University Scholars Program

Faculty excellence is the cornerstone of any university of high quality. There is no more important task at the University of Illinois than attracting and retaining the very best teachers and scholars. The University Scholars Program recognizes outstanding members of the faculty and provides each with a funding allocation to enhance their scholarly activities.

University Scholars awards are not made for a specific project or proposal; rather, they represent recognition of the recipient’s excellence and the University’s commitment to foster outstanding people and their work. Therefore, the awards are made through nominations, not by application.

As of 2013, each award consists of an allocation of $15,000 per year for a period of three years. Recipients may use the funds at their discretion to enhance their scholarly work through travel, equipment, research assistants, scholarly materials or other uses that support their university-related teaching or research. University Scholars funds cannot be used toward the recipients’ base salary but can be used to support a summer salary of up to two-ninths of base salary.

Eligibility to the University Scholar Program is limited to members of the University of Illinois faculty, as defined in the University Statutes, i.e., members of the academic staff who are tenured or receiving credit toward tenure.

Each university will determine its selection criteria and process. Prior to the end of the academic year, they will submit the selection results to the President. Formal announcements of new University Scholars will generally be timed to coincide with the beginning of the academic year following selection.

University Scholars from 1985 to current year

2026 University Scholars

Springfield

Noah Reynolds
Associate Professor of Biology (Microbiology), College of Health, Science, and Technology

Chicago

Yang Dai
Professor of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering

Alexandra Filindra
Professor of Political Science, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Lin Li
Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering

Jane Jie Lin
Professor of Civil, Materials, and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering

Neal P. Mankad
Professor of Chemistry, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Kuei Y. Tseng
Professor of Anatomy & Cell Biology and Neuroscience, College of Medicine

Urbana-Champaign

Sara Gerke
Associate Professor of Law, College of Law

Jingrui He
Professor of Information Sciences, School of Information Sciences

Marc Hertzman
Professor of History, Department of History, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Vesna Stojanoska
Professor of Mathematics, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Wendy H. Yang
Professor of Plant Biology, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

updated October 2026