The European Union Center would like to congratulate the 30 recipients of the Presidential Medallion, the highest honor that the University of Illinois system president can bestow.

On August 23, 2021, University of Illinois President Tim Killeen extended Presidential Medallions to 28 university leaders who played key roles in the University of Illinois’s COVID-19 response, including those who worked on the SHIELD test-and-trace system and on the clinical trials for vaccines in Chicago. Among the Presidential Medallion recipients is William Sullivan, Professor of Landscape Architecture at UIUC and Director of the Smart, Healthy Community Initiative. Two additional Presidential Medallions were awarded on August 27.

As noted in the University Massmail on August 23, “the SHIELD test-and-trace system includes the non-invasive, fast and reliable saliva-based test as well as the companion mobile application to deliver test results, all developed at UIUC. The test has been successfully used since the summer of 2020. SHIELD Illinois was created to share the SHIELD system across the state. The test is now in use or being launched at numerous other colleges and universities, community colleges, public community testing sites, private companies and – thanks to funding from the state – more than 1,000 K-12 schools. Shield T3 was created to spread the technology outside of the state, and it is in use at a number of other universities, in school systems in Baltimore and Washington, D.C., and at private companies and other organizations outside Illinois. In all, well over four million tests have been administered.”

In September 2020, the EU Center interviewed Professors Sullivan and Sanjay Patel (Electrical & Computer Engineering) on the Safer Illinois app, privacy, and compliance.