Board of Trustees Votes to Transfer Research Park Oversight
CHAMPAIGN – The University of Illinois Board of Trustees today transferred oversight of the University of Illinois Research Park from the U. of I. System to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Trustees approved the Research Park in 1999 and authorized the University of Illinois Research Park LLC in 2000 as the formal entity to develop and operate research parks in support of the university’s economic development mission. On the endorsement of President Tim Killeen and Urbana campus Chancellor Robert Jones, the limited liability company’s Board of Managers voted in October to recommend that the Board of Trustees change the legal entity’s scope to focus solely on the Research Park in Urbana-Champaign.
With its vote today at its bimonthly meeting on the Springfield campus, the board of trustees completed the transfer.
“This will make our campus an even stronger contributor to the economic well-being of our community, and help to fulfill the missions of the Illinois Innovation Network and the Discovery Partners Institute,” Jones said. “We look forward to more deeply integrating activities of the campus faculty members, students and staff with those of the Research Park and EnterpriseWorks.”
Susan Martinis, the interim vice chancellor for research at the Urbana-Champaign campus, said the total workforce at the Research Park represents the third-largest employer in the community.
“Aligning the Research Park more closely with our campus strongly supports our research, teaching, public engagement and economic development missions,” Martinis said. “It’s a powerful pipeline for students to connect with companies for experiential learning, and for companies to connect with students to harness cutting-edge skills.”
The Board of Trustees also approved four new members of the UIRP LLC Board of Managers, Wilbur Milhouse and Scott Rose from the private sector and Gies College of Business Dean Jeff Brown and College of ACES Dean Kim Kidwell to fill two faculty board positions.
Read the entire news release HERE.
News coverage:
The News-Gazette