University of Illinois attracts Chinese - JIM NOWLAN, My Web Times

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) is one of the world’s great graduate research centers. The 2013 world rankings compiled by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, one of China’s most prestigious, placed UIUC at 25th best in the world, ahead of elite U.S. institutions such as Duke, Northwestern and the Ivy League’s Brown. A huge challenge is money. The UIUC lacks a large, multi-billion dollar endowment like those at some major private institutions. The university entered the fundraising game late, relying instead on generous state funding. But the state has neglected UIUC in recent years. According to the university’s budget book, direct state support for overall university operations has declined from a little more than $1 billion in 2002 to $621 million in 2014, in 2014 dollars. State funding for operations makes up only 14 percent of the university’s overall, three-campus $4.5 billion budget (though the state does cover major pension payments). http://www.mywebtimes.com/opinion/columnists/state-affairs-university-of-illinois-attracts-chinese/article_a64a847e-0e98-52a4-aaa6-e12a17770cf2.html