Governor Bruce Rauner’s selections to the University of Illinois’ Board of Trustees say they need to do their share of research before talking specifics, like budget cuts.
But both U of I graduates Jill Smart and Ramon Cepeda say the skills picked up in their professional lives will serve them well on the board.
Smart, the former Human Resources Officer for Accucenture, has also served as an adjunct professor in the U of I’s school of business. She says the governor’s proposed cut of more than 200-million dollars in state funds – is similar to what other organizations are going through.
“The large cut that has been proposed, of course is disappointing, but I think at the same time, we really need to work together to make sure that we can live within our means, but yet at the same time, not harm our core mission of being a premier education a research institution.”
Smart says her consulting background helps her ask better questions, while Cepeda, the senior vice president at Northern Trust and graduate of the U of I’s Chicago campus, says he brings his own business expertise.
“I think I bring some unique experiences to the kind of diversity of board – by nature of industry. I’m in banking, specifically in commercial real estate, I think there’s certainly – when you deal with a higher institution like the university, there’s a lot of real estate involved.”
Cepeda and Smart will fill the vacancies left by the expired terms of Pam Strobel and former Trustees Chair Chris Kennedy. Both appointments must be confirmed by the Illinois Senate.