PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 21, No. 2, July 19, 2001

Board approves two vice presidents

During its meeting July 12 in Urbana, the UI Board of Trustees approved the permanent appointment of Chester S. "Chet" Gardner as vice president for academic affairs, a post he has held on an acting basis for more than a year and a half. The board also named Gardner’s replacement. David L. Chicoine, dean of the UI’s College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, was named university vice president for economic development and corporate relations.

Chicoine, 54, has been dean of the College of ACES at the Urbana Champaign campus since 1996. A member of the agricultural economics faculty, Chicoine also is a member of the universitywide Institute of Government and Public Affairs. His appointment is effective immediately.

In his new position, Chicoine will be the university’s senior officer on economic development issues and initiatives and lead adviser to the president on these matters and with state and federal agencies. He also will have direct authority over the university’s offices and entities involved in technology commercialization, such as campus offices that manage technology transfer and intellectual property, and incubator facilities. He will be responsible for university policies in such areas as intellectual property, equity sharing and conflicts of interest and commitment.

The vice president for economic development and corporate relations serves as a university officer and is a member of the University Policy Council, composed of senior officers who have universitywide duties and others representing all three campuses of the university.

Gardner, 54, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Urbana-Champaign, is a veteran administrator who has served as vice chancellor for research, dean of the Graduate College and acting dean of the College of Engineering, all at the Urbana Champaign campus.
He has served as vice president for academic affairs since fall 1999, when the incumbent, Sylvia Manning, moved to the Chicago campus where she ultimately became UIC’s chancellor.

The vice president for academic affairs, working closely with campus leaders, is responsible for overall coordination of academic planning for the three campuses: Chicago, Springfield and Urbana Champaign, He has key responsibilities for overseeing programs designed to ensure the participation and success of underrepresented students, faculty and staff. He oversees UI Online, the university’s expansive program of electronic distance education, and UI Integrate, a five year effort to completely redesign administrative and student computing universitywide.

As vice president for academic affairs, Gardner’s chief task is as adviser to the president on matters of educational policy, academic programs, academic personnel actions and capital and operating budget development. He also has oversight on the Institute of Government and Public Affairs and the UI Press. His office also represents the interests of the university to the Illinois Board of Higher Education on matters of academic programs and priorities.