Campaign Funding Priorities
The University of Illinois has never been bound by its geography. International Programs and Studies is in an excellent position to leverage private support to continue expanding horizons.
Support directed to IPS moves throughout campus, further globalizing classrooms, teaching, and research. In this way, private gifts help create the innovative, transformational learning environment that produces tomorrow’s globally competent leaders.
Take study abroad. In addition to the traditional year or semester abroad, there’s potential to make study abroad an integral part of many on-campus courses. What if journalism students interested in being foreign correspondents could travel abroad to conduct real-world interviews for stories they researched as part of an on-campus course? They have—and outside support was integral.
What if faculty members could make undergraduates their junior research partners in projects requiring field research abroad— in an Australian coral reef or a Dutch museum archive? Flexible private funding could make it happen.
With vision and robust funding, brilliant things happen: great library collections and endowed professorships attract dynamic faculty. Outstanding faculty and financial support attract exceptional students at all levels. Exceptional students challenge professors to innovate in their research and teaching. Innovative teaching and research are fostered by great library collections. The circle is complete.
Completing the circle capitalizes on the unique genius of the research university —and Brilliant Futures can make that a reality. Support today for any one of the individual IPS campaign funding priorities listed below helps ensure a brilliant tomorrow for this great, global university.
Study Abroad Scholarships ($4.0 M)
Meeting the Chancellor’s strategic goal of doubling study abroad participation by 2012 means increasing the scholarship funds available to all students. In addition to general support, creating new opportunities to study abroad by seeding innovative short-term programming is critical—especially to serve students from underrepresented groups.
Library Collections Focusing on Area Studies ($.7 M)
Maintaining national leadership in international research requires enhancing area studies collections for regions from Latin America to Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Private support, in turn, helps leverage crucial U.S. Department of Education grant monies.
Two Endowed Visiting Professorships for Foreign Language, International, and Area Studies ($4.0 M)
Promoting the state’s international economic competitiveness, contributing to national security, and ensuring preeminence among world-renowned research universities demands that Illinois support research and teaching in critical foreign languages and world regions. Visiting professorships allow the university the flexibility and opportunity to respond to changing global conditions and campus needs as they arise.
Enriching and Internationalizing Existing International Courses
($1.0 M)
In the classroom, the university’s response to rapidly changing world issues can be enhanced through non-departmental funding that allows faculty to reconfigure knowledge sets using an international focus and to seed new courses in disciplines across campus.
Fellowships for International Students ($2.0 M)
To excel in incisive research that attracts diverse funding, great research universities must compete to attract the most gifted graduate students, whatever their circumstances. Increased fellowship support leverages this outside funding and is critical in competing for world-class talent.
Illinois International High School Initiative ($ .3 M)
The ability of the state to compete in the global economy will, to a large extent, depend upon a globally educated population. Support for the Illinois International High School Initiative ensures the direct and continued connection between the knowledge and resources generated by the university and the state’s talented high school students.