Terri Goss Kinzy named ISU’s 20th president

Posted on May 14, 2021
Dr. Terri Goss Kinzy. (Photo courtesy Illinois State University)

 

By WJBC Staff

NORMAL – Illinois State University’s Board of Trustees has appointed Dr. Terri Goss Kinzy as the university’s 20th president. She is the first female president in the school’s history.

Kinzy spoke during a news confernce Friday morning at the Bone Student Center. (Blake Haas/WJBC)

Kinzy has an academic career that spans more than 25 years. She is the vice president for research and innovation at Western Michigan University. She previously served as vice president of research and professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey; and as senior associate dean for the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Research at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She is a tenured professor of biological sciences.

With a background in research and development, Dr. Kinzy has received international recognition for her work in understanding how mRNAs direct the way in which

ISU Board of Trustees chair Julie Jones, who led the presidential search committee, introduced Kinzy to the campus community. (Blake Haas/WJBC)

proteins are made. In 2017, she was named as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has been published and cited in numerous academic and professional outlets. Additionally, Dr. Kinzy has secured more than $8 million in funding, nationally and internationally, for various projects including anti-fungal drug discovery, understanding how bacterial toxins affect cells, automated DNA analysis, and many more.

Kinzy will receive an annual salary of $375,000 and will start July 1.

She replaces ISU’s 19th president Dr. Larry Dietz, who announced his retirement in November. Dietz served as president for seven years and spent over 50 years in higher education.

WJBC News can be reached at [email protected] 

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…