Repository: UIHistories Project: Board of Trustees Minutes - 1994 [PAGE 346]

EXTRACTED TEXT FROM PAGE:

334

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

[July 13

to thank our president, Stan Ikenberry, for helping to build a better world for many graduates and others through 16 years of wonderful stewardship of our University. You know, if you look in the nooks and crannies of this institution you get to find bits and pieces of history. One of those little nooks and crannies is a small plaque just south of Altgeld Hall. It commemorates John Milton Gregory, the first president of the University of Illinois. This plaque is small but it has a very interesting and bold inscription on it. It reads, 'If you seek his monument, look around you.' I suppose about once or twice a century, a University president comes along who can live up to those words. If you would like to know what President Ikenberry has meant to the University I urge you to take a look around you. If you will you can join me on a small imaginary tour. We'll start walking and go from south to north and we can see what Dr. Ikenberry has built. We could start at the new veterinary sciences buildings. We could walk past the new agricultural laboratories named after Edward Madigan, the former secretary of agriculture. We could head towards the Quad and see the newly remodeled and refurbished Foellinger Auditorium. We could take a right and go look at the new chemistry and life sciences annexes. We could then stop and maybe perhaps have a cup of coffee and visit the University of Illinois Foundation at their new home in Harker Hall. Then, we could go across the street and visit my old stomping grounds — the greatest engineering campus in the world. We could visit the new Digital Computer Laboratory, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, stop in and check out the study carrels at the new Grainger Engineering Library, look out across the Engineering Quad that did not exist before he got here, towards Beckman Institute. It's a short tour but a magnificent monument. The mark of great leadership is to provide the environment in which others can succeed and flourish. President Ikenberry has provided the academic infrastructure necessary for the success of both the faculty and ultimately all the students who study here. Our hats are off to you, sir." Finally, Mr. Lamont asked leave to add some comments, saying: "I'm sure you haven't heard enough yet, Stan. I've been very fortunate in my professional career to have known and worked with and at least observed many public figures and some very extraordinary achievements and I recognized all of these people possessed certain characteristics. They may have had the skills and abilities, both cerebral or managerial, that led them to new heights. They may have had the strength of personality, a type of charisma and engaging personality that carried them far beyond those who did not. And then, there are always those who by their sheer energy and perseverance and willpower simply wore down the opposition. Rarely, have I observed those characteristics in a single individual. But those of us who know Stan Ikenberry know he possesses all of those characteristics. You're tremendously impressed by his knowledge and skills, his abilities in the political arena and in the