Celebration of
Academic Service & Leadership Excellence
2025
Nationally and internationally recognized faculty representing 150+ years of academic excellence at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Congratulatory Remarks
Message from the Chancellor
Robert J. Jones
On behalf of all faculty, students, and staff of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, it is my honor to extend heartfelt congratulations on your well-deserved recognition. Your exceptional contributions in service and leadership have been instrumental in defining excellence at our world-renowned university. The outstanding leadership you provide enriches the intellectual vitality of our academic community and beyond. Thank you for fostering an environment within your units where students, faculty and staff can grow and thrive. Congratulations on your outstanding achievements and success. We are grateful you have chosen Illinois as your career home.
Message from the Provost
John Coleman
Congratulations to all of the 2025 honorees. Your unwavering dedication to service and leadership propels the mission of our university forward and ensures our university operates at the highest levels of excellence and impact through continuous improvement. You have distinguished yourselves through visionary leadership and through your commitment to equipping and including others in shaping that future. Your investment in your colleagues’ success is truly commendable. I am grateful for your dedication to this remarkable institution and for your many contributions that extend far beyond our campus.
Recognition of Awards
The Celebration of Academic Service and Leadership Excellence honors individuals with distinguished records in mentoring and exemplary leadership. As we celebrate academic service and leadership excellence at the University of Illinois, we owe our successes to faculty who distinguish themselves with their vision of the future and their effort to enable and promote others in shaping that future.
Excellence in Faculty Mentoring
This award recognizes faculty who has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to faculty mentoring by actively assisting pre-tenure and mid-career faculty in developing their career(s). Exceptional mentoring can include offering advice, feedback and guidance on research activities, coaching on work-life balance issues, providing professional opportunities for mentees, and/or assisting in development of teaching skills.
Jennifer Teper
Bud Velde Preservation Librarian
Professor and Head, Preservation Services, University Library
Executive Officer Distinguished Leadership
This award recognizes outstanding academic leadership and vision by an executive officer within a college or campus unit. Recipients are exemplars of effective leadership who have led diverse groups through strategic improvements within their unit or campus.
Rohit Bhargava
Grainger Distinguished Chair in Engineering, Professor, Bioengineering
Director, Cancer Center at Illinois
Andrew Suarez
Jeffrey S. Elowe Professor, Evolution, Ecology and Behavior
Acting Head and Professor, Entomology
Outstanding Faculty Leadership
This award recognizes a faculty member who has provided extraordinary leadership contributions across many dimensions of shared governance that advance the excellence of a unit, a college, and/or the campus, and who exemplifies the campus commitment to collaborative decision-making. This award is the highest accolade honoring a faculty member whose professional service has advanced progress toward the Illinois mission.
Vikram Adve
Donald B. Gillies Professor, Siebel School of Computing and Data Science