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Desiree McMillion Dr. Desirée Y. McMillion currently serves as the Director of Undergraduate Affairs at the University of Illinois where she provides leadership and strategic direction for the school’s undergraduate degrees, primarily BS in Information Sciences (BSIS) and BS in Information Sciences + Data Science (BSIS+DS). She is an extraordinary scholar, instructor and academic professional who strives for solutions to problems in her community, on her campus and across the global environments. She works closely with leadership, faculty, staff and students daily and serves on a plethora of higher education committees and boards. During her more than twenty-five-year tenure at the University of Illinois, Dr. McMillion held roles across campus in the Chancellors and Provosts units, Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Education, Office of Business and Financial Services and the College of Law and Library and Information Sciences. Her responsibilities have spanned critical academic and administrative functions, such as curriculum and program development, teaching, departmental operations, academic advising, consulting, recruitment, retention of students, workshops and program designs, mentoring to foster academic growth, connecting campus with community and global collaborations and more. A University of Illinois alumna, Dr. McMillion’s primary research examines but is not limited to the nature and relationship of historic and contemporary educational and personal experiences of Black people in higher education and the study and investigation of the Black Experience across continents. With this experience, she is committed to offering various forms of learning practices in her courses and counseling sessions for students, both undergraduate and graduate, and adults as linking scientific data to lived experiences are excellent for sharing knowledge. She is passionate in creating academic, career and community opportunities for all and is very instrumental in making necessary connections for success, especially within Black populations. She is proud of the positive relationship she cultivated and the guidance she offers that have profoundly shaped the academic and professional journeys of many in and outside of her community and in academia. She is well known for leaving a lasting positive impact on their lives and futures. She is intentional about contributing new knowledge at every turn in hopes to continue to assist the people thrive throughout the world via collaborative efforts both academically and professionally. |