Skosey MUPP ’93 Receives Distinguished Service Award from UIC
Introduction
As Peter Skosey planned monthly events for the Chicago Area Public Affairs Group, he regularly extended personal invites to College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs (CUPPA) students he met through the CUPPA Alumni Association’s mentorship program. Skosey spearheaded the founding of the association in 1997 and helped create key organizational efforts like its mentorship program and annual block party. In his estimation, a vibrant college community rooted in personal relationships would drive individual success and elevate both UIC and CUPPA in Chicago’s professional ranks.
Skosey has a long history of championing UIC, a commitment spurred by gratitude for the university’s role in propelling his career.
The Chicago native discovered the power of advocacy and community involvement as a CUPPA graduate student. Classes, he says, leveraged Chicago as a laboratory for exploration, sparking important reflection about planning’s role in driving the long-term health of a metropolis and quality of life for its residents.
Skosey’s UIC education led to a decorated — and ongoing — career propelling Chicago’s evolution. His 20-year run with the Metropolitan Planning Council included rewriting Illinois’ Tax Increment Financing law allowing support for school expenses and steering the master plan for Union Station’s redevelopment.
Skosey, who now serves as BNSF Railway’s executive director of public and government affairs, has remained consistently engaged with his alma mater. At his behest, BNSF endowed CUPPA’s Last Mile Fund with a $50,000 gift in 2021 to provide emergency relief in perpetuity to near-graduating students encountering financial hardship.
Skosey’s efforts with CUPPA prompted board leadership roles with the UIC Alumni Association, where he recently chaired the Alumni Advocacy Task Force and guided initiatives promoting investment in the University of Illinois System.
“UIC has played such a pivotal role in setting me on my professional life’s trajectory that I’m beholden to it beyond words,” Skosey says.