U of I ethics officer wins statewide award

University of Illinois Ethics Officer Donna McNeely has been named recipient of the Illinois Executive Ethics Commission's 2008 Abraham Lincoln Ethics Award. The award was presented at a luncheon held April 29 at UIS.

The award recognizes a state employee who has a "demonstrated record of exemplary adherence to the principles of integrity, fairness, and service" to Illinois citizens. McNeely is responsible for ethics issues across all three U of I campuses. Read more>>

Arlo Guthrie Solo Reunion Tour finishes 07-08 Performing Arts Season

The 2007-2008 Performing Arts Season at Sangamon Auditorium will conclude with a performance by Arlo Guthrie, part of his Solo Reunion Tour, Together at Last on Thursday, May 15, at 7:30 p.m.

Guthrie is perhaps best known for "Alice's Restaurant" and became a symbol of social activism during the 1960s. Now he has embarked on a solo tour with nothing but a couple of guitars and a harmonica, something he has rarely done since his performance at Woodstock. Read more>>

Media Advisory: UIS Cares project

In observance of UIS Cares Day, the Office of Student Volunteer Services & Civic Engagement will complete a beautification project on Wednesday, April 30, at Jefferson Middle School.

The event is part of UIS' participation in National Volunteer Week. UIS selected Jefferson Middle School as the project site this year because of a strong mentoring partnership between the university and the school. Read more>>

Commencement will be May 10 at The Center

Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne M. Burke will be the speaker at UIS commencement ceremonies, which will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 10, at the Prairie Capital Convention Center, Ninth and Adams streets in downtown Springfield. Of the 1,292 students eligible to graduate, 715 will participate in the ceremony. Read more, including a list of related events and the names of program marshals>>

UIS will present programs on Strawbridge-Shepherd House

"Strawbridge-Shepherd House – Its Past, Present, and Future" is the subject of Lunch and Learn programs sponsored by the UIS Alumni SAGE Society on Tuesday, May 20, and Thursday, May 22, at Strawbridge-Shepherd House, located on the south side of campus.

Strawbridge-Shepherd House was built in 1845 by Thomas Strawbridge. In 2007, UIS and the Elijah Iles House Foundation joined forces to save the structure, and the house has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past year. The programs will include a tour of renovations currently underway, as well as presentations by a representative from the Iles Foundation, a restoration expert, and a landscape architect. Read more>>

Reception honors faculty achievements

Achievements by faculty in a variety of areas were recognized at the annual spring reception, held April 28 on campus. Chancellor Richard Ringeisen and Provost/Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Harry Berman presided over the ceremony honoring faculty members who have received tenure and/or promotion, been awarded sabbaticals, or granted emeritus status. The Pearson Faculty Award for Teaching, the Spencer Award for Service, the Oakley Award for Excellence in Online Teaching, and the Faculty Excellence Award were also presented. Read more>>

Media Advisory: New coffee shop opens

A ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the grand opening of Mary Jane's Cafe will be at 3:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 29, in the first level stairwell area of Brookens Library. The cafe is named for Mary Jane MacDonald, the first librarian hired at Sangamon State University. Read more>>

Senior Exhibition "Three Space"

Graduating seniors in the Visual Arts department will showcase their individual styles and disciplines in "Three Space," the annual Senior Student Art Exhibition. Three exhibits of work by 18 students will showcase a variety of themes, styles, and media.

Exhibits will be on display in the Lincoln Residence Hall Great Room, Public Affairs Center lobby, and Visual Arts Gallery. An opening reception will be held at each location from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, May 2. Read more>>

"UIS Cares" will focus on Jefferson Middle School

UIS' Office of Student Volunteer Services and Civic Engagement will sponsor the sixth annual "UIS Cares" event on Wednesday, April 30, as part of the campus' participation in National Volunteer Week. From 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., members of the campus community will complete a beautification project at Jefferson Middle School.

Christopher Miller, vice chancellor for student and administrative services, said that Jefferson Middle School was selected as the project site this year because a strong mentoring partnership already exists between the two campuses. Read more>>

WUIS/WIPA to sponsor Young Musicians Fiddle Competition

Public radio station WUIS/WIPA will sponsor its third Young Musician Concert Competition beginning at 2 p.m., Saturday, May 3, at the New Salem State Historical Site Visitor's Center Auditorium. The station's Music Director Karl Scroggin noted that this program differs from previous competitions in that it is for young Bluegrass fiddlers. The event is made possible by Illinois National Bank.

Read more, including a link to contest rules and information on how to enter>>

UIS to hold annual Alternative Prom

The Queer-Straight Alliance at UIS will host its annual Alternative Prom from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Saturday, April 26, in the Student Center. Based on the theme "rockOUT," this year's event will feature Hollywood glitz and glamour. The event is open to all lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgendered, and questioning youth and their allies in the area. Read more>>

Innocence Project will hold awards reception

The Downstate Illinois Innocence Project will hold a Defenders of the Innocent Awards Reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 6, at the Pasfield House, 525 S. Pasfield, in Springfield.

The event will honor lawyers for Herb Whitlock, recently exonerated of murder, as well as three legislators who worked on reforms in the 2007 legislative session. It was rescheduled because of inclement weather earlier in the year. Read more>>

Media Advisory: Emiquon Grand Opening

The grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for the UIS Emiquon Field Station will be Friday, April 25, at 4 p.m. at The Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Preserve, near Havana. Read more, including directions to the site>>

WUIS/WIPA exceeds spring pledge goal

Raising more than $136,000, public radio station WUIS/WIPA defied recession conditions to "go over the top" in its spring fund-raising drive, according to Station Manager Bill Wheelhouse.

Wheelhouse called the spring pledge drive "very gratifying in the face of deteriorating economic conditions ...Thanks to the commitment of our listeners we again met our basic needs," he said. Read more>>

Media Advisory: Presentation on choices for LGBT students

Theatre historian and author Dr. Robert Schanke will speak on "Passing and Covering: Good Choices for LGBT Students?" at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, in Brookens Auditorium.

Schanke is a professor emeritus of Theatre at Central College, Pella, Iowa. His many books include The Gay and Lesbian Theatrical Legacy. Read more>>

Alice's Restaurant buffet supper to be held

The UIS Alumni SAGE Society will sponsor an Alice's Restaurant Buffet Supper on Thursday, May 15, prior to the performance of Arlo Guthrie's "Solo Reunion Tour – Together at Last" later that evening in Sangamon Auditorium. A cash bar reception beginning at 5:30 p.m. and a buffet dinner at 6 p.m. will be held in the PAC restaurant; Guthrie's performance begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Auditorium. The menu for the buffet is developed from Alice May Brock's 1969 Alice's Restaurant Cookