In these times of austerity where universities and colleges across the country are laying off professors to compensate for frequent state budget cuts, the University of Illinois is doing the exact opposite.

University of Illinois Chancellor Phyllis Wise said that they plan to hire 500 new professors over the next five to seven years to increase the staff at the university's flagship campus in Urbana-Champaign, which has decreased due to retirements and departures for better jobs and hiring freezes.

The campus' tenured faculty has decreased from about 2,100 in 2007-08 to 1,856.

This move is also a part of a faculty hiring plan intended to turn Urbana-Champaign campus into a top public land-grant university for research.

"In 20 to 50 years, there will be fewer great research universities than there are today," Wise said. "I believe that the ones that will survive and thrive are the ones that embrace and manage change. They are the ones where excellence is both broad and deep.

"They are the ones that will be relevant to society that will add value to the people who are paying for that education. They will be the ones that contribute to the quality of life of the citizens around them, and they will be the ones that perceive the sense of urgency, that are agile enough to embrace change and not be managed by the changes."

Provost Ilesanmi Adesida said that boosting the faculty will enhance the liveliness across the campus.

Faculty hires will be based on six different categories - economic development; education; energy and the environment; health and wellness; information and technology; and social equality and cultural understanding.