Donald N. Langenberg

Dear campus community,

I am saddened to inform you that Donald N. Langenberg, UIC’s first Chancellor, passed away on January 25. He was 86.

Chancellor Langenberg was a visionary who was tasked with bringing the University of Illinois’ Circle campus together with the medical campus under one administration, creating Chicago’s largest university. He led the newly formed University of Illinois at Chicago from 1983 until 1990, and he contributed significantly to creating the foundation on which UIC stands and flourishes today.

Before joining UIC, Langenberg’s career spanned three decades as an experimental physicist, university professor and academic leader at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and as the deputy director of the National Science Foundation. Following his tenure at UIC, he served as President of the University of Maryland System.

Under Langenberg’s leadership, UIC was classified a Research I University by the Carnegie Foundation. He also believed wholeheartedly in UIC’s commitment to serve the education and research needs of the people of Chicago, and he strengthened partnerships with the city of Chicago, Chicago’s public schools, business and civic leaders.

Langenberg envisioned a vibrant urban campus and he led the university’s first strategic and master plan with a focus on research laboratories, modern classrooms and new dormitories to attract top-tier faculty and students.

Chancellor Langenberg will be remembered as the leader who established UIC in its current form and contributed to its transformation and growth in the 1980s. I believe he would be proud of the university we have become.

Sincerely,

Michael Amiridis
Chancellor