Interview w/ Ikenberry
Sept 20, 2012 18:49:27 GMT -6
Post by Big D on Sept 20, 2012 18:49:27 GMT -6
Got the Fall 2012 UIC Alumni magazine in the mail yesterday and there was a pretty interesting interview w/ President Ikenberry about the formation of UIC and where he thinks it's headed. Have to give credit to the interviewers....they actually asked good questions...
In case you wanted to read, here's the interview in its entirety: uiaa.org/uic/news/uicalumni/1209b.html
But here are the standout questions in my mind. I was hoping they could spark a little discussion here. I'm particularly curious about questions 3 and 4, and I don't really have any knowledge of this whole health sciences thing. 4th campus? What?
1) What was the reaction of key members of the Urbana campus community to the proposed UICC and UIMC merger?
IKENBERRY: Members of the Urbana-Champaign campus were skeptical. They saw it as a potential threat to their campus, which reinforced my view that it was probably the right thing to do. UIUC Chancellor John Cribbet, JD ’47 UIUC, who was a wonderful person and a close personal friend and colleague, had reservations and spoke out, but not vehemently. He raised questions as to whether it was the appropriate thing to do. I think today, it would be difficult for people to imagine UIC any other way...
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Obviously this is no surprise...UIUC has been trying to hold down UIC since the beginning....with complaints about the merger, complaints about Dean Fish, complaints about a proposed law school that would dilute Urbana. There were multiple answers by Ikenberry discussing the reservations of the UIUC campus towards the merger. From a question below, UIUC may have gotten the last laugh one again by pushing to split our campus apart and potentially weakening UIC as a whole.
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2) How do you feel about UIC being disinvited from the CIC (Committee on Institutional Cooperation)?
IKENBERRY: It was unfortunate, shouldn’t have happened, but is a blip, a small blip, on the radar screen. I don’t think it will have any consequential impact on UIC going forward. The move was not occasioned by any fault on UIC’s part, but simply a restructuring of the CIC that was occasioned by the introduction of the University of Nebraska into the Big 10 and consequently into CIC.
3) Do you think that the creation of the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences entity strengthens or undermines what you had envisioned for UIC?
IKENBERRY: I don’t think this new administrative realignment undermines in any way the unity of the Chicago presence. I think what it does do is recognize the importance and magnitude of the health sciences within the University overall. It also recognizes the need for there to be a very close line of communication between the hospital and the clinics and health sciences programs and the chancellor, the president and the Board of Trustees.
The health sciences operate in a very competitive, volatile market. The need for restructuring became evident during my [second] term as president as I talked with faculty leaders in medicine. I supported those discussions then and I support the realignment that’s taken place since.
-----------------------------------
Again, to me this seems like UIHHS came about to separate it more from UIC and generalize it to be related more towards the entire U of I system as a whole.
-----------------------------------
4) What would you say to some UIC alumni who fear that UIHHS will become a fourth campus in the U of I system?
IKENBERRY: I don’t think that’s an issue. If the hospital and the health sciences are not strong and vibrant at UIC, the whole campus will suffer. Everyone at UIC should strongly support it.
5) Do you think the U of I system is capable of having two flagship campuses? Or does UIC always have to play a secondary role?
IKENBERRY: UIC, along with Urbana-Champaign, is capable of being one of the great centers for learning in the United States. In order to do that, UIC needs a fresh attitude and demeanor. It needs more self-confidence. I think there’s a tendency for UIC to see itself in the second-sister role; but nobody in Urbana-Champaign sees it that way. They are more likely to see UIC as a peer—and sometimes, given its location—an advantaged peer.
When the President of the United States comes to the State of Illinois, he stops at UIC, not Urbana-Champaign. One element of growth that UIC needs to experience is an elevation in its own self-concept that leads to more self-confidence about its quality, its stature and its growth. I think those who have been in the trenches and involved in this struggle for the past 50 years probably don’t appreciate the progress they have made.
---------------------------------
And, this, my friends, is a big problem with UIC. Kudos to Ikenberry for bringing attention to it. I believe this attitude is rampant in the athletic dept. Coach Moore has even publicly exhibited this attitude, as have the likes of Dildy and JC when they were here. Stop it! I understand they're being realistic but if the talk reinforces our mid-major status, just don't talk about it...no more in-awe compliments for major teams, especially those in state. Walk around like we own the place.
