Illinois Wesleyan University is leaning into technology improvement and expansion as it moves toward the 2026-27 school year.
President Sheahon Zenger provided an update on several topics related to the Bloomington university during an interview on WGLT’s Sound Ideas.
The university completed its 175th year with a ceremony detailing a new quantum science center coming in spring 2027. That was just after commencement and a May board of trustees meeting that set priorities for the university.
“There's a lot of momentum ... in that,” said Zenger.
Enrollment cliff
Zenger said IWU is still on track to meet its enrollment goals in the 2026-27 school year.
An enrollment cliff is starting to impact universities across Illinois. The students entering college now were born at the beginning of a population decline that began with the Great Recession and continues today.
“Right now, we're on target to hit the range that we need to provide the correct budget for the university to thrive,” said Zenger.
As the situation continues to develop, he said the current growth at Illinois Wesleyan will position it nicely to avoid the worst effects of the trend.
"Our goal at Wesleyan is to continue to play offense,” said Zenger, citing the Petrick Idea Center, the Fisher Quantum Center and center for the humanities as recent examples of expansion that makes IWU competitive in a tightening market for higher ed students.
“While other universities are busy chasing other things, we're just doubling down on the academic excellence that already resides at Illinois Wesleyan,” said Zenger.
Technology advancement
Zenger said IWU’s website is “okay, but it needs to be really, really good,” in terms of accessibility.
Website access expectations were put into law by the federal government in 2024. New Americans with Disability Act [ADA] requirements for website access initially were set with a deadline of April 2026, but have since been pushed back for schools. Advocacy groups requested more time to get up-to-date with the cost and resources it takes to do so, and they got an extra year.
Zenger said website and IT infrastructure improvements are both priorities at the university, where he took over as president in 2024.
“If I can't go to your website on my phone, access it, get everything I want, then [you] need to redo it now,” said Zenger. “That's one of the top priorities this year.”
Zenger said improving website accessibility and maximizing visibility on search engines will make it easier for a prospective student or donor to choose IWU.
Flag football
Illinois Wesleyan already is benefiting from a newly-added IHSA [Illinois High School Association] sport that is played on its campus.
The university added women’s flag football as a sponsored sport, with its inaugural season finishing this spring. The team finished 11-5. The IHSA added girls flag football as an officially-sanctioned sport in 2024, and coach Melissa Valenzuela was signed after more than a decade in both flag and tackle football.
“We thought, ‘Oh, she'll bring in eight students a year, and eventually we'll have a team.’ She brought in over 20 students this past year,” said Zenger, adding he expects the team to continue to improve as new players begin to be added to the roster.
He credited that to how quickly the university moved once adding the sport became a real possibility.
“Because we acted quickly and got out in front of the curve, we were able to hire an incredible coach,” said Zenger.
Locally, Unit 5 added girls flag football as a sport for the coming school year. It also added boys volleyball — IWU has had a men’s volleyball team since 2021.
