Dear Colleagues,

As you probably have heard, the University of Illinois System Offices recently conducted a review of their system units. The alignment implementation team conducted the analysis, in part, to determine whether some functions more appropriately should report to the universities rather than the System. 

The first phase of implementation of the review recommendations will be to transfer three units – purchasing offices within procurement, budget offices within OBFS and post award grants and contracts – from the System to the universities.

To the newest members of our Illinois team, we welcome you and we thank you for your good work to support our land-grant mission.

We have begun planning for the transition, and the System Offices are forming teams with representatives from each university to address the challenging work of allocating resources, addressing HR considerations, and determining operational requirements. Our target date for the integration is July 7, 2017. As with any major organizational restructuring, we will have more details as the integration move forward. 

The University leads on the transition teams include:

Budget: Vicky Gress, Office of the Provost

Grants and contracts: David Richardson, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research

Purchasing: Mike DeLorenzo, Office of the Chancellor

We support the concept of carefully analyzing functions to determine where they should be in the organization to maximize efficiency and efficacy, and we hope that this transfer achieves that goal. We are confident that the integration of the teams into the University will continue the high level of service expected by our faculty and staff.

In present time of budget uncertainty, both the System and University leadership are committed to ensuring that these units join our campus with sufficient resources to provide the level of service required to support our institution. We all are also committed to ensuring that the transition is smooth and that the changes enhance our ability to fulfill the University’s teaching, research, public engagement and economic development missions. I ask for your patience and support as we move to this new operating model.

If you have questions about the transition, please contact Vicky, Dave, or Mike. Otherwise, please look for opportunities to share your ideas and advice in the near future.

Best regards,

Robert J. Jones
Chancellor