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Personal Reflections / 12.22.15, José M. Torres

Personal Reflections

Warmest wishes of the holiday season to you and your families! With 2016 upon us, it’s a great time to reflect on an incredible year. While the lack of a fiscal year 2016 State of Illinois budget has pre-empted much of our thinking, we can be proud of making advancements in key areas. I’m so pleased with your work, efforts and results. Each member of our IMSA Community— faculty, staff, students, parents, alumni, Board of Trustees and IMSA Fund Board members, our vendors, partners and stakeholders—pulled together in 2015. Our collaborative and supportive efforts made a difference in advancing IMSA.

Personal Reflections / 12.18.15, José M. Torres

Personal Reflections

Here's to victories big and small as we wind down 2015. Senate Bill 2039, the bill that in part authorizes IMSA to spend our Income Fund, was passed yesterday by the Senate and signed by Governor Rauner after clearing the House last week. As a reminder, the IMSA Income Fund consists of earned revenue coming from IMSA student and program fees. While this is not State funding, the Illinois General Assembly must authorize IMSA to use this revenue. The authorization is up to $3,050,000, but we can only spend the funds that we generate. With the current balance in this …

Personal Reflections / 12.8.15, José M. Torres

Personal Reflections

I hope that you had a restful, safe and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday with your friends and families. I’d like to share an update with you—the IMSA community has a reason to be thankful with regard to yesterday's session of the Illinois General Assembly and our overall financial position.

Through the work of our business office and our faculty and staff, we are now projecting that our existing locally-held funds, which we are using to pay bills in the absence of a budget, will be fully committed at the end of February. This is a month later that than we had …

Personal Reflections / 11.11.15, José M. Torres

Personal Reflections

Happy Veterans Day! Thank you to all in the IMSA family who have proudly served our country. We were excited to host Lieutenant Commander Chris Dargis ’89 during yesterday’s annual Veterans Day Convocation as he shared how his experience at IMSA had a lasting impact on him and his service to the U.S. Navy helped to shape his leadership.

Unfortunately, I missed Lt Cdr Dargis’ presentation because I was at the State Capitol in Springfield. I’m pleased to report that yesterday the Illinois House of Representatives passed House Bill 4305 with 115 votes. The “Lottery Bill,” as it has become …

Personal Reflections / 10.11.15, José M. Torres

Personal Reflections

I grew up watching the TV series Mission Impossible and now enjoy watching Tom Cruise on the big screen as he portrays agent Ethan Hunt. I love how the main characters, faced with insurmountable odds, always manage to solve the conflict—in the end, the good guys win!

Today, as I write this personal reflection, I am reminded of the introductory scene in Mission Impossible. The classic one begins, “Good morning / afternoon / evening, Mr. Phelps. Your mission, Jim, should you choose to accept it...” The recording continues, weaving an intricate plot with twists and turns and revealing the potential …

Personal Reflections / 9.4.15, José M. Torres

Personal Reflections

Welcome to another Academic Year at IMSA! As I begin my second year as IMSA's President, I consider it not only a privilege to serve, but also a responsibility to lead well. I wrote my last Personal Reflection prior to Commencement in May 2015. Today, I want to provide you some highlights that exemplify IMSA’s role in developing leaders in STEM thinking and developing STEM talent for Illinois. I end this longer than usual Personal Reflection with a status report on IMSA’s budget given the current discussions in Springfield.

During my first summer at IMSA, I was impressed with how …

Personal Reflections / 5.28.15, José M. Torres

Personal Reflections

As we roll through May, I wonder how this month with the shortest spelling can be one of our busiest and most exciting. I am reminded of how many special events, traditions and commemorations the IMSA community enjoys in May.

I spent Friday morning attending our faculty’s CADRE Presentations. CAreer Development Reinforcing Excellence “combines performance assessment and professional growth, empowering the IMSA faculty to define itself, hold itself accountable, and become leaders in educational transformation.” I was impressed with how our presenters de-privatized their teaching practices, and I appreciated their willingness to share what they're learning and experimenting with in …

Personal Reflections / 5.13.15, José M. Torres

Personal Reflections

This week I saw our young men outside the cafeteria picking up their tuxedos for Prom that will be held this Friday at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago. They looked excited about wearing their best suits and stepping out in their finest! This happy scene reminded me to provide you with a couple of updates that showcase IMSA’s finest.

After an extensive search, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Marie Dillon Dahleh as Principal for the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy effective July 1, 2015. Dr. Dahleh currently serves as the Student Information System Advising and Degree …

Personal Reflections / 5.11.15, José M. Torres

Personal Reflections

I'm looking forward to our commencement on May 30th. Members of the Class of 2015 are experiencing special moments they’ll remember for the rest of their lives: commencement rehearsal, the senior banquet and then the big day on Saturday: graduation breakfast, commencement ceremony and the celebratory reception.

Part of what will make our celebration so memorable is the campus itself. Thanks to our groundskeepers for planting 450 flowers and mowing 56 acres of lawns. They’ve created a beautiful campus that will be the perfect background for the hundreds of photos that’ll be taken here this weekend.

Personal Reflections / 4.7.15, José M. Torres

Personal Reflections

Buzz Aldrin, the second person to walk on the moon once said, “my favorite thing to do on this planet is to scuba dive.” While I’ve never walked on the moon, I share this astronaut’s love of scuba diving. I took advantage of our spring break and went to Roatan, Honduras for a diving trip (10 dives!) and return to IMSA refreshed and reenergized to complete our academic year. Today, I wanted to provide you several updates since my last personal reflection in February.

We welcomed the 2015 Admission Review Committee in March for the selection of IMSA’s Class of …

Personal Reflections / 3.19.15, José M. Torres

Personal Reflections

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Personal Reflections / 2.17.15, José M. Torres

Personal Reflections

I was reminded recently that as one gets older, time seems to go faster. Another thing that happens is forgetfulness! Well, welcome to my aging world—where I pause from our fast- paced work to provide an update on some of my activities and reflections as your president, two months into 2015.

We recently launched IN2 Steve and Jamie Chen Center for Innovation and Inquiry; hosted meetings of the Illinois P-20 Council and the Board of Directors of the Illinois Association for Gifted Children (IAGC); and I represented IMSA at three public speaking events.