Easter 2012-2015

Robert A. Easter assumed the presidency of the University of Illinois in July 2012.

Easter spent his entire 40-year career as a senior administrator and faculty member on the Urbana-Champaign campus, where he earned his doctorate in animal science in 1976.

The former dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES), Easter served as interim vice president and chancellor of the Urbana-Champaign campus from 2009-2011, serving as chief executive officer of the 42,000-student campus. Immediately prior, he served as interim provost and interim vice chancellor for research.

From 2002-2009, he was ACES dean, a nationally ranked college with, at the time, more than 2,000 students. Before that, he served for five years as head of the Department of Animal Sciences, where he has been a faculty member since 1976.

An expert in swine nutrition, Easter has co-authored a book on swine production and has written more than 90 peer-reviewed articles, 11 book chapters, four monographs, and numerous papers for conferences and industry publications. He also has spoken to audiences in the U.S. and 27 foreign countries on swine nutrition.

He was appointed president by the Board of Trustees following the resignation of President Hogan.

President Easter retired in May 2015. He is president emeritus and professor emeritus. He received the University's Distinguished Service Medaliion in 2015 for his unwavering devotion to the university.