Message from the Chancellor

Dear members of the UIC community,

I’m writing to you this morning with bittersweet feelings to announce that Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Susan Poser will be leaving UIC this coming summer to become the ninth President of Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.

As an accomplished executive leader and scholar, Provost Poser has fostered an environment of access and excellence at UIC. During the last five years, she has made significant contributions to academic excellence, research expansion, and community engagement, thus improving the day-to-day experience of our faculty and students and increasing UIC’s impact in Chicago and beyond.

Susan played a key role not only in our negotiations with the John Marshall Law School, but also in envisioning a new and exciting future for the School once it became part of UIC. Furthermore, she oversaw the recruitment of the largest freshmen classes in the history of our University, initiated and supported several student success programs contributing to increased retention rates, and redesigned the UIC Center for Teaching Excellence. Susan cares a lot about the campus climate and worked hard to improve it by introducing innovative programs such as the Campus Conversation and the East + West Mixers Series. Finally, she helped us navigate two major crises, the state budget impasse and the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Many of you may have heard me say that Provost Poser is one of the best Provosts in the country. It comes as no surprise that Hofstra recognized her unique skills, experience and personal attributes; I’m confident that she will be a very successful President. I know that I speak for the entire UIC community by saying that we are grateful for her work here, and we wish her well in this next phase of her career.

As we look forward, I will be announcing a search committee within the next few days to launch a national search for a new Provost, with the intention of filling the position by the beginning of the Fall 2021 semester.

Sincerely,

Michael D. Amiridis
Chancellor