UPI President Sue Kaufman appointed
to Blagojevich's Higher Ed Committee

CHICAGO — UPI President Sue Kaufman has been appointed a vice chair of Gov.-Elect Rod Blagojevich’s Higher Education Committee.

The appointment came Dec. 3 as Blagojevich moved forward with his transition efforts, naming individuals to lead 16 issues-based advisory panels that will present options to him and help him craft a detailed agenda as he prepares to take office.

The Higher Education Committee is co-chaired by Rep. Judy Erwin, D-11th House Higher Education Committee, and James Walker, President of Southern Illinois University.

"Members of our committee have an enormous task to accomplish in a relatively quick period of time," Kaufman said. "Higher education in Illinois is being challenged in ways we could not even imagine just a few years ago. Meeting these challenges requires incredible focus and vision on the part of all concerned. It’s a privilege to be working with a group of such strong and committed leaders."

Vice-chairs include:
• Kaufman
• Carol L. Adams, director of Northeastern Illinois University Center on Inner City Studies
• Dale Chapman, president of Lewis and Clark Community College
• Richard Meister, executive vice president of academic affairs and a professor of history, De Paul University
• Steven Green, a student at University of Illinois-Springfield
• Sen.-Elect Iris Martinez
• Craig Bazzani, vice president for Foundation Advancement at the University of Illinois o Aurora Chamberlain, president of Chamberlain Consulting, Inc., and
• Sen. Kimberly A. Lightford, D-4th, Senate Education Committee.

Committee chairs and vice-chairs have been asked to build upon issues-based proposals that Blagojevich presented during his campaign for governor. Each committee will submit a report to the governor-elect prior to his inauguration in mid-January. The reports, according to the governor-elect’s press release, "will address the immediate challenges that the state faces in each area, and options suggesting how the governor-elect can enact many of the policy goals he outlined during the campaign. The committees will also open a long-term dialogue between the administration and the policy and advocacy community throughout the state."

The 16 issue-based areas in addition to higher education are committees on agriculture, civil rights, consumer affairs and regulatory policy, crime, public safety and anti-terrorism, economic development, education (K-12), environment, energy and natural resources, ethics, health, higher education, housing, labor, local government, social services, streamlining government, and transportation and infrastructure.

Since assuming the leadership of UPI Local 4100, Kaufman has been on leave from Eastern Illinois University where she is a professor of journalism. Prior to joining the faculty there in 1986 she was a professional journalist working in Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin. She was an elected school board member in Michigan, served on Vigo County (Ind.) Vocational-Technical Advisory Councils and served on the board of directors of Lake View College of Nursing in Danville.

Dec. 3, 2002