Leading scholar on women and gender to speak

Dr. Zakia Salime, a leading scholar on global perspectives about women and gender, will speak at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 8, in Brookens Auditorium. Dr. Salime's presentation, “Feminization of Islamist Women and the Power of Women’s Rights,” is in observance of International Women’s Day. UIS hosts of the event are the Center for State Policy and Leadership and the Women’s Center. Read more>>

Music and art programs to host open house

UIS' music and visual arts programs will host an open house from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Friday, March 3, in the Visual and Performing Arts Building (formerly Building CPV). The building has recently been remodeled to house a new student exhibition area for the Visual Arts program and a new music complex. The program will feature tours of the facility as well as displays of artwork and musical performances. Read more>>

New Almanac of Illinois Politics is available

The Center for State Policy and Leadership at UIS announces the publication of the Almanac of Illinois Politics - 2006. The new edition reflects changes in state government and politics over the past two years, including updated information for each legislative and congressional district, top contributors to political campaigns, and assessments on current policy issues. For more information, including how to order>>

UIS students named to Who’s Who

The 2006 edition of Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges will include the names of 42 students from UIS who have been selected as nationally outstanding campus leaders.

See the list of names>>

UIS announces fall semester deans’ list

A total of 510 students were named to the UIS Deans’ List for the 2005 fall semester. To qualify for the designation, a student must be an undergraduate who took at least eight graded semester hours and maintained a grade-point average of at least 3.75 for the semester.

Click here for a printable list of students' names, arranged alphabetically by hometown.

UIS student paper wins awards

Staff members of The Journal, UIS' student newspaper, received five awards at the 24th Annual Illinois College Press Association convention, held February 17 and 18 in Chicago. Professional journalists and advertising professionals from throughout Illinois judged 1,700 entries from more than 30 college newspapers in the state. Four of the Journal’s awards were in the open division, which included dailies and weeklies, and the fifth was in the weekly division for universities and colleges with enrollments of 4,000 or more. Read more>>

Asperger support group to meet at UIS

Asperger Syndrome Support and Awareness of Central Illinois will hold an informational session from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, March 2, in CPV 153 at UIS. Karen Kirkendall, associate professor of Psychology at UIS, will be one of the facilitators for the discussion. Read more>>

UIS to host conference on incident response and disaster recovery

UIS, in conjunction with InfraGard and the Center for Systems Security & Information Assurance, will host a daylong conference on Incident Response and Disaster Recovery on Friday, March 10, in the PAC Studio Theatre.

Participants will take part in a tabletop exercise simulating a disaster situation in central Illinois and will hear discussions on “Emerging Digital Threats in Service-Oriented Architectures," “Protecting the Power Grid,” and “The Perils of Coordinated Attacks.” Breakout sessions will be led by facilitators from the FBI and Homeland Security, as well as professionals from many related fields. Read more>>

Expanding Your Horizons -- science, math, and technology careers for girls

“Expanding Your Horizons in Math, Science, and Technology” -- a hands-on conference designed specially for girls in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades -- will be held from 8:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Saturday, March 18, in the Public Affairs Center at UIS. Participants will choose three sessions from more than 25 interactive workshops; each workshop will be led by a successful professional who will share information on what her job involves and what education and skills are required. Read more>>

UIS College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to hold alumni program

Former students of programs within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at UIS are invited to participate in “Celebrating Our Heritage: Charting Our Future” scheduled for 5:30 to 8 p.m. Friday, February 24, in the first floor of University Hall.

Margot Duley, CLAS dean, noted, “This is an invitation to join in an evening of sharing memories and experiences from both the Sangamon State era, and our more recent years as the University of Illinois at Springfield. We would like our alumni’s input and help in remembering our past and charting our future.” Read more>>

UIS to host celebration of women writers and film directors

“Celebrating Women Writers and Directors of Film” will be the focus of a discussion and film screening beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 2, in Brookens Auditorium. Special guest speaker will be Jan Lisa Huttner, director of College/University Relations for the AAUW-Illinois Board, who will introduce the short film A Jury of Her Peers. Read more>>

UIS announces new director of Sangamon Auditorium

UIS Provost Harry Berman has announced the appointment of Robert A. Vaughn of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as director of Sangamon Auditorium, effective May 1.

Vaughn comes to UIS from the Lied Center for the Performing Arts at UN-L, where he has served as senior director of finance and administration and as director of operations since 1995. His experience before joining the Lied Center included stints as executive director of the Jasper, Indiana, Community Arts Commission and the Fairbanks, Alaska, Arts Association, as well as various administrative positions in New Mexico and Washington, DC. Read more>>

Documentary on the Sangamon River premieres at UIS

The documentary The Sangamon River: A Sense of Place will premiere at 7 p.m. Tuesday, February 28, in Brookens Auditorium. The showing is presented by UIS’ Center for State Policy and Leadership.

