URBANA– A former University of Illinois president died in Boca Grande, Florida at the age of 90.
Stanley Ikenberry was named the youngest president in U of I history at 44 years old in 1979 and later returned to the presidency in an interim capacity, the university said in a news release.
He also held positions in the College of Education at Urbana-Champaign and the U of I System’s Institute of Government and Public Affairs. In 2008, the University of Illinois Board of Trustees honored Ikenberry’s contributions by designating the Urbana-Champaign campus’ new dining hall and residence halls complex the Stanley O. Ikenberry Commons.
“President Ikenberry was a trailblazer as a University of Illinois president and led through a period of robust growth and the development of so much of what that we know now as the modern U of I System,” current U of I System President Tim Killeen said in a statement.
“He was also a man of unquestioned character and deep loyalty, both of which he demonstrated when he returned as interim president, and a patient and wise mentor to me when I joined the system.”
Federal funds for research nearly quadrupled during Ikenberry’s term in office, along with private gifts, grants and contracts, according to the university. He also led U of I’s first major capital campaign and a second campaign that raised more than $1.35 billion.
Ikenberry also established the President’s Award Program for high-achieving, underrepresented students admitted to the university, which improved diversity on U of I campuses.
Born in Lamar, Colorado, he earned an undergraduate degree from Shepherd College in West Virgina, where his father was president.
Ikenberry received master’s and doctoral degrees from Michigan State University. He was dean of the College of Human Resources and Education at West Virginia University before serving as senior vice president at Pennsylvania State University and a professor in the Pennsylvania State Center for the Study of Higher Education.
A memorial service will be held on April 26 at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Boca Grande and will also be accessible online.