Stanley Ikenberry previously served as the University’s 14th president for 16 years before resigning in August 1995.

Ikenberry was one of the longest-serving presidents in the University’s history.

Ikenberry helped form the University of Illinois at Chicago by combining the University’s Medical Center and Chicago Circle campuses in 1982 to create the largest research university in the Chicago area.

At the Urbana-Champaign campus, Ikenberry created the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications. He launched two capital campaigns for the University, including the school’s first major campaign initiative. In the late 1980s, his second campaign raised over $1 billion.

In 1996, Ikenberry became president of the American Council on Education, which is composed of leaders from colleges and universities across the country. The members discuss public policy and other issues associated with higher education.

In 2001, he returned to the University and still teaches courses on higher education policy. He serves as an advisor to doctoral candidates and holds a position as a senior fellow in the Institute of Government and Public Affairs. He is also a co-director of the Forum on the Future of Public Education.

Ikenberry received his bachelor’s degree from Shepherd College in Shepherdstown, W.Va. in 1956. He received his master’s degree in 1957 and doctorate in 1960 from Michigan State University.

The former president began his academic career in 1960, working as an assistant professor in instructional research at Michigan State. He presided as dean of the College of Human Resources and Education at West Virgina University before becoming senior vice president at Penn State University, where he remained until taking the position as University of Illinois president.