UIC Alumni Board
UIC Alumni Board
The University of Illinois Chicago Alumni Board (UIC Alumni Board) is an alumni volunteer program of the UIC Alumni Association that provides leadership by advising and supporting meaningful alumni engagement that connects UIC alumni to one another and the University. The UIC Alumni Board is a function within the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Advancement.
The UIC Alumni Board is charged with advancing alumni relationships with the university to support student success, encourage connections among alumni and promote advocacy that drives forward the mission of UIC.
The Alumni Board is comprised of a diverse group of alumni from a variety of disciplines who dedicate their time and energy through their work on the board standing committees. We are grateful to all our Alumni Board leaders for their service to UIC.
Interested in becoming a member of the Alumni Board? Read more about qualifications, time commitment, duties and expectations below. Applications are currently closed. The Board does not have any open positions and will not accept nominations for the 2025 year. Sign up to volunteer in other ways here.
Alumni Board Committees
Leadership Committee
Leadership Committee
The Leadership Committee (LC) comprises alumni who serve in various leadership capacities across the Alumni Board. The LC will set UIC Alumni Board agendas, overall direction and emphasis for the UIC Alumni Board and conduct the business of the UIC Alumni Board in the intervals between UIC Alumni Board meetings. The LC members are visible key stakeholders and provide leadership and vision.
Members
Patricia Ballesteros BS ’97, Alumni Career Services Committee Chair
Ed Cohen BS ’75, Immediate Past Alumni Board President
Jim Dorociak BS ’81, PHARMD ’83, Special Project Liaison
Debra Evans MS ’85, Outreach Committee Chair
David Klawitter BS ’15, Student and Recent Alumni Engagement Committee Chair
Kerl LaJeune BArch ’92, Alumni Board President
Bill Merchantz BS ’79, President Emeritus
Mary Maryland PhD ’94, Alumni Board President Elect
Uche Onwuta MPH ’97, Awards and Nominations Committee Chair
John Ochoa BArch ’78, Alumni Loyalty and Benefits Committee Chair
Peter Skosey MUPP ’93, Alumni Advocacy Committee Chair
Damaris Tapia, Executive Director, UICAA, Ex-Officio Member
Alumni Advocacy Committee
Alumni Advocacy Committee
The Alumni Advocacy Committee (AAC) comprises alumni who help with advocacy and represent UIC priorities. The AAC coordinates the recommendations for nominations to the University of Illinois Board of Trustees and works closely with UIC Government Affairs to advance UIC legislative priorities.
Members
Josué Barba JD ’12
Robin Ficke JD ’09
Vittorio Gomez BA ’97
Peter Skosey MUPP ’93, *Committee Chair
Anne–Marie St. Germaine (CUPPA)
Emily Tapia-Lopez MUPP ’07
Angelo Tzivas BA ’14, JD ’17
Heather Winter MPA ’16
Rocco Zucchero MUPP ’98
Alumni Career Services Committee
Alumni Career Services Committee
The Alumni Career Services Committee (ACSC) advances traditional and web-based engagement pathways to career services for UIC alumni. This includes the Alumni Coaching Network, mentoring and networking programming and recommending life-long learning opportunities to be offered to UIC alumni.
Members
Patricia Ballesteros BS ’97, Committee Chair
Fatos Gojani BS ’07
Farrah Haque BA ’12, MS ’13
Tamekia Holman BA ’08
Gary Kenzer MSW ’84
Abigail Milloy MBA ’17, MPH ’17
Brennan Nichols BS ’09
Carmen Outlaw BSCHE ’99
Neel Patel BS ’17, MS ’19
Jordan Tegtmeyer MBA ’03
Alumni Loyalty and Benefits Committee
Alumni Loyalty and Benefits Committee
The Alumni Loyalty and Benefits Committee works to advise on alumni loyalty programs/opportunities and reviews the value of benefits offered to Alumni.
Members
David Klawitter BS ’15
Paulina Martinez MUPP ’16
David Mayer BS ’78, MD ’82
John Ochoa BArch ’78, Committee Chair
Ayesha Patel JD ’14
J. Bradley Sargent BS ’99, Vice Chair
Courtney Washington BA ’22, BA ’22
Awards & Nominations Committee
Awards & Nominations Committee
The Awards & Nominations Committee (ANC) has two specific areas of focus:
- Identifying and selecting UIC alumni awards recipients
- Work with the Vice Chair – Membership to understand the qualifications for open positions and needs of the various committees to inform new and rotating alumni volunteers
The ANC reviews applications/nominations to serve on the Alumni Board and will make recommendations for new members. The ANC will also annually present a slate of candidates to fill leadership positions.
