To: All Faculty & All Academic Professionals & All Civil Service Staff
           <everybody@illinois.edu> 
    From: "President Stanley O. Ikenberry" <stanikenberry@uillinois.edu>

Reply-To: stanikenberry@uillinois.edu
 Subject: Adm Review and Restructuring (ARR) final report

Dear Colleagues,

I am deeply grateful to the members of the Administrative Review and 
Restructuring Work Group for their effort and commitment to the 
challenging task placed in front of them last November. The group was 
ably led by Dr. Craig Bazzani and Dr. Avijit Ghosh and I wish to express 
my special appreciation to them and to each of the members of the work 
group. The aim was - and remains - the identification of avenues to 
improve service while reducing costs. Doing that will not be easy, but 
events of the last year and the fiscal and political landscape that lie 
ahead make it even more crucial than when we began.

The real challenge, however, is one of execution. Good ideas and 
recommendations are useless sitting on the shelf, gathering dust 
alongside other well-intentioned efforts in the past. The work group 
presents forty-three recommendations across organizational and functional 
areas which need more study and refinement, but they also require action.

In May, I brought to the Board of Trustees the work group's proposal that 
the positions of Vice President for Academic Affairs and Vice President 
for Technology and Economic Development be consolidated and the Board 
approved the recommendation. Additional steps, including needed changes 
in the General Rules, await the arrival of President Michael Hogan in 
July. This initial step, however, is intended to signal a much broader 
opportunity to improve functioning by reducing the number of senior 
executive positions at all levels, reducing layers of management, and 
capturing the synergies to improve performance.

Another key recommendation of the work group is to craft stronger 
partnerships among the Foundation, Alumni Association and other 
externally facing "University advancement and development" functions. 
This recommendation has the support of the respective boards and has 
never been more important and urgent given the difficult economic and 
political times we are experiencing. 

We can and must capture savings in the information technology and 
procurement areas across the entire University. Examples include 
consolidation of data centers, e-mail and calendaring services and a 
centrally-led procurement model which maximizes strategic purchases for 
high-usage supplies and services. 

As the work group observed, talented, dedicated people are the 
University's most precious asset. Still, there is no one point in the 
University at which human resource policies are monitored and managed. 
The consequence is an outdated, rule-driven system of personnel policies 
and decisions. We must be smarter and do better. While the work group did 
not hire outside consultants, as we move into the implementation phase, 
such assistance may be necessary. The need for improved human resource 
policies and systems presents a case in point.

A parallel effort of academic program review has been occurring on each 
campus. The Chancellors are leading a review of academic priorities, 
structures, processes, and policies. I make special note of these efforts 
since academic transformation may be even more challenging than the 
administrative reform, but it carries even greater long-term significance.

None of these steps will be easy. Change will not occur overnight but it 
must occur promptly. The University must achieve the savings and 
improvements now. As I leave the presidency, President Hogan has asked me 
to accept personal responsibility for guiding these efforts and I have 
agreed to do so. I will form a small implementation team to facilitate 
review and consultation and will advise President Hogan and the 
Chancellors regarding next steps. I will also meet with the University 
Senates Conference and others, including the Board of Trustees, to seek 
their support and advice. 

Above all, the University must control its destiny and safeguard its 
future. Each of us can and must contribute to this transformation. The 
work group's report is posted at www.uillinois.edu/arr/Reports/. Your 
ideas and suggestions are needed and welcome.

It has been my privilege to serve as your President for the past six 
months. More than you will ever know, I thank you for your confidence and 
support. I look forward to being your colleague in the months and years 
ahead. For all you contribute to the University of Illinois, I am deeply 
grateful.

Stanley O. Ikenberry
President
This mailing approved by:
The Office of the President

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