The incoming president of the University of Illinois system says he's dedicating his presidency to the students.

Timothy Killeen spokes Wednesday morning at the University of Illinois-Chicago campus. He also plans appearances at the campuses in Springfield and Champaign-Urbana. The three-campus system announced Wednesday that Killeen will replace President Bob Easter when Easter retires in June.

Killeen will become the university's 20th president. He is currently chancellor for research at the State University of New York. He previously was a faculty member and administrator at the University of Michigan and worked at the National Science Foundation.

At his introduction in Chicago, Killeen said he has "one gear and it's forward with optimism." He said he was honored and humbled to have been chosen for the job.