James J. Stukel
Encyclopedia
James J. Stukel served as the 15th President of the University of Illinois
.
to Philip and Julia Stukel. James and his sole sibling, a sister 13 years older than he was, had a modest upbringing. His father, a pulp mill
worker, and his mother, a homemaker
, maintained a small, clapboard
house. While neither of his parents had more than an eighth grade
education, Mr. Stukel would say of them, "my father had a real gift for numbers. He could do things in his head that were remarkable, and my mother was extremely sharp until the day she died...they were...bright." His parents began to save for his college education soon after his birth.
Mr. Stukel's parents instilled in him a strong work ethic. He would later say, "they were pretty stern regarding my grades and homework...and I always worked." In third grade
, James joined the school band
. He would practice three to five hours each day on his saxophone
. Of his band experience, he said, "nothing was given; it was earned." He would credit his band experiences to force him to set goal
s. According to James, his "whole life...is based around competition
and goal setting
."
In junior high, James started a paper route
to earn income. In high school
, he entered into student politics
and was elected junior class president
. His opponent would later remark that James was a, "class act" and an, "outstanding student and quiet leader."
teacher, recognizing Stukel's potential in engineering
, drove James to visit Purdue University
. He would later joke, "the University of Illinois wasn't in his vocabulary, but he took over the decision making process." James enrolled at Purdue and joined the Phi Gamma Delta
fraternity
. To help pay for school, James played saxophone with his dance band
, The Spotlighters. The band played music from Woody Herman
, Stan Getz
, and other jazz
artists. During the summer, James would play at resorts.
It was at Purdue that James met his wife Joan Helpling, a majorette
with the Purdue marching band
. The two toured Europe as members of a variety band. They would marry during their senior
years. Stukel would later comment on his wife, "I [have] been...lucky in that I have a very supportive wife who...influenced the way I developed...in...positive ways." Stukel graduated with a Bachelor of Science
degree in Engineering from Purdue shortly after his marriage. The couple then moved to Virginia
.
He earned his M.S.
and Ph.D.
from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
.
. He rose to the level of Associate Dean before transferring to the University of Illinois at Chicago
. While there, he served in a variety of administrative capacities, assuming the roles of the Vice-Chancellor for Research, the Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and finally, Chancellor
of the campus.
After his four-year tenure as Chancellor, James Stukel was selected as President of the University of Illinois system by the UI Board of Trustees. He served in this capacity for approximately 10 years (1995–2005) and was succeeded by B. Joseph White
.
The newest residence hall at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the James Stukel Towers, was named after Stukel.
University of Illinois system
The University of Illinois is a system of public universities in Illinois consisting of three campuses: Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, and Springfield. Across its three campuses, the University of Illinois enrolls about 70,000 students. It had an operating budget of $4.17 billion in 2007.-System:The...
.
Early life
James Stukel was born on March 30, 1937 in Joliet, IllinoisJoliet, Illinois
Joliet is a city in Will and Kendall Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. As of the 2010 census, the city was the fourth-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 147,433. It continues to be Illinois' fastest growing...
to Philip and Julia Stukel. James and his sole sibling, a sister 13 years older than he was, had a modest upbringing. His father, a pulp mill
Pulp mill
A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fibre source into a thick fibre board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical or fully chemical methods...
worker, and his mother, a homemaker
Homemaker
Homemaking is a mainly American term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping or household management...
, maintained a small, clapboard
Clapboard (architecture)
Clapboard, also known as bevel siding or lap siding or weather-board , is a board used typically for exterior horizontal siding that has one edge thicker than the other and where the board above laps over the one below...
house. While neither of his parents had more than an eighth grade
Eighth grade
Eighth grade is a year of education in the United States, Canada, Australia and other nations. Students are usually 13 - 14 years old. The eighth grade is typically the final grade before high school, and the ninth grade of public and private education, following kindergarten and subsequent grades...
education, Mr. Stukel would say of them, "my father had a real gift for numbers. He could do things in his head that were remarkable, and my mother was extremely sharp until the day she died...they were...bright." His parents began to save for his college education soon after his birth.
Mr. Stukel's parents instilled in him a strong work ethic. He would later say, "they were pretty stern regarding my grades and homework...and I always worked." In third grade
Third grade
In the United States, third grade is a year of primary education. It is the third school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 8 – 9 years old, depending on when their birthday occurs....
, James joined the school band
School band
A school band is a group of student musicians who rehearse and perform instrumental music together. A concert band is usually under the direction of one or more conductors...
