to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

It's a place where excellence, innovation, and tradition have combined to produce a unique institution.

The idea of a national system of land-grant universities, universities endowed by grants of public land and dedicated to serving the public, was first proposed to the U.S. Congress in 1853 by the Illinois Legislature. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was established in 1867 to realize that ideal by providing a level of excellence in education and research fully equal to that of the best private schools. We have been recognized as one of the nation's leading universities since 1908 when we were invited to become one of the first members of the Association of American Universities, the select group of institutions acknowledged as the very best.

Today, this university has many faces: a superb undergraduate institution for exceptionally talented students; a research powerhouse that produces breathtaking discoveries and advances in knowledge; one of the world's leading training grounds for the next generation of scientists, professors, and policy makers; and, a force shaping the possibilities of the future across the domains of human endeavor.

These missions are unified by an uncompromising commitment to excellence, high expectations, and magnificent achievements. In 2003, we made headlines around the world by becoming only the eleventh institution worldwide ever to have Nobel Prizes in two different fields awarded to members of its faculty in the same year. Also in 2003, the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences honored a third faculty member with the Crafoord Prize, the Nobel-equivalent in biology. And, a fourth faculty member received the National Medal of Technology for "advancing the nation's global competitiveness" and the world's most important award for invention, the Lemelson-MIT Prize.

Nearly 40,000 students and 2,000 faculty members from more than 100 nations come here to work and study in 150 programs offered by 16 colleges and schools and 80 research centers. They are supported by matchless resources including the largest library of any public university in the world.

Here, shared interests lead students and faculty to form small communities within the expanse of one of the world's great universities. Out of these communities have come more CEOs of Fortune 500 companies than have come from any other university, winners of Nobel and Pulitzer Prizes, national leaders and policy makers, and generations of students prepared for success as professionals and citizens.

We who work and study here strive to keep faith with our predecessors by constantly reaching for higher horizons of excellence, achievement, and service. There is a nobility of purpose in this institution, a rich legacy that inspires us, and a determination to improve the lives and expand the possibilities of all who are touched by our efforts. I am deeply honored to be part of this undertaking.

I invite you to get to know more about us, by exploring the wealth of information on this website and by planning a visit to see for yourself. The campus known around the world simply as " Illinois " is quite a place.

Richard Herman
Chancellor

Dr. Herman's biography