Timothy L. Killeen is the 20th president of the University of Illinois, bringing more than three decades of experience as an educator, researcher, and administrator in public higher education and in leadership positions with national scientific research agencies.
Enrollment under his leadership has grown to a record 83,000-plus students across the System and adding to nearly $1 billion in annual research funding. Killeen also spearheaded several economic development efforts including the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) an interdisciplinary public-private research institute located in Chicago as the foundation for new partnerships and approaches that catalyze economic growth and explore solutions for societal problems. World-class faculty, students, and companies will work side-by-side at the DPI to develop solutions, promote entrepreneurship, and empower inventors of the future.
Before joining the U of I System, Killeen served as vice chancellor for research and president of the Research Foundation at the State University of New York (SUNY). Earlier, he served as assistant director for the geosciences at the National Science Foundation, as the Lyall Research Professor at the University of Colorado, as director and senior scientist for the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and was a faculty member and researcher at the University of Michigan, where he also served as associate vice president for research.
A leading researcher in geophysics and space science, Killeen earned his Ph.D. in atomic and molecular physics from University College London at 23 years old. He’s authored more than 150 publications in peer-reviewed journals, plus 300 other publications and papers.