. He would practice three to five hours each day on his saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
. Of his band experience, he said, "nothing was given; it was earned." He would credit his band experiences to force him to set goal
Goal
A goal is an objective, or a projected computation of affairs, that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve.Goal, GOAL or G.O.A.L may also refer to:Sport...
s. According to James, his "whole life...is based around competition
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
and goal setting
Goal setting
Goal setting involves establishing specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-targeted goals. Work on the theory of goal-setting suggests that it's an effective tool for making progress by ensuring that participants in a group with a common goal are clearly aware of what is expected from...
."
In junior high, James started a paper route
Paperboy
A paperboy is the general name for a person employed by a newspaper, They are often used around the office to run low end errands. They make copies and distribute them. Paperboys traditionally were and are still often portrayed on television and movies as preteen boys, often on a bicycle...
to earn income. In high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
, he entered into student politics
Student council
Student council is a curricular or extra-curricular activity for students within elementary and secondary schools around the world. Present in most public and private K-12 school systems across the United States, Canada and Australia these bodies are alternatively entitled student council, student...
and was elected junior class president
Class President
A class president is usually the leader of a student body class, and presides over its class cabinet or organization within a student council, in a grade school class presidents are generally elected by the class, a constituency composed of all students in a grade level.The practice of electing a...
. His opponent would later remark that James was a, "class act" and an, "outstanding student and quiet leader."
College
A high school chemistryChemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
teacher, recognizing Stukel's potential in engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, drove James to visit Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
. He would later joke, "the University of Illinois wasn't in his vocabulary, but he took over the decision making process." James enrolled at Purdue and joined the Phi Gamma Delta
Phi Gamma Delta
The international fraternity of Phi Gamma Delta is a collegiate social fraternity with 120 chapters and 18 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848, and its headquarters are located in Lexington, Kentucky, USA...
fraternity
Fraternity
A fraternity is a brotherhood, though the term usually connotes a distinct or formal organization. An organization referred to as a fraternity may be a:*Secret society*Chivalric order*Benefit society*Friendly society*Social club*Trade union...
. To help pay for school, James played saxophone with his dance band
Dance band
Dance band can be one of several kinds of musical ensemble:* British dance band* Dansband, a Swedish pop genre* A Eurodance band...
, The Spotlighters. The band played music from Woody Herman
Woody Herman
Woodrow Charles Herman , known as Woody Herman, was an American jazz clarinetist, alto and soprano saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading various groups called "The Herd," Herman was one of the most popular of the 1930s and '40s bandleaders...
, Stan Getz
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
, and other jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
artists. During the summer, James would play at resorts.
It was at Purdue that James met his wife Joan Helpling, a majorette
Majorette (dancer)
A majorette is a person doing choreographed dance or movement, primarily baton twirling associated with marching bands during parades. It derives from girls', in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, involvement in drill and gymnastic teams or groups that used apparatuses similar to those found...
with the Purdue marching band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
. The two toured Europe as members of a variety band. They would marry during their senior
Old age
Old age consists of ages nearing or surpassing the average life span of human beings, and thus the end of the human life cycle...
years. Stukel would later comment on his wife, "I [have] been...lucky in that I have a very supportive wife who...influenced the way I developed...in...positive ways." Stukel graduated with a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in Engineering from Purdue shortly after his marriage. The couple then moved to Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
.
He earned his M.S.
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
and Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
.
Career
After the completion of his Ph.D., President Stukel joined the faculty of the Engineering CollegeUIUC College of Engineering
The College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign was first established in 1868, and is considered one of the original units of the school. The presence of a steam engine on the University's seal is a good clue as to the importance of the engineering program to the...
. He rose to the level of Associate Dean before transferring to the University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-funded public research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, near the Chicago Loop...
. While there, he served in a variety of administrative capacities, assuming the roles of the Vice-Chancellor for Research, the Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and finally, Chancellor
Chancellor (education)
A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
of the campus.
After his four-year tenure as Chancellor, James Stukel was selected as President of the University of Illinois system by the UI Board of Trustees. He served in this capacity for approximately 10 years (1995–2005) and was succeeded by B. Joseph White
B. Joseph White
Bernard Joseph White is President Emeritus of the University of Illinois and James F. Towey Professor of Business and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is Dean Emeritus of the Stephen M...
.
The newest residence hall at the University of Illinois at Chicago, the James Stukel Towers, was named after Stukel.