To: All Faculty & All Academic Professionals & All Civil Service Staff
           <everybody@illinois.edu> 
    From: "uipres@uillinois.edu" <uipres@uillinois.edu>

Reply-To: uipres@uillinois.edu
 Subject: MASSMAIL - A Letter from the President

June 8, 2004

Dear Colleagues:

Normally by now I would have delivered my year-end greetings and 
summarized the state legislative session. Although our academic year 
wound up successfully and on time, the legislature is working past its 
scheduled and statutory adjournment dates.

So let me report on what I know for now, and I will get back to you when 
the state's budget for the coming fiscal year is resolved.

One thing I know for sure is this was a tremendous year of accomplishment 
for the University of Illinois, notwithstanding the budget constraints we 
have been dealt in the past several years.

It doesn't get much better than having two faculty members honored as 
Nobel Prize laureates, which is precisely what happened on successive 
days last October when chemist Paul Lauterbur and physicist Anthony 
Leggett were recognized by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for 
their respective work.

The lift in pride and morale was palpable across the Urbana-Champaign 
campus that sunny autumn week. Professors Leggett and Lauterbur might be 
the most famous faculty for now, but they were not alone in receiving 
awards and recognition this year. Microbiologist Carl Woese took home the 
Craaford Prize in Biosciences, also bestowed by the Royal Swedish 
Academy, and physicist-inventor Nick Holonyak received the National Medal 
of Technology and the Lemelson-MIT Prize. Colleagues and students at all 
three campuses are being honored for excellence and achievement. We are 
all about quality; it is what this university provides the people of 
Illinois.

I am constantly, pleasantly reminded of the exceptional talent of our 
faculty and students; of the breadth of research, instruction, and public 
service occurring statewide under the University of Illinois banner; and 
of the dedication of our staff in support of the university's mission. 
The fact that the University of Illinois continues to excel with less 
state assistance is a testament to the hard work and resourcefulness of 
each one of you. For that, I am most thankful.

While our academic enterprise flourished, our campuses continued to 
transform themselves through expansion, new facilities, and relationships 
with the communities we serve. We continue to plan, to grow, and to build 
for the future.

A pretty good year, after all, considering the impact of the state's 
fiscal condition on public higher education. Of course, we are concerned 
about the fiscal impacts and the risk to our quality and forward momentum 
if state support continues to erode.

As you may know, the governor's budget office asked public universities 
to return 2 percent of state appropriations for the fiscal year ending 
June 30. The May 12 action came at the conclusion of our academic year 
and was in addition to an 8 percent cut in the University of Illinois 
appropriation for fiscal year 2004. Now, the legislature is deliberating 
options for a fiscal year 2005 budget. The governor's plan would cut our 
FY05 appropriation by another 2 percent, while a recommendation by the 
Illinois Board of Higher Education would maintain the same level of 
funding as the FY04 appropriation. We favor the IBHE plan in hopes of 
restoring some of the academic programs lost to cuts in the past two 
years. Again, I will update you on the legislature's final actions and 
the expected impacts on the University of Illinois.

Finally, this year was one of transition. Several highly valued 
academicians and administrators announced they would leave this summer 
for opportunities at other colleges and universities, including UIUC 
Chancellor Nancy Cantor, who will become president of Syracuse 
University. I wish all of them the best, and they will always remain 
members of the University of Illinois's extended family.

Joan and I announced we are headed toward retirement next January, after 
43 years with the university, and so commencements this spring were 
bittersweet. A search to find the 16th president of the University of 
Illinois is under way, and I expect a smooth transition in the next 
academic year. Meantime, there is work to be done (e.g., the unfinished 
business of a budget) and I look forward to working with you in the next 
six months to meet the challenges and maintain our place as one of the 
great universities in the world.

As always, Joan and I wish you a safe, pleasant, and renewing summer.

Sincerely,

James J. Stukel
President
uipres@uillinois.eduThis mailing approved by:
The Office of the President

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