University News

WIU Interim President Martin Abraham: Thank You

November 11, 2020

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Dear University Community,

On Monday, November 9, I was informed by the search consultants supporting the presidential search that the Board had selected one of the other finalists to be the 12th president of Western Illinois University.

I want to take this opportunity to thank all of those who have been engaged with me during my 16 months as acting and interim president. I did not come to Western seeking this role. When I took this position, I knew that the selection of the next president was ultimately the Board's decision. I have tried to be responsive to the needs of the faculty, staff, students and alumni in providing the best service to the University that I could, and representing your interests to the Board.

In August 2019, I stated my agenda, and can honestly look at what we accomplished against that agenda with great pride and satisfaction. We achieved the first increases in new freshmen enrollment and new overall enrollment in a decade. We achieved the highest one-year retention in roughly 15 years. We finished Fiscal Year 2020 with a surplus of over $2 million. We made progress on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We established a strategic position statement to support growth of our Quad Cities campus. And, we accomplished all of this in the midst of a global pandemic that fundamentally altered the nature of our university.

I did not achieve this on my own, rather I have been fortunate to have a great team of faculty, staff, and administrators who helped guide our work. I want to thank all of the faculty and staff who have contributed to our success over the past 16 months. And while I know how important all of the contributions have been, I especially want to thank those on my executive leadership team for all of the time they have spent with me sorting through the many challenges we faced on a daily basis. I would also like to extend my appreciation to my staff in the President's Office, Jackie and Ruth, who have made it a pleasure to come to the office each day.

Best wishes for a successful future.

Martin Abraham
Interim President


Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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