Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago

History

The Great Cities Institute was created in 1995 to be the vehicle for supporting and directing the University’s Great Cities Commitment. In 1993 the University resolved to direct teaching, research, and partnership resources toward improving the quality of life in Chicago and toward understanding how to improve the quality of life in all the great cities of the world. The University created Great Cities Institute two years later, dedicating significant resources toward implementing the commitment. With the creation of the Institute came funding for programs that encourage and support engaged research, staff to support and promote the research conducted at the institute, and dedicated space for researchers to conduct their work and share their findings. GCI was to be a university-wide resource, but found a natural fit in the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs (CUPPA) as its administrative home, where it could easily partner with the Center for Urban Economic Development (CUED), and later the Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement.

GCI was the brainchild of urban planning professor Wim Wiewel, the first Director of the Institute. Under Wiewel’s leadership, the Institute grew in size and presence on campus. The Faculty Scholar and Faculty Seed Fund programs were created to give UIC researchers time and funding to support their engaged research. Also, the UIC Neighborhoods Initiative became the flagship program of GCI, fostering partnerships with Chicago community based organizations and public agencies. Faculty Fellows were brought in to GCI to develop research programs with cutting edge agendas and were able to generate a significant amount of external funding for their research. GCI was also able to hire graduate students from many disciplines to support the work of the fellows.

Today the Director of the Institute is David Perry, who is also the University’s Associate Vice Chancellor for the Great Cities Commitment, working to further embed the commitment in all facets of the University's activity. Under Perry's leadership, the Institute has come to be nationally recognized in the academic community as a model for institutionalizing support for engaged research. Each year, the Institute hosts events and speakers from around the world. Its wide range of programs has led it to support engaged research in nearly every college in the university, and to partner with over 150 local and national organizations in meaningful and mutually beneficial ways.