When the core foundations of unabashed discovery combine with transformative learning and teaching, the outcomes are no longer measured simply in degrees or in citations. They are seen in how the world is changed for the better through contact with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The university lives up to its land-grant mission in many ways, and we will better organize, enrich, and value these contributions as we reach out to our local, regional, national, and global communities.
In an effort to be collaborative and transparent, we have set up this public page to gather comments about our strategic planning process from faculty, staff and students of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. All submitted comments should be relevant to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign community, are reviewed and are public. Comments can be denied or removed for any of the following reasons, at any time, if they: use obscene, threatening or harassing language; disclose information that is confidential by law or regulation; promote or advocate illegal activity; violate copyrights or trademarks; are commercial advertising, unsolicited self-promotion, SPAM, or solicitations; or endorse or oppose anyone campaigning for election to a political office. All users, including page administrators, are subject to the terms of service. Comments posted to the strategic planning website do not necessarily represent the opinions of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
First take stock of the amazing projects that are funded by State of Illinois (IBHE, IDHS, etc) that are awarded (often for decade or more) to the university and which provide timely and critical information to citizens locally, in the state and nationally. Examples include The Autism Project, Early Intervention Clearinghouse, Illinois Early Childhood Asset Map and more. These provide critical web-based resources to citizens, teachers, families who have young children with and without special needs. They have rarely been promoted by campus and are “hidden” gems that also bring in considerable external funding. Relevant impact factors include: web usage, most highly accessed topics, number of Illinois families reached, impact statements from Illinois residents and influence of projects and staff on state and national policy making. Projects such as these make an impact and documenting their impact is one step to increasing visibility of what UIUC does for Illinois.
Second, provide a faculty development program that focuses specifically on increasing the impact of faculty projects and research on improving and enhancing socially relevant services to citizens locally. this could be similar to the NCSA fellows project that brings together across disciplines faculty who engage in impact research and faculty with expertise in measuring and communicating impact.