U of I promotes dean to provost

URBANA, Ill. — The University of Illinois has chosen the dean of its College of Engineering to take over as provost at the school’s flagship campus.

Urbana-Champaign campus Chancellor Phyllis Wise said Ilesanmi Adesida will step in as provost on Aug. 16. The provost is the top academic and budget official on campus.

The News-Gazette in Champaign reported that Adesida said he’s excited to go to work for Wise and help set the direction for the campus for decades to come.

Adesida is a native of Nigeria and is a graduate of the University of California-Berkeley. He came to the University of Illinois in 1987 as an electrical and computer engineering professor. He was appointed dean of the College of Engineering in 2006.

Adesida will be paid $430,000 a year.