Welcome to the University of Illinois, Timothy Killeen. 

It’s a nice place to call home, but we’re going through some difficulty right now. Our Board of Trustees decided you’re the man to help guide us into the future, and we trust their decision.

In your announcement, you said you want to dedicate your presidency to the students. So, here we are, and we have a few requests.

Chancellor Wise has made diversity one of her top priorities, and you should make it one of yours, too. When we say diversity, we mean it in all senses of the word.

Socioeconomic diversity

One of our concerns as students is tuition. As president, we hope you will be able to make it less expensive for students to go here, especially in-state students. The University of Illinois is supposed to represent the entire state, not just the well-off who can afford to attend the University, and not just the downtrodden who qualify for need-based financial aid to help pay for their schooling. The University seems to forget about the middle level: the working class, who want to go here but can’t afford it without a little help. Chancellor Wise compared this phenomenon of forgetting the middle class to a donut hole, where they are reminiscent of the forgotten center when it comes to financial need. And it doesn’t help anyone when students have to acquire mounds of debt to get an education. 

Academic diversity

We admire your background in research and the sciences. We realize that much of the University’s resources must be placed there, especially to maintain our high standing in areas such as engineering. But we also don’t want the rest of the University’s programs to be forgotten. We have plenty of top-50 programs in the arts and social sciences. For our campus to remain academically diverse and a top-notch institution, we must concentrate on upkeeping those parts of the school, too, so that we can attract a range of successful, qualified students into a range of different areas of study.

Racial and ethnic diversity

We need socioeconomic diversity, we need academic diversity, we need racial and ethnic diversity — we need it all. A greater number of international students are attending the University, which is something we commend, but fewer African-American students and Native American students are coming here — something we take issue with. During your efforts, please help make everyone feel welcome here. This includes not only students from different countries, but even local students who come from different backgrounds.

Diversity of ideas

We’ve struggled with this one a little bit recently, but this should be as high of a priority as any. We need to make sure faculty know they are able to speak out, no matter what their ideas are. Whether they support Israel or Palestine, whether they’re Democrat or Republican, whatever their ideals, whatever their backgrounds, we need to make sure this is a campus where people are encouraged to speak openly and freely. We need to make sure everyone feels welcomed, and no one feels silenced.

We heard you had to clean up a mess at State University of New York. That’s something you and President Easter can bond over when you’re learning the ropes over the next seven months. Easter has righted the ship, but there are still some rough waves ahead. 

We’ll be rooting you on, telling you when you’ve done something right and telling you when you’ve messed up. Good luck. Our future is in your hands.