Introduction to Stanley O. Ikenberry
He elevated the stature of the University of Illinois in big and brave ways, but former school president Stanley O. Ikenberry’s favorite story to tell of his 16 years at the school’s helm was about an unexpected house party. Mr. Ikenberry, who was just 44 when he accepted the university’s top job in 1979, was playing basketball with his sons on the hoop attached to the garage of the stately president’s home on the Urbana campus when a group of four young men approached him with a question.
The House Party
They were students, and they wanted to take over the president’s house for a single night to entertain dates. Mr. Ikenberry didn’t dismiss the idea outright, but instead said they’d need to run the idea past his wife, Judy.
The Ikenberrys — David, Stanley, John, Steven and Judy — stroll through the yard of their new home, the President’s House at the University of Illinois.
“So they came in, and I said ‘no alcohol,’ ” Judy says. “And they said ‘of course,’ and they produced a menu of nonalcoholic drinks, and I was impressed. And they said their mothers would help with the cooking. And Stan and I agreed that they could do that.”
Mr. Ikenberry’s Leadership
Mr. Ikenberry died April 1 at his home in Boca Grande, Florida. He was 90. He had a colorful personality, a quick wit and could be as adroit and persuasive chatting in academic circles as he was with politicians whom the state’s flagship university depended on for funding.
Judy and Stanley Ikenberry
High on Mr. Ikenberry’s list of priorities when he came to the university in 1979 was to raise the pay for faculty to make the school more competitive in luring top talent.
Legacy and Achievements
In 1982, he consolidated the school’s two Chicago campuses — Chicago Circle and the Medical Center — into what’s now known as University of Illinois Chicago to enhance the image and improve the quality of the university’s presence in Chicago.
University of Illinois President Stanley Ikenberry, and his wife, Judy, attend their first news conference after he became president.
In 1991, Mr. Ikenberry risked his job to stand up for the successes that were being racked up in Chicago — and his beliefs.
Later Life and Career
He returned to the helm of the University of Illinois for several months in 2010 to
