B. Joseph White

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B. Joseph White
University of Illinois file photo
16th President of the University of Illinois system
Term	January 31, 2005 – present
Predecessor	James J. Stukel
Born	1947 Detroit, Michigan
Alma mater	Georgetown University, Harvard Business School, University of Michigan Ross School of Business
Profession	Academic Businessperson

B. Joseph White is the current president of the University of Illinois system with its three campuses and 70,000 students. He was born in Detroit in 1947 and raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

[edit] Education

White graduated magna cum laude from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 1969. He then earned an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School and a doctorate in business administration from the University of Michigan.

[edit] Career

Following graduation in 1975, White remained at Michigan as a professor of organizational behavior and industrial relations. He also spent six years (1981-87) at Cummins Inc. in Columbus, Indiana, first as vice president for management development and then as vice president for personnel and public affairs.

He returned to academia and became dean of the University of Michigan Ross School of Business in 1991 — a position he held for 10 years. In 2002, he served as interim president of the University of Michigan. White was officially named the 16th president of the University of Illinois in 2004, succeeding retiring president James J. Stukel, and took office on January 31, 2005. He was inaugurated on September 22, 2005.

[edit] Presidency

[edit] Initiatives

In his inaugural address, White proposed a new "compact", with the five principal parties — the state, tuition payers and their families, donors, faculty members winning research funds and university leaders making wise decisions — all doing their parts to provide the resources needed to ensure what he terms "excellence and access".^[1]

In his first year, White initiated a strategic planning process for the University, its three campuses and their colleges and departments. In 2007-08, the University of Illinois systems’ budget was $3.9 billion. On June 1, 2007, he announced the $2.25 billion Brilliant Futures fund-raising campaign.^[2]

White championed the establishment of the University of Illinois Global Campus Partnership, a major initiative to make University of Illinois programs and degrees available online on a large scale. Following an extensive shared governance process with faculty on the three campuses, Global Campus launched in January 2008 with a bachelor’s degree-completion program for registered nurses and a master’s degree and two graduate certificate programs in education with concentrations in e-learning. There are 15 more Global Campus degree and certificate programs in development.

In January, 2008, the Chicago Tribune reported that fewer than 15 people signed up for the program, which has already cost more than $2 million.^[3] The Daily Illini showed even less flattering figures of 10 participants at a cost of $3 million dollars.^[4]

[edit] Concerning Chief Illiniwek

In February 2007, University of Illinois Board of Trustees Chairman Lawrence Eppley announced an end to the Urbana-Champaign campus tradition of Chief Illiniwek. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) had sanctioned the Urbana campus’ intercollegiate athletics program under a 2005 NCAA policy regarding use of Native American imagery by member institutions. The university board and White weathered criticism from both pro- and anti-Chief factions on the decision and the manner in which it was made. The Board of Trustees formally voted to end the Chief Illiniwek tradition at their March 2007 meeting. White stated his support for the board's decision saying, "While I understand many people have strong feelings about this 80-year-old tradition, for the good of our student-athletes and our university it is time to come together and move on to the next chapter in the history of this distinguished institution."^[5]

[edit] Outside the University

White is on the board of the American Council on Education, which seeks to influence higher education public policy through advocacy, research and programs. He also serves on the National Merit Scholarship board and the Evaluation Committee for Chicago's bid to host the Olympic Games.^[6] He is on the Board of Governors of the Argonne National Laboratory.

White has written, taught and spoken extensively on leadership and management. He is the author of The Nature of Leadership: Reptiles, Mammals, and the Challenge of Becoming a Great Leader.

White received an honorary degree from Wabash College in 2003 and the Dr. Martin Luther King Excellence in Leadership Award from the Illinois Commission on Diversity and Human Relations in 2007.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official biography
• University of Illinois Global Campus
• Illinois Commission on Diversity and Human Relations