Members
Booma S. Balasubramani PhD ’20, Vice Chair
Michael Batis BA ’02
Barbara Johnson, BA ’68
Lee LoBue BA ’04
Uche Onwuta MPH ’97, Committee Chair
Tiffany Victor-Castleberry DNP ’20
Outreach Committee
Outreach Committee
The Outreach Committee (OC) connects alumni with their closest affinity to UIC. Affinity is defined as a group that alumni are most closely linked to by common interest or purpose. Affinities can include, but are not limited to, geography, college, athletic team, Greek life, ethnic, veterans, etc. The OC also works to identify opportunities for alumni to connect through outreach efforts in the lifecycle of UIC.
Members
Cecelia Blue BS ’94, MBA ’07
Nicholas Crite BSEE ‘03, MUPP ’07, MPA ’12
Jim Dorociak BS ’81, PHARMD ’83
Debra Evans MS ’85, Committee Chair
Karen Keesing BS ’96
Vera Mandilovitch BA ’01, Vice Chair
Lajuana Murphy BA ’94
Vi-An Nguyen MHA ’20
Eugene Sadhu BS ’00, MD ’07
Joe Scott BS ’04
Matthew Steward BS ’01, JD ’07
Raven Temple BS ’16
Student and Recent Alumni Engagement Committee
Student and Recent Alumni Engagement Committee
The Student and Recent Alumni Engagement Committee (SRAEC) advises on programming specifically designed for students to engage them in the UIC alumni network from convocation to graduation. They also focus on programming to keep recent alumni connected and engaged with UIC. The SRAEC supports efforts of the University Ambassadors program by providing training and resources to help ensure student success.
Members
Jocelyn Bravo BA ’21
John Donners BS ’22
Evaristo Herrera BA ’12
Nida Husain BS ’16
David Klawitter BS ’15, Committee Chair
Qusai Shikari BS ’08, MENGR ’16
Abhinav Subramaniam BS ’18
Tikia Travis BA ’17, MA ’20, Vice Chair
Adrian Villarreal BA ’17, MEd ’21
Melvin Woolfolk BA ’18, MEd ’19
Board Member Volunteer Job Description and Board Application Process
Board Member Expectations
All members of the UIC Alumni Board are expected to:
- Read and understand the Alumni Board’s Operating Guidelines and review Board materials in advance of each meeting.
- Prepare, attend and actively participate in two scheduled full Alumni Board meetings.
- Actively serve and contribute on one of the UIC Alumni Board standing committees.
- Make a meaningful gift to UIC each year.
- Serve as an advocate for UIC out in the field and with your alumni community (regional/class/degree cohorts) by staying informed of news and issues affecting UIC.
- Represent the UIC Alumni Board by attending and participating in various UIC campus related activities (e.g. UIC Connected, Alumni Admission Program, Undergraduate Research Forum, Homecoming, Alumni Awards).
- Promote Alumni Association events to your personal networks and encourage alumni to attend.
- Vote on new Board members and elect current Board members to serve on the Leadership committee.
- Help identify/recommend alumni in your personal network to get involved with UIC.
- Recommend prospective students and share job or internship opportunities for current students when available.
- Support the professional staff of the Alumni Association.
Board Member Responsibilities
The general duties of the UIC Alumni Board include, but are not limited to:
- Serving as the official alumni volunteer leadership voice representing the collective UIC alumni body.
- Supporting and working to advance the mission of UIC.
- Fostering synergies to enhance and advance relationships between UIC alumni, the UIC campus and the university at large.
- Mentoring students and alumni.
- Promoting life-long learning and connections.
- Recruiting, nurturing and encouraging UIC alumni volunteerism.
- Building, promoting and strengthening alumni outreach and relationship building.
- Supporting alumni relations strategies consistent and complimentary with the UIC Office of the Vice Chancellor for Advancement and university goals at large.
Terms/Time Commitment
Members of the UIC Alumni Board serve a two-year term. Terms can be renewed up to two consecutive terms, totaling six (6) consecutive years of service. Average time commitment is 3-7 hours per month.
Board Application Process
All alumni* are eligible to become a member of the UIC Alumni Board. Applications are accepted on a yearly basis. The application period is open February 1–March 31 of each year. Applications received after that date will be placed in the pool for the following year. For more information, please email uicalumni@uic.edu.
Applications are currently closed. Please note: The Board does not have any open positions and will not accept nominations for the 2025 year.
*Alumni are defined as individuals who have completed coursework toward or who have been granted a postsecondary award, certificate, or diploma including an associate, baccalaureate, masters, doctoral, or first professional degree, as well as post-baccalaureate or first professional certificate.