# List of chancellors of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

The chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is the principal administrative officer of the university and a member of the faculty of each of its colleges, schools, institutes and divisions. The chancellor is appointed by the Board of Trustees following nomination by the president of the University of Illinois System. The chancellor performs those duties that are assigned by the president and that are consistent with the actions of the Board of Trustees. The chancellor is assisted by vice-chancellors for academic affairs, administrative affairs, campus affairs, and research. Jack W. Peltason served as the first chancellor in 1967, and there have been 13 chancellors in total. The current chancellor is Robert J. Jones, who has held the position since September 26, 2015.
Before 1967, the president of the University of Illinois System served as the principal administrator of the original Urbana-Champaign campus. In June 1966, at the recommendation of president David D. Henry, the Board of Trustees switched to a chancellorship system of administration. The change established a new administrative office, the "Chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign", and renamed the two administrators of the Chicago campuses, Vice president of the University of Illinois at the Medical Center (UIMC) and Vice president of the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle (UICC), to chancellor. The two Chicago campuses were later consolidated in 1982 to form the University of Illinois at Chicago.

## List of chancellors

List of chancellors :
| Chancellorship | Chancellorship | Chancellor | Notes |
| 1 | 1967–1977 | Jack Peltason | First Chancellor |
| – | 1977 Acting | Morton W. Weir | Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs. Later served as 5th Chancellor. |
| 2 | 1978–1979 | William P. Gerberding | Left to serve as 27st President of the University of Washington. |
| 3 | 1979–1984 | John E. Cribbet | Hired as interim while Dean of the College of Law. Promoted to the permanent chancellorship in December. Resigned as a result of issues with the football program. |
| 4 | 1984–1987 | Thomas Eugene Everhart | |
| 5 | 1987–1993 | Morton W. Weir | Made interim again, then serving as Vice President of Academic Affairs for the University of Illinois System. Hiring was made permanent in 1988. |
| 6 | 1993–2001 | Michael Aiken | Was Provost of the University of Pennsylvania before hiring. |
| 7 | 2001–2004 | Nancy Cantor | Previously Provost of the University of Michigan. Left to assume Chancellorship of Syracuse University and later of Rutgers University-Newark. Was the first woman chancellor at all three institutions. |
| 8 | 2004–2009 | Richard Herman | Served as Provost from 1998 to 2004. Resigned along with President B. Joseph White as a result of the University of Illinois clout scandal. |
| – | 2009–2011 Interim | Robert A. Easter | Previously Dean of College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences until appointed Interim Provost for a short time before taking the position of Interim Chancellor. In 2012, Easter was quickly hired as the 19th President of the University of Illinois. |
| 9 | 2011–2015 | Phyllis Wise | Served as Interim President of the University of Washington before hiring. Hired after the appointment of Michael Hogan (academic) as University President. Similar to Hogan's quick firing in 2012 after contentious emails and concerning behavior, Wise resigned in 2015 after her own litigious controversy as her scandalous emails were released. |
| – | 2015–2016 Interim | Barbara J. Wilson | Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. After interim term, was promoted to Vice President of the University of Illinois. Later hired as 22nd President of the University of Iowa in 2021. |
| 10 | 2016–present | Robert J. Jones | Previously 19th President of the University of Albany. First African American to serve in the position. |