University Of Illinois, Indiana University Announce Plans To Hire Hundreds Of New Faculty

During a time when college enrollments continue to erode, and pandemic-related concerns still linger on many campuses, the last thing you might expect universities to do is embark upon ambitious plans to hire hundreds of new tenure-track faculty. And yet, that is exactly what two flagship research universities have announced this month.

The University of Illinois and Indiana University have both revealed preliminary plans to invest tens of millions of dollars over several years to support new hiring initiatives. Both institutions have bucked the national enrollment slide and are experiencing substantial growth in their student numbers, making it necessary to add teaching faculty in order to maintain desirable student:faculty ratios.

They are also attempting to grow selected areas of research expertise - the so-called “cluster strategy” - in areas that they have identified as priorities through strategic planning.

And another contributing factor is an attempt by the institutions to position themselves to take advantage of anticipated increases in federal support for university research and development authorized by recent legislation such as the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.

Here’s a quick summary of both hiring initiatives.

University of Illinois

In a September 8, 2022 blog announcement to the campus, University of Illinois Chancellor Robert J. Jones unveiled the The Next 150 Strategic Plan, which aims to grow the number of faculty working on strategic priorities.

The university is planning to allocate $50 million for the hiring initiative, which will continue for several years or until the $50 million is spent. The plan is expected to grow the number of faculty members by 150 to 200, an increase of about 10%.

"Growing the faculty is a top priority," Jones said. "Our plans to do so were put on hold while we managed the effects of the pandemic. It is now time to reinvigorate our commitment to increasing the number of excellent tenure-stream faculty on campus."

Academic colleges will have opportunities to ask the administration for non-recurring support to make new hires in strategic areas that advance the university’s mission. Jones said he expects to “pursue faculty who enhance research and innovation, accelerate the discovery of solutions to complex global challenges, drive excellence in teaching, contribute to a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community and foster collaborations between the University and the Discovery Partners Institute, the Illinois Innovation Network and other external partners.”

Indiana University

Also this month, Indiana University (IU) President Pamela Whitten announced plans to recruit 100 new tenure-track faculty to IU, Bloomington.

IU saw record enrollment this fall on the Bloomington campus, and it has achieved nearly 12% enrollment growth since 2012. "Now is the time to invest directly in the very heart and future of our great university — in faculty who are essential to student success, to cutting-edge research, and to our university's ability to contribute to the success of our communities and our state," Whitten said.

IU Bloomington Provost Rahul Shrivastav will oversee the initiative by engaging with the campus community to identify areas of instructional need and emerging research opportunities.

Others Expanding Their Faculty

Illinois and Indiana are just the latest among several research universities that have pledged multi-million-dollar investments to boost the ranks of their tenure-eligible faculty. Here are five other recent examples:

• The University of California, Santa Cruz indicated in February that it would add an additional 100 faculty over the next decade.
• The University of Missouri, Columbia launched MizzouForward last November, with the goal of adding 150 faculty over the next five to ten years.
• Purdue University is seeking to hire 40 new faculty as part of a $75 million diversity initiative.
• Yale University is adding 45 new full-time faculty in its School of Engineering & Applied Science (30 positions) and in Faculty of Arts and Sciences (15 positions)
• Northeastern University has plans to recruit 500 new full-time faculty, most of whom will be tenure eligible, over five years.

Whether these various faculty growth plans will fully achieve their bullish numbers remains to be seen, but they are a show of optimism during higher education’s “Great Resignation” doldrums. And - more importantly - they represent intended investments in the intellectual core of the university where the greatest educational and social impacts are achieved. Bravo.