When Kristi Mindrup was unanimously selected on Friday, Dec. 6, as the 13th president of Western Illinois University by its board of trustees, she made history as the first woman in WIU’s 125-year history to hold that post.
This longtime leader with deep WIU and Quad Cities roots had initially taken the university’s reins on April 1 as interim president after the departure of former President Guiyou Huang. Early in her watch, she and the WIU board unveiled unprecedented cost-saving measures. They are designed to secure WIU’s future in Macomb and at its Quad Cities Riverfront Campus in Moline.
During her short tenure as interim leader, Ms. Mindrup was paid $22,500 a month, or roughly $270,000, after she requested that her salary be reduced because of ongoing university financial challenges. The board is scheduled to approve newly appointed President Mindrup’s salary and contract at its March 2025 meeting, a WIU news release said.
“Dr. Mindrup has demonstrated outstanding leadership since her appointment as interim president in April 2024,” Board Chair Carin Stutz said in that release. “She has proven to be the bold, transparent, strategic and thoughtful leader that WIU needs today.”
Ms. Stutz added: “The board is unanimous in selecting Dr. Mindrup as the 13th president of WIU as we are confident that she will continue to bring insight and expertise in the bold decision making WIU needs. She has our full support.”
Ms. Mindrup told the QCBJ Monday afternoon, Dec. 9, “I am honored to serve as the 13th president of Western Illinois University during a time of significant change and opportunity. I look forward to working alongside students, faculty, staff, alumni and communities to advance the mission of WIU. I value the opportunity to serve a university that has provided me with wonderful academic and professional opportunities throughout my career.”
She added, “My path is an example of the ways WIU inspires students to envision their full potential through excellent academic programs, engaging experiences, and innovative partnerships and initiatives that contribute to the quality of life in our region, state, and beyond.”
Prior to serving as interim president, Ms. Mindrup was vice president of Quad Cities campus operations. She told the QCBJ in March 2022 that her WIU career was launched in 1997 when the then-recent University of Northern Iowa University graduate began answering the phone on nights and weekends at the Macomb-based WIU’s satellite campus in Moline then located in the old IBM building.
Helped launch WIU-QC
She steadily rose through the ranks to become the top leader of a Moline riverfront campus that she helped plan, promote and launch.
She also brings to her new post 27 years of experience in higher education. It has been focused on organizational leadership, strategic planning, academic affairs, student services program and partnership development, inclusive campus environments and campus operations, the WIU release said.
Throughout it all, she has remained active in the Quad Cities community. That includes serving on the Renew Moline Board of Directors and the United Way Education Council. She also previously served for nine years on the Council for Advancement of Standards in Higher Education and as president of the Illinois Association for Institutional Research, WIU said. Ms. Mindrup also has taught in the College Student Personnel program at WIU, and has served as an adjunct instructor with Eastern Iowa Community College District.
She is a Moline High School graduate who earned a Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in educational policy and leadership studies. She has a master’s degree from Western Illinois University and two bachelor’s degrees from the University of Northern Iowa.
In her inaugural address as interim president, which she delivered 10 days after her appointment to that earlier post by the board, Ms. Windrup said there were bright days ahead for WIU. But to get there the university must end deficit spending, increase and diversify funding, and expand offerings that will prepare WIU students for the future.
WIU is a family affair
She also told the WIU community during that address that “Western Illinois University has been woven into the fabric of my family for a lifetime.” She said her grandfather was a big fan of WIU and “emphasized the importance of college his whole life.” Her aunt graduated from WIU with a teaching degree in 1972 and Ms. Mindrup’s grandparents traveled frequently to Macomb from the Quad Cities to visit campus and cheer on the Leathernecks.
During that April 10 speech, she also introduced the university’s new “Financially Sustainable Future” plan. Four months later, WIU announced in a news release the first cost-saving measures under that plan that included eliminating staff positions at Moline and Macomb and relocating 16 positions from the Moline campus to the main Macomb campus.
“In order to address financial stability, we must recognize that our institution, like so many others across the country, must be the right size and the right shape to serve this number of students.”
In that same release, it said it will continue to serve students on the Quad Cities Campus, but WIU-QC’s building operations would be streamlined.
As the university implements the Quad Cities Strategic Initiatives Plan, adjustments will be made to program offerings, including relocating QC faculty and staff to the Macomb main campus next year.
“I want to acknowledge the gravity of these decisions and the profound impact they will have on our dedicated faculty and staff, and the impact personnel reductions have on our Macomb and Quad Cities communities,” Ms. Mindrup said then.
