Welcome to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Welcome to your university.

On behalf of all of us – the faculty, staff and returning students – thank you for choosing Illinois for your college experience. Every one of you had many great choices of many great schools. We’re excited that you picked this one. And I sincerely hope that in your time here you explore every corner of this campus and that you take advantage of every opportunity we offer – in and out of the classroom.

I know looking around today how hard it is to believe that this is a place that began with a single building and 77 students back in 1867. Today, as we are nearing the 150 year anniversary of our founding, we are home to more than 44,000 students who come to us from more than 100 countries. This is literally and figuratively, a global crossroads of cultures, languages and ideas. From art to science and from faith to food, every day here offers the chance of finding something you never expected.

That is really the tradition here at Illinois – making discoveries and advances that others never even considered or that were believed to be impossible. You don’t change the world by standing still. You don’t solve difficult problems without asking tough questions.

You are joining a university family that counts Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, Oscar and Grammy recipients, Olympian and Paralympian champions. And just like you begin to do this fall, they added their voices and their stories to the Illinois legacy.

Welcome to campus!

Phyllis M. Wise,

Chancellor for the Urbana campus