The hour-long film was directed by UIS Professor Charles Schweighauser and produced by the UIS Office of Electronic Media. Schweighauser described it as a profile and celebration of the people, ecology, history, and economy of the Sangamon River Valley. The documentary “captures the charm and beauty of the river and both its calm and raucous nature,” he said. Read more>>

Enrollment at UIS jumps 4.1% over last spring

Enrollment at UIS increased at both the undergraduate and graduate levels this spring, rising 4.1% over last spring, to 4,393 students. A total of 2,524 undergraduates and 1,869 graduate students are attending UIS this semester, while a total of 16 doctoral students are enrolled. Read more>>

Scholarship available for UIS students with musical talent

UIS students with musical talent can now apply for the Suzanna Kay Shiner Scholarship, an award that will provide $1,000 to one student each year, whether they have previously participated in a campus music group or not. The award is open to students of academic merit in any major. Recipients must enroll in one or more of the campus’ music ensembles (vocal or instrumental) each semester they hold the scholarship. Deadline to apply is February 15. Read more>>

Two programs will explore American fiddle music

The Music Program at UIS will host two programs focusing on American fiddle music and featuring guest artists and lecturers Howard Marshall and Ron Adams, who will share the stage with Sharon Graf, UIS assistant professor of ethnomusicology and director of music.

Marshall, Graf, and Adams will present a workshop/master class titled “So What IS the Difference Between a Fiddle and a Violin?” from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, February 23, in CPV 33. “Dancing Around Controversy: Styles of American Old Time Fiddling” will begin at noon on Friday, February 24, in the Visual Arts Gallery. Friday’s discussion will be followed by an open jam session. Read more>>

Book signing to be held at UIS

Mrs. Lady President and the Women of Washington Society, a book about Mary Todd Lincoln, will be unveiled at a book signing to be held from 12:30 to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, February 22, in the UIS Bookstore.

The author of the book is Peggy Dunn. “Mrs. Lady President provides a glimpse into life at the White House while Mary Todd Lincoln was the nation’s hostess and looks at the fashionable women of Washington in the 1860s,” said Dunn. Read more>>

Governor’s Budget Address carried live on WUIS

Public Radio WUIS 91.9 FM will broadcast Governor Rod Blagojevich’s annual Budget Address before a joint session of the Illinois general assembly live, in its entirety, beginning at noon on Wednesday, February 15. The station’s analysis of the speech will be hosted by WUIS News Director Rich Bradley and Statehouse Bureau Chief Sean Crawford and will feature Charles Wheeler, director of the Public Affairs Reporting program. Read more>>

Men’s Basketball Moves Up to #19

The UIS Prairie Stars men’s basketball team, following wins over American Midwest Conference foes Williams Baptist University and Columbia College, have moved up from #21 to #19 in this week’s National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Top 25 National Poll. Read more>>

Photos by UIS professor on display

Photographs by Kathy Petitte Jamison, UIS assistant professor of Communication, are among the works on display through February 26 at the David Strawn Art Gallery, 331 W. College Ave., Jacksonville. Jamison’s photos focus on a small candle shop in France, established in 1735, the only one in Europe still making candles by hand. Read more>>

“Taste of UIS” features political forecasts

The first in this spring’s “Taste of UIS Lunchtime Lecture Series,” sponsored by the U of I Alumni Association at UIS, will feature a presentation by local political pundits Bill Wheelhouse and Ron Michaelson, who will share their views on the year ahead.

The program is set for Wednesday, February 22, from noon to 1:15 p.m. at Maldaner’s Upstairs, 222 South Sixth St., Springfield. Read more>>

Annual Collegiate Career Fair to be held

The career planning and placement offices of UIS, LLCC, Robert Morris, and SCI will host the eighth annual Springfield Collegiate Career Fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, February 17, in the PAC. The event is free and the primary audience is current students and alumni of the four participating institutions. Representatives from approximately 100 area employers are expected to be on hand. Read more>>

Career Center launches new online system

The Career Development Center at UIS has launched UIS-SUCCESS, a new online career system that allows students, alumni, faculty, staff, and potential employers to explore options in several career-related areas. Tammy Craig, interim director of the CDC, noted that the expansion of services comes just in time for the annual career fair on February 17. Read more>>

Alumni association offers mid-career and job search workshops

The U of I Alumni Association at UIS and the Alumni SAGE Society will sponsor a workshop on “Options for Your Life’s Work at Mid-Life and Beyond” from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, February 16, in PAC conference room G. For those not so far advanced in their professional lives, a workshop on “Managing a Comprehensive Job Search” will be held from 5 to 6 p.m., also in conference room G.

Both sessions will be led by Claudia Delestowicz, from the UIAA’s award-winning Alumni Career Center in Chicago. Read more>>