Governor JB Pritzker’s office announced that Dr. Lia Merminga and Scott Jenkins have been appointed to the Board of Trustees of Illinois State University. Their terms extend to January 15, 2029.
Scott Jenkins
Jenkins has over 25 years of experience creating educational policies that support students at the state and federal level. He currently serves as the Strategy Director for State Policy at Lumina Foundation, an organization committed to making learning opportunities beyond high school accessible to all. Prior to joining Lumina, Jenkins served as the education policy director for the National Governors Association, where he managed a team that focused on leading state postsecondary education and supported governors and their staff to create, pass, and implement policies. Additional experience include Jenkins’ service as the director of external relations for Western Governors University and as a deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Education. Jenkins holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Central Florida and is currently pursuing his Master of Science at Purdue University.
Lia Merminga
Merminga, an internationally renowned physicist and scientific leader, is the director of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Illinois. During her tenure, she has garnered recognition for her focus on talent development and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Merminga has held major scientific leadership roles, most recently at Fermilab and previously at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California; TRIUMF in Vancouver, Canada; and the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Virginia. She earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Athens, in Greece, and master’s degrees in physics and mathematics and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Michigan, in Ann Arbor. She is a Fermilab Distinguished Scientist, a fellow of the American Physical Society, and a graduate of the Department of Energy’s Oppenheimer Energy Science Leadership Program.
The appointments of Merminga and Jenkins are subject to State Senate approval.
