosperity and well-being of the citizens of the great state of Illinois and the performance of the University of Illinois are completely intertwined and have been for 136 years.

think the University of Illinois is the university of the future because of our richness and our reach. In Urbana, we have an extraordinary, historic campus engaged in top notch, in-depth research and teaching in over 150 disciplines. In Chicago, we have a dynamic, growing university that is integral to the life of what, for me, has been the world’s greatest city since I was a kid growing up in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In Springfield, we have a fresh, innovative approach to education on a very human scale in the state capital. In addition, the University of Illinois educates thousands through high-quality on-line education and serves millions around the world with the nation’s greatest library. This is truly a magnificent University.

I want to thank the trustees of the University, and chair of the board, Larry Eppley, for entrusting me with the leadership and management of the University of Illinois. There is no higher expression of trust.

I thank Dean Avijit Ghosh and the Consultative Committee to Assist in the Selection of a President for managing an extraordinarily professional and high class search process.

I thank President James Stukel and his wife, Joan, for their dedicated leadership and service to the University over the last decade. Your legacy is nothing less than a University poised for even greater achievement in the years ahead.

I thank the chancellors: Sylvia Manning, Richard Herman and Richard Ringeisen, and the executive officers, deans, faculty and staff for your respective contributions that have built such a great university.

I extend my personal congratulations to Professor Paul Lauterbur for his recently awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine, to Professor Tony Leggett for his Nobel Prize in Physics, to Professor Carl Woese for the Crafoord Prize in Biological Sciences, and to all the other faculty whose work helps create a better world and brings distinction to our University.

Thank you to the students of the University of Illinois and the 550,000 alumni who preceded you for your achievements and your love of our University.

Finally, this is also an occasion for me to thank the leadership and people of the state of Illinois for your foresight in providing the resources to build a great public university over the last 136 years. May your wisdom and generosity continue to prevail in the years ahead.

My wife, Mary, and I look forward to making our home, with pride, in the historic President’s House on the Urbana campus. We also look forward to spending time on our campuses in Chicago and Springfield.

You might wonder what my aspirations are for the University of Illinois in the decade ahead. I can state them simply:

• I will do everything required to continue to build the performance, stature, reputation and resources of the University.

• I will 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.

• I will focus intensively on maintaining access to the University as a gateway of opportunity for tens of thousands of talented students as well as the excellence of the University which is the reason these students yearn to be members of our community.

• Finally, I will do my best to ensure that our campus communities are models of diverse people working together with mutual respect and thriving in the process.

I look forward to working with the trustees, Governor Blagojevich, Mayor Daley, and the leaders of the University, state and campus communities to achieve great things in the years ahead.

Thank you.