UIS graduate student receives FMC Fellowship Award

Sarah Dill, a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Springfield, has received a Graduate Fellowship from Chicago-based FMC Technologies, Inc. Dill, who is pursuing a master’s degree in Business Administration in the program offered by UIS in Peoria, will receive $9,000 for the 2008-2009 academic year.

Established in 1971, the fellowship program honors outstanding graduate students in business administration, economics, engineering, finance or related fields. Final selections are made by representatives from FMC Technologies, the University of Illinois, and the U of I Foundation.

Dill is currently employed as Senior Director of Administration and Business Development with Children's Hospital of Illinois, the largest children's hospital in the state outside Chicago, and expects to receive her MBA in May 2009. She was nominated for the fellowship award by Paul McDevitt, director of the MBA Program at UIS.

McDevitt noted that Dill is a "high-performing MBA student" who has "built a successful career around interests in children and healthcare." In her current position, she is part of the hospital's top management team and has responsibilities for strategic direction, collaborative leadership, and oversight.

"Sara is one of those dream candidates for the MBA," said McDevitt, "a successful career executive who has decided that her formal education must catch up with her professional accomplishments. She is a smart and dedicated individual with strong communication and people skills. We believe that she will be a leader, that she will make a difference in health care."

Dill's ultimate goal is to manage a business of her own. "By the time I'm 40, I would like to be CEO of a substantial business and have around me a wildly diverse and intelligent group of people to collaborate and be part of my team," she said.

The UIS Peoria MBA format is designed to meet the needs of students who are employed full-time but wish to complete degree requirements in a timely manner. Courses are offered so that it is possible for students to complete degree requirements in less than two years.

The FMC Educational Fund (formerly the Link-Belt Educational Fund) was established in 1963 by U of I alumnus Bert Gayman, who donated a large block of company stock to the U of I Foundation. Designed to provide education and research opportunities, the fund now provides more than $135,000 annually for undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships at the University of Illinois.

See more information about the programs offered by UIS' College of Business and Management