Social Justice Initiative leadership transition

Dear colleagues,

I write to share that, after more than a decade of exemplary leadership, professor Barbara Ransby will step away from her role as director of the Social Justice Initiative. Her last day in the role will be Aug. 15, 2026. Ransby will return to full-time faculty service as the inaugural John D. MacArthur University of Illinois Chair and Distinguished Professor in the departments of Black studies, gender and women's studies and history in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She plans to retire in August 2027, after a 30-year career at UIC.

Since its founding in 2012, Ransby has built the Social Justice Initiative into a nationally recognized model, demonstrating how an R1 public urban research university can, and should, bridge rigorous academic inquiry with community-based activism, artistic expression and transformative public dialogue. Under her leadership, the initiative has become a vibrant hub of what she has described as "intellectual insurgency" - a space where scholarship and social movements can intersect to inspire and realize a better, just future.

Among her many contributions, Ransby spearheaded the Portal Project (2021-2024), a groundbreaking national initiative that convened more than 200 scholars, artists and movement leaders to address intersectional challenges including racial injustice, economic inequality and climate crisis, which culminated in the 2024 national conference, Through the Portal: Growing the World We Want. She also championed initiatives that directly support student learning and community partnership including launching the interdisciplinary social justice minor; expanding the Pipeline to Justice program; and providing a space for dialogue, reflection and collective action at the Chicago Justice Gallery.

Through her extraordinary contributions as a scholar, leader and social-justice champion, Ransby has profoundly shaped UIC's identity as a public university committed to equity, justice and community impact and touched countless lives in the broader communities we serve. This leadership transition reflects her enduring commitment to scholarship, teaching, mentoring and community engagement at UIC, and we are fortunate she will continue to contribute to our community.

Building on the strong leadership foundation established over the last 14 years, Terrion L. Williamson will serve as the next director of the Social Justice Initiative, effective Aug. 16, 2026, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

Williamson is an accomplished scholar of Black feminist theory, cultural studies and social life whose work critically examines race, gender and structural inequality. Currently serving as an associate professor in the departments of Black studies and gender and women's studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Williamson will bring a distinguished record of interdisciplinary scholarship, teaching and program leadership to the initiative this summer.

Her academic and intellectual leadership is complemented by a strong commitment to public engagement and community-centered research. Williamson is widely regarded as a regional and national leader in examining and advancing Black social life, cultural production and structural analysis through her leadership of the Mellon Foundation-supported Black Midwest Justice Hub and her dedication to interdisciplinary teaching and mentorship. She is currently the director of the Black Midwest Initiative, which, as of her appointment as director, will be housed within the Social Justice Initiative.

I am confident Williamson's vision will position the Social Justice Initiative to continue to thrive as a dynamic space for critical inquiry, creative expression and community partnership, and remain at the forefront of conversations about justice, equity and social transformation at UIC and beyond.

Please join me in thanking Ransby for her remarkable service, tireless dedication, leadership and vision and in welcoming Williamson to this important leadership role.

Sincerely,

Karen J. Colley
Provost and Vice Chancellor

For more information, please contact:
Office of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
[email protected]