---------------------------------
6) But how does UIC get past this poisonous self-doubt, which helped lead to the quick abandonment of the marketing tagline: “UIC World-Class Education. World-Class City”?
IKENBERRY: I think by challenging those who hang on to a negative outlook. Not every university can be “Triple A” in every area; in fact, part of the secret to greatness is understanding your strengths, where you may want to be “adequate” and where you want to be “world class.” What is necessary is for the University of Illinois at Chicago community to move with its head high, serving society with confidence, while at the same time always striving to be even better. What we should be gauging is our progress, not by anecdote, but by evidence. It’s time for UIC faculty to say, “We’re not complacent, but we are very comfortable in our own skin.”
7) How can we build this sense of confidence?
IKENBERRY: Well, I think one of the things that might be helpful is for the faculty to build an even stronger sense of academic community within the University of Illinois at Chicago. As an urban university, one of the big challenges is to learn to know each other and appreciate the quality of what’s going on. That occurs more easily on a residential campus where faculty members live and work side by side. For UIC, that’s not the case. So, UIC needs to invent other ways to bring people together and build collaborative relationships. Respect grows out of colleagueship and collaboration. Probably we’ll be back here another 30 years from now celebrating the campus’ 60th anniversary. Hopefully, by then, this will have gone away and be forgotten as an issue.
8) Some alumni describe UIC as a series of missed opportunities, particularly as it pertains to its branding and marketing. Do you feel UIC has faltered in this regard?
IKENBERRY: Truth to tell, UIC has missed very few opportunities. I do think UIC still has a little trouble with its branding. For the past 30 years, the tendency of the campus has been to brand itself in a way that emphasizes its separateness [from the University of Illinois system]. I think embracing the University of Illinois in its own image would be helpful to UIC’s image nationally. We’re beyond the point now that UIC gets confused with Urbana-Champaign. But finding a way (without becoming too wordy) to think of ourselves, talk about ourselves as the University of Illinois at Chicago, in the same way that people talk about the University of California at Berkley or the University of California at San Diego, is something we need to pursue. It’s OK to use the initials UIC, but what will carry our Chicago campus in the long-term [will be] co-equal branding as the University of Illinois.
In case you wanted to read, here's the interview in its entirety: uiaa.org/uic/news/uicalumni/1209b.html
But here are the standout questions in my mind. I was hoping they could spark a little discussion here. I'm particularly curious about questions 3 and 4, and I don't really have any knowledge of this whole health sciences thing. 4th campus? What?
1) What was the reaction of key members of the Urbana campus community to the proposed UICC and UIMC merger?
IKENBERRY: Members of the Urbana-Champaign campus were skeptical. They saw it as a potential threat to their campus, which reinforced my view that it was probably the right thing to do. UIUC Chancellor John Cribbet, JD ’47 UIUC, who was a wonderful person and a close personal friend and colleague, had reservations and spoke out, but not vehemently. He raised questions as to whether it was the appropriate thing to do. I think today, it would be difficult for people to imagine UIC any other way...
------------------------------------
Obviously this is no surprise...UIUC has been trying to hold down UIC since the beginning....with complaints about the merger, complaints about Dean Fish, complaints about a proposed law school that would dilute Urbana. There were multiple answers by Ikenberry discussing the reservations of the UIUC campus towards the merger. From a question below, UIUC may have gotten the last laugh one again by pushing to split our campus apart and potentially weakening UIC as a whole.
------------------------------------
2) How do you feel about UIC being disinvited from the CIC (Committee on Institutional Cooperation)?
IKENBERRY: It was unfortunate, shouldn’t have happened, but is a blip, a small blip, on the radar screen. I don’t think it will have any consequential impact on UIC going forward. The move was not occasioned by any fault on UIC’s part, but simply a restructuring of the CIC that was occasioned by the introduction of the University of Nebraska into the Big 10 and consequently into CIC.
3) Do you think that the creation of the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences entity strengthens or undermines what you had envisioned for UIC?
IKENBERRY: I don’t think this new administrative realignment undermines in any way the unity of the Chicago presence. I think what it does do is recognize the importance and magnitude of the health sciences within the University overall. It also recognizes the need for there to be a very close line of communication between the hospital and the clinics and health sciences programs and the chancellor, the president and the Board of Trustees.
The health sciences operate in a very competitive, volatile market. The need for restructuring became evident during my [second] term as president as I talked with faculty leaders in medicine. I supported those discussions then and I support the realignment that’s taken place since.
-----------------------------------
Again, to me this seems like UIHHS came about to separate it more from UIC and generalize it to be related more towards the entire U of I system as a whole.
-----------------------------------
4) What would you say to some UIC alumni who fear that UIHHS will become a fourth campus in the U of I system?
IKENBERRY: I don’t think that’s an issue. If the hospital and the health sciences are not strong and vibrant at UIC, the whole campus will suffer. Everyone at UIC should strongly support it.
5) Do you think the U of I system is capable of having two flagship campuses? Or does UIC always have to play a secondary role?
IKENBERRY: UIC, along with Urbana-Champaign, is capable of being one of the great centers for learning in the United States. In order to do that, UIC needs a fresh attitude and demeanor. It needs more self-confidence. I think there’s a tendency for UIC to see itself in the second-sister role; but nobody in Urbana-Champaign sees it that way. They are more likely to see UIC as a peer—and sometimes, given its location—an advantaged peer.
When the President of the United States comes to the State of Illinois, he stops at UIC, not Urbana-Champaign. One element of growth that UIC needs to experience is an elevation in its own self-concept that leads to more self-confidence about its quality, its stature and its growth. I think those who have been in the trenches and involved in this struggle for the past 50 years probably don’t appreciate the progress they have made.
---------------------------------
And, this, my friends, is a big problem with UIC. Kudos to Ikenberry for bringing attention to it. I believe this attitude is rampant in the athletic dept. Coach Moore has even publicly exhibited this attitude, as have the likes of Dildy and JC when they were here. Stop it! I understand they're being realistic but if the talk reinforces our mid-major status, just don't talk about it...no more in-awe compliments for major teams, especially those in state. Walk around like we own the place.
---------------------------------
6) But how does UIC get past this poisonous self-doubt, which helped lead to the quick abandonment of the marketing tagline: “UIC World-Class Education. World-Class City”?
IKENBERRY: I think by challenging those who hang on to a negative outlook. Not every university can be “Triple A” in every area; in fact, part of the secret to greatness is understanding your strengths, where you may want to be “adequate” and where you want to be “world class.” What is necessary is for the University of Illinois at Chicago community to move with its head high, serving society with confidence, while at the same time always striving to be even better. What we should be gauging is our progress, not by anecdote, but by evidence. It’s time for UIC faculty to say, “We’re not complacent, but we are very comfortable in our own skin.”
7) How can we build this sense of confidence?
IKENBERRY: Well, I think one of the things that might be helpful is for the faculty to build an even stronger sense of academic community within the University of Illinois at Chicago. As an urban university, one of the big challenges is to learn to know each other and appreciate the quality of what’s going on. That occurs more easily on a residential campus where faculty members live and work side by side. For UIC, that’s not the case. So, UIC needs to invent other ways to bring people together and build collaborative relationships. Respect grows out of colleagueship and collaboration. Probably we’ll be back here another 30 years from now celebrating the campus’ 60th anniversary. Hopefully, by then, this will have gone away and be forgotten as an issue.
8) Some alumni describe UIC as a series of missed opportunities, particularly as it pertains to its branding and marketing. Do you feel UIC has faltered in this regard?
IKENBERRY: Truth to tell, UIC has missed very few opportunities. I do think UIC still has a little trouble with its branding. For the past 30 years, the tendency of the campus has been to brand itself in a way that emphasizes its separateness [from the University of Illinois system]. I think embracing the University of Illinois in its own image would be helpful to UIC’s image nationally. We’re beyond the point now that UIC gets confused with Urbana-Champaign. But finding a way (without becoming too wordy) to think of ourselves, talk about ourselves as the University of Illinois at Chicago, in the same way that people talk about the University of California at Berkley or the University of California at San Diego, is something we need to pursue. It’s OK to use the initials UIC, but what will carry our Chicago campus in the long-term [will be] co-equal branding as the University of Illinois.
