Keynote: Dr. Wanda Ward, Executive Associate Chancellor for the Office of the Chancellor – Public Engagement, University of Illinois Urbana – Champaign

Wanda E. Ward is executive associate chancellor for public engagement in the Office of the Chancellor at the University of
Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she provides strategic leadership for the university and broader community to advance the university’s land-grant, public engagement mission. She joined the
university in 2018 as Executive Associate Chancellor for Administration and University Relations, where she served as Chief of Staff to the Chancellor.

At the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Ward chaired the COVID-19 Return to On-Campus Operations: Community and Public Engagement Committee, co-chaired the Chancellor’s Community Action and Public Engagement Committee, and co-chaired the university’s COVID-19 community engagement initiative. She is a member of the Champaign County Community Coalition Executive Committee.

Ward earned a BA in psychology from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in psychology from Stanford University. She was awarded a Ford Foundation Fellowship; the American Psychological Association (APA) Presidential Citation; the Federation of Behavioral, Psychological and Cognitive Sciences Richard T. Louttit Award; and the U.S. Presidential Rank Award for Distinguished Executive. Ward was selected as a fellow in the 2018-19 University of Illinois System President’s Executive Leadership Program.