Richard F. Wilson

Richard F. Wilson, President
Illinois Wesleyan University

Richard F. Wilson became Illinois Wesleyan’s 18th president in July 2004. 

President Wilson brings more than 30-years of experience in private and public education as a senior administrator and faculty member, serving at the University of Illinois, University of Michigan and Alderson-Broaddus College prior to his appointment at Illinois Wesleyan.

In Dr. Wilson’s five years as president, he has successfully implemented a number of strategic initiatives, including:  an inclusive and transparent strategic planning and budgeting process; a review of the University’s curriculum and academic programs; a comprehensive identity study that has resulted in significant changes in University communications; increased private support for endowed professorships and chairs; enhanced institutional research and assessment efforts; an advisory council for members of the staff; the planning and implementation in 2009 of the University’s most ambitious fund-raising campaign ever, Transforming Lives: The Campaign for Illinois Wesleyan.

In accordance with the University mission, President Wilson has given considerable attention to University efforts related to environmental sustainability, diversity, globalization, civic leadership, and community engagement. A few examples of these commitments include the construction of the first LEED-certified green building on campus; the work of the Action Research Center, a University program which coordinates research projects undertaken by students, faculty, and staff in partnership with groups in the larger Central Illinois community; and the significant increase in diversity of domestic and international students.

President Wilson also serves on the Bloomington/Normal Achievement Gap Task Force, is a founding member of the Bloomington/Normal Main Street Commission redevelopment project, and is a director of the McLean County Economic Development Council and the Chamber of Commerce.

Prior to being named to the Illinois Wesleyan presidency, Dr. Wilson served as Associate Chancellor for Development and Vice President of the University of Illinois Foundation, where he led a $1 billion comprehensive capital campaign. His previous roles at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign included serving as Associate Chancellor and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

President Wilson earned masters and doctoral degrees in Higher Education from the University of Michigan, in 1970 and 1978 respectively.  He holds a bachelor's degree in education and mathematics from Alderson-Broaddus College, in his home state of West Virginia, where he began his career in higher education as Director of Admissions.  He is a member of both Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi national honor societies and a former varsity athlete.

He is currently chairman of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Council of Presidents; serves on the American Council on Education's Commission on Women in Higher Education; and is actively engaged in the Annapolis Group, a consortium of national liberal arts institutions.

President Wilson's wife, Dr. Patricia Wilson, is Illinois Wesleyan's Acting Chair of Educational Studies and a former Principal and Coordinator of Early Childhood Programs for Champaign, Illinois, schools. The Wilsons reside in the President's House on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University and have two married children, Adam and Rachel.