Department Head and Tenured Professor, Richard and Loan Hill Department of Biomedical Engineering

The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) invites applications, nominations, and inquiries for the position of Head of the Richard and Loan Hill Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) in the College of Engineering. We seek an experienced and visionary leader with a strong record of scholarship, academic leadership, and a deep commitment to both access and excellence.

UIC is the largest public research university in Chicago, a Carnegie R1 institution, and a federally designated Minority Serving Institution (MSI), an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPSI) and a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). With more than 34,000 students across 16 colleges—including the full complement of health sciences colleges—UIC is one of the most diverse universities in the nation, consistently ranked among the top institutions for social mobility and as one of the highest-value colleges in the U.S. UIC has over 300,000 alumni and is one of the largest employers in the city of Chicago.

In FY2024, UIC received $486M in sponsored research awards.

Salary range: $200,000-$300,000

Benefits-eligible positions include a comprehensivebenefitspackage that offers Health, Dental, Vision, Life, Disability & AD&D insurance; a defined benefit pension plan; paid leaves such as Vacation, Holiday, and Sick; tuition waivers for employees and dependents.

The College of Engineering
The UIC College of Engineering enrolls over 6,200 students across six departments:
Biomedical Engineering;
Chemical Engineering;
Civil, Materials, and Environmental Engineering;
Computer Science;
Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. The College’s mission is “Access to Excellence and Success”: to educate students to innovate and lead, expand global knowledge through original research, and prioritize partnership with Chicago and Illinois as a public institution. With student enrollment up more than 57% in the past decade and annual research expenditures now exceeding $45M, the College is in a period of historic growth.
The Department of Biomedical Engineering
The Richard and Loan Hill Department of Biomedical Engineering is jointly housed in the College of Engineering and the College of Medicine, offering an extraordinary environment for interdisciplinary research and education. Since its expansion in 2011 into the College of Medicine, the department has become a recognized hub for biomedical discovery and translational innovation.

Under strong leadership, BME has experienced transformative growth across every dimension. The core faculty has more than doubled to 30, including 18 Professional Society Fellows and nine early-career award recipients. Enrollment in the undergraduate (B.S.) program has doubled to ~350 students, complemented by strong M.S. and Ph.D. programs. Annual research expenditures have tripled to ~$10 million, reflecting the department’s nationally recognized research enterprise.

Signature programs such as the Innovation in Medicine (IMED) Program for medical students and Clinical Immersionfor BME undergraduates provide unique pathways for experiential, translational learning. The department helped launch the IBHE-designated Center for Bioinformatics and Quantitative Biology, co-created the BME Rising Scholars Programto advance diversity in biomedical engineering regionally, and expanded global reach through programs such as a collaborative MS degree with Politecnico di Milano.

With generous gifts from alumni, faculty, and friends—including Richard and Loan Hill—the department has strengthened its foundation for sustained excellence in research, teaching, and student support. The next head of BME will join UIC at a time of momentum and opportunity. UIC is Chicago’s largest and only public Carnegie Research-1 university. The College of Engineering alone enrolls more than 6,000 students, with a rapidly growing research portfolio and a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Chicago
Chicago is the most populous city in Illinois and the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388 as of the 2020 census, it is the third-most populous city in…