Higher education institutions also serve as the cultural and social anchor of their communities, often offering access to theater, art, music, lectures, and sports. Institutional clinics and medical facilities lead world-renowned research and care, serving those close to home and those from far away. Faculty across our colleges and universities engage in teaching, scholarship, and research that create new knowledge, pushes the bounds of innovation and artistry and advances technologies.
Our universities are leaders in fundamental, basic, and applied research, whether it is in areas as diverse as high energy physics that involves collaboration among public universities and national laboratories, the impact of severe weather on agriculture, or best practices for trauma-informed teaching. The societal benefits of the research enterprise are now being recognized in the worldwide effort to combat COVID-19. Universities contributed through epidemiological modeling, development of the rapid saliva test, invention of emergency ventilators, new treatments, and the development of vaccines, as well as providing health care through hospitals and clinics.
Our community colleges prepare students for careers in every industry in the state, lead the country in preparing students for transfer into four-year institutions, and connect directly with Illinois’ K-12 system to promote the seamless transition into higher education. Community colleges are intimately connected to their local employers, reaching 9,500 employers across the state and providing career instruction in over 4,000 programs that position students to earn a living wage, to advance in their careers and to meet the local workforce needs of their communities.
Higher education institutions have shown that they have the power to take on the world’s problems, offer paths towards transformative change, and create better futures for individuals, families, and communities that make Illinois thrive.
A thriving Illinois has an inclusive economy and broad prosperity with equitable paths to opportunity for all, especially those facing the greatest barriers.
To sustain a thriving state, we must create a more equitable reality. For too long, African American, Latinx, low-income students, rural students, and working adults have been left behind. Together, we must change that.
Illinois has the diverse human capital base to drive economic growth and a higher education system to ensure the diverse workforce has the tools necessary to lead our growing economy. Educational equity and economic growth are inseparable.
Now is the time to realize this vision of a thriving collective future for individuals, families, and communities across Illinois through educational paths to drive toward Equity, Sustainability, and Growth.
