Provost's Staff

Richard Wheeler photo

Richard Wheeler
Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost

217 Swanlund Administration Building
601 E. John Street
Champaign, IL  61820
Phone: (217) 244-2409
Fax: (217) 244-5639
rpw@illinois.edu

Assistant:
Deb Kincaid, (217) 244-4545

 

Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost Richard Wheeler is the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s chief academic officer.  He oversees the campus’ academic programs, policies and priorities, which have been designed to ensure the quality of the educational experience for students and to sustain an environment that encourages and supports academic excellence. 

As the chief academic officer, Provost Wheeler works closely with the Chancellor, the other vice chancellors, the deans of academic colleges and other units, academic staff, the Faculty Senate, and various committees in setting overall academic priorities for the campus. 

Provost Wheeler has played a key role in the university’s strategic positioning and planning process.  He oversees implementation of academic initiatives designed to help the Urbana campus achieve its goal of preeminence among public research universities.

Wheeler served as dean of the Graduate College from 2000 to 2009.   As dean, he was chair of the executive committee of the Midwest Association of Graduate Schools, chair of the CIC Graduate Deans’ Group and chair of the Board of Directors of the Council of Graduate Schools.  He also served on several national panels on graduate education, including the National Research Council’s Committee on an Assessment of Research-Doctorate Programs, the CGS Government Relations Task Force, and Graduate Education 2020.

Before joining the Graduate College, Wheeler served as head of the Department of English and acting head of the Department of Anthropology.  He began his career in higher education as a faculty member in the Department of English at Illinois in 1969.  His research and teaching interests are in Shakespeare, Elizabethan drama, literary theory, and modern British literature.