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FEATURE STORY — January/February 2005

Dean of Michigan's business school to succeed Stukel as UI president

By Amy F. Reiter

B. Joseph White speaks in the Illini Union at the Nov. 2 announcement of his presidency.

Election Day 2004 beamed brightly for a new president: the 16th leader of the University of Illinois.

At press conferences in Chicago and Urbana on Nov. 2 and in Springfield Nov. 3, B. Joseph White, 57, was named the next president of the University of Illinois. He succeeds James J. Stukel, MS '63 ENG, PHD '68 ENG, who retires in February after 10 years as the University's president. (For more on Stukel's tenure, see page 14.)

The chairman of the UI Board of Trustees, Lawrence C. Eppley '82 BUS, MAS '82 BUS, JD '85 LAW, introduced White by paraphrasing a document written to encapsulate what the University needs from a new president.

"The next president of the University of Illinois will have a profound impact on the future of the University as well as on the world of higher education," Eppley said. "The new president must provide strategic and operational leadership to a university with increasingly diverse constituencies and complex issues to face, a university with a foundation of excellence and one that reaches every corner of the state and does so from a national platform, with a global reach.

"Joe White fits the criteria, qualifications and expectations," Eppley said. "We're excited to have Joe White lead our University into the future."

White is a native of Detroit and grew up in Kalamazoo, Mich. He received a bachelor's degree in international economics from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and a master's in business administration from the Harvard Business School. Returning to his home state, he completed a doctorate in business administration from the University of Michigan, studies which began an association with that university that would last nearly three decades.

At Michigan, White served as graduate student, professor, dean and then interim president in 2002.

He also possesses a depth of experience in the business world, having served as a senior executive of a Fortune 100 company and on the boards of several other companies. White was culled from an initial candidate list of more than 100 nominations to the executive search firm of Baker-Parker and Associates Inc., which then narrowed the field to 12. Those candidates were interviewed by the 19-person consultative committee, led by Avijit Ghosh, dean of the UI College of Business, and comprised students, faculty and alumni, including UI Alumni Association Board of Directors Chairman Ed McMillan '69 ACES, before selecting five candidates for final interviews with the UI Board of Trustees.

"Dr. White, I think, brings a unique combination of skills and experience to this job," McMillan said, citing White's academic, business and personal knowledge of life at a large Midwestern public research university. "He has experience with and enjoys the challenge of getting to know the community that the University of Illinois serves.

"We're blessed to have someone of his caliber."

Ghosh echoed the sentiment. White "has a proven track record for achieving milestones. He has great experience at management," Ghosh told The (Champaign-Urbana) News-Gazette.

In White's acceptance speech, he explained his attraction to the University of Illinois. "For me, leadership is about service. And this is a University worth serving with all my heart and soul," he said. "Everything I love about higher education, the University of Illinois does on a large scale and with excellence.

"The University of Illinois is the university of the future because of our richness and our reach," White said. "I will do everything required to continue to build the performance, stature, reputation and resources of the University."

For UI Alumni Association President and CEO Loren R. Taylor, the news was met with eager anticipation. "The Alumni Association is truly excited to welcome Dr. White to the University of Illinois," Taylor said. "Joe's passion and expertise will provide excellent leadership for making our great University even greater. We look forward to working with him at the UI Alumni Association."

After the announcement, White planned to fulfill his fall semester teaching commitment at Michigan before he and his wife, Mary, move to the President's House in Urbana.

Victor Cortez Photo