Sangamon State University’s leadership was led by a President from its beginning through to its incorporation into the University of Illinois system where it would switch to a chancellery. The Office of the President would be the office that ran the university, dictating policy and helping grow the university. The first president of SSU was Robert Spencer and ended with Naomi Lynn (who would transition to Chancellor).

The University of Illinois opened its doors in 1867 when it was known as the Illinois Industrial University. As the university grew, in 1885, it changed its name to the University of Illinois. The U of I became a “system” when two campuses in Chicago were added (eventually merging into the University of Illinois-Chicago) in the late 1960s. Finally, in 1994, the University of Illinois-Springfield was incorporated into the system. This system is governed by a Board of Regents. This board has thirteen members, of which eleven have voting powers. Nine of them are appointed by the governor and there are three students (one of from each university).