Message from the Chancellor

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,

Welcome back to UIC! If you are a new student or a student transferring here, or you’ve joined our esteemed faculty or staff – welcome to our university community.

On December 16, 2017, UIC held its annual fall university-wide commencement ceremonies graduating nearly 3,000 students who are now among our 250,000 strong alumni. We also welcomed back over 40 Golden Grads – members of the Class of 1967 – who marched alongside our newest graduates. We were honored to feature two outstanding commencement speakers: Suzet M. McKinney, CEO and Executive Director of the Illinois Medical District, and David Simas, Chief Executive Officer of the Obama Foundation.

A lot has taken shape since last fall and over the holidays. Construction began on the Engineering Innovation Building and I’m sure many of you have noticed that the parking lot just south of the Eisenhower Expressway at the UIC Blue Line CTA stop is now being prepared for the Academic and Residential Complex which officially broke ground yesterday. This newest student housing community will be one of the leading edge mixed-use, live-learn student communities in the country, housing more than 550 students and including unique and innovative large-scale, high-technology active learning classrooms accommodating 880 students. This project comes after three years of record-setting enrollments at UIC culminating with our Fall 2017 enrollment that surpassed 30,000 students for the first time in our history. The building will also meet our sustainability commitments by being designed as a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold certified building.

On the west side of the university, renovations continue at the College of Dentistry, the third largest building at UIC, and the College of Medicine is undertaking a significant renovation to establish the Surgical Innovation and Training Laboratory (SITL). The SITL will be a multifunctional space intended to enhance state-of-the-art teaching and research for a number of programs within the College of Medicine. All across the university we are continually seeking ways to provide the most innovative environments to ignite the knowledge discoveries that define our excellence.

I want to take this opportunity to recognize that January 15 was the day we set aside to remember and celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King and his legacy of peace and justice. Among the many inspiring quotes attributed to Dr. King I want to share this: “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.” Please keep these words as your guide during your academic journey.

As we look beyond these cold winter days towards spring, there will be many more accomplishments to share, progress to report, and milestones to reach. I offer you my very best wishes in your studies, your research, and in all your endeavors at UIC.

Go Flames!

Michael Amiridis
Chancellor