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Incoming UIS Chancellor faces challenges

Dr. Janet Gooch
Blake Wood - UIS Public Relations
Dr. Janet Gooch

It’s a difficult time at the University of Illinois Springfield. Enrollment and budgetary concerns remain as a change in leadership is about to occur.

Dr. Janet Gooch spent the early part of this week in meetings on campus and admits she’s still learning about UIS. She has been named the next chancellor for the school.

“This really an amazing place and everybody has welcomed me in the most amazing way. I’m quite grateful for the opportunity,” she said.

She will start July 1, pending University of Illinois Board of Trustees approval. Gooch comes from a similar-sized liberal arts school, Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. She’s been there 19 years, the last five spent as executive vice president for academic affairs and provost.

Truman State’s enrollment has fallen about 30 percent over the past five years. UIS is also see in the number of students go down from a high of 5,431 in 2014 to 3,944 last fall. That’s the lowest total since the school began accepting freshman and sophomores in 2001.

Gooch explains there are plenty of headwinds facing higher education.

“I think there is a certain population that is considering other opportunities, whether that’s going directly into the workforce or trade schools and community colleges. There are lots of opportunities for students now,” she said. “But I think at UIS we can help them see the value that a UIS education would bring to them.”

“I think we have to be very mindful of what our communities need. What programs are going to be opportunistic for students and try to meet them where they are.”

She points out strategic marketing is important, something UIS is already doing. She also believes colleges and universities must help students from underrepresented communities succeed once they enroll by having services and assistance available.

Gooch has some familiarity with Springfield. Her mother-in-law used to live in the area and, as an avid runner, she’s participated in local trail and triathlon events. She even compared the mindset of a runner to the job of chancellor.

“You have to have a lot of strong will and tell your mind you can do it,” Gooch said.

Gooch called Kirksville a “wonderful, small community.” But she said she is ready for a change.

“I’m ready to do something different, to bring my talents elsewhere and to push myself,” Gooch said. Her husband, Richard, is retiring from his Kirksville dental practice.

Gooch will replace Interim Chancellor Karen Whitney, who took over during the pandemic in 2020. The timing made it difficult for Whitney to fully solve some of the problems, including a structural budget deficit she recently estimated at $3.7-million.

Whitney is also trying to negotiate a new contract with faculty as she wraps up her time at UIS. The last one expired in August. Faculty went on strike briefly in 2017.

“When I joined UIS as interim chancellor in 2020, I stated a clear goal of completing these contract negotiations before the end of my service with the University this June. I continue to believe that we can reach a fair and fiscally responsible multiyear contract agreement without disruption to teaching and learning,” Whitney said in an email to the campus.

Getting that done would mean one less item on the new chancellor’s plate.

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