Illinois is failing its regional universities

lindathelibrarian
Jun 1
1 min read

OP-ED: KIRK DILLARD May 27, 2026

As someone who has spent their career in both policy and higher education, and as a current trustee for Western Illinois University, I have sadly witnessed the erosion of state support for regional universities.

In fact, the western region of Illinois isn’t known as “Forgotonia” for no reason. Illinois has over time morphed into a public higher education system of inadequate, inequitable and unstable funding of our vital regional universities.

Ford County Chronicle

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