Elena Delgado, Professor of Spanish and Director of the School of Literatures, Cultures, and Linguistics, has been named a 2020-21 President’s Executive Leadership Program (PELP) Fellow by UI President Tim Killeen.

Professor Delgado is one of only 16 persons selected as fellows from the university’s Chicago, Springfield and Urbana-Champaign campuses.

“The selection process this year was very competitive,” said Killeen. “We received more than 80 nominations from across our three universities for the limited number of slots available. Diversity of background and experiences, as well as university representation were factors in the selection process.

“This program is especially important at this time, given the pandemic and the importance of strong leadership,” he added.

PELP is a unique professional development program designed to broaden participants’ understanding of higher education issues and to strengthen their leadership skills related to overseeing a public institution at the university or system level. The program consists of four seminars that take place in Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Springfield; and Urbana-Champaign.