The annual report you are about to read tells of significant accomplishments by our faculty and students in a year of great challenges for our campus and our nation. The economic downturn affected virtually every aspect of campus life during fiscal year 2002. But this did not stop the powerful momentum built by UIC, as the following highlights attest. Chicago's only public research university remains a rising academic powerhouse, committed to giving the best education possible to the young people of this city and state.

Outstanding student and faculty achievements mark UIC's past year. Our students earned prestigious academic awards, including four Fulbright Fellowships, three Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships, a Morris K. Udall Foundation Scholarship, a Harry S. Truman Scholarship, and a Schiff Foundation Fellowship. Students are coming to UIC because they seek a certain setting: the metropolitan environment of a vital city like Chicago, with its extraordinary diversity and culture, combined with the academic rigor, resources, and opportunities offered by a major research university.

The UIC campus is currently in the top fifty research institutions nationally, and that is because of the scholarship and leadership of our faculty. Last year alone, UIC faculty members were recognized as a MacArthur Fellow, an Institute of Medicine member, Fulbright Scholars, Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellows, an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow, and a Guggenheim Fellow. They secured $145 million in federal funds through research grants and contracts. They advanced the treatment of cancer, depression, and brain injuries, to name just a few areas in which our scholars are at the frontiers of new knowledge.

In a period of challenge, these are triumphant achievements, made possible through the assistance of our civic, corporate, foundation, and government partners and our alumni, donors, and other friends. This year, as every year, you have the gratitude of the entire campus.

Sincerely,

Sylvia Manning, Chancellor