UniProfessionals of Illinois Press Release
MEDIA CONTACT: Barbara Stott 1-800-347-4874 312-663-5916 Fax:312-663-3833

Kaufman unanimously elected UPI president

Springfield -- April 22 -- The University Professionals of Illinois executive board unanimously elected Sue Kaufman to fill the unexpired term of retiring UPI President Mitch Vogel during a meeting here Saturday, April 20.

Kaufman brings to the position both experience in UPI and a depth of experience in the labor movement and media. She has served as UPI secretary/treasurer for the past two years and as chapter president at Eastern Illinois University for two years prior to that.

"I come from a strong union background," Kaufman said. " My dad was an active member of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Engineers, and I was a member of The Newspaper Guild in both Rockford, Ill., and in Terre Haute, Ind., and the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) in Milwaukee."

Noting Vogel's contributions as UPI president, Kaufman said, "Union leadership is a tremendous responsibility, and we can speak with pride about UPI's accomplishments during Mitch Vogel's 16 years of leadership." Vogel will officially retire in July.

"Vogel's legacy," Kaufman said, "is one we can all be proud of. Under his tenure we have seen the consistent improvement of the salaries and working conditions of Illinois' top-notch public higher education faculty and staff.

"His is a legacy that I pledge to honor and am committed to build upon," she said.

In 1966, Kaufman was among five women to picket The Milwaukee Press Club demanding that membership be opened to women. During the 1970s, she worked as an activist with the National Organization for Women. In 1997, she co-edited "Women Transforming Communications: Global Intersections" for Sage Publications, Inc.

A native of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Kaufman studied journalism at Marquette University in Milwaukee. She holds a bachelor's degree from Michigan Technological University, a master's degree in Speech Communication from Indiana State University, and a doctorate in Educational Administration, also from Indiana State.

A professor of journalism at Eastern Illinois University since 1986, Kaufman has career experience in print, broadcast, advertising and public relations. She was a reporter for The Milwaukee Sentinel, The Rockford Morning Star, wrote for Chicago Tribune and was a reporter, editor and columnist for The Terre Haute Tribune-Star. She worked in both commercial and non-commercial radio and produced programs for NPR while working for a Michigan affiliate in the 1970s. She was a founding partner of a Michigan advertising and public relations agency. She was given the Distinguished Faculty Award by EIU's Faculty Senate in 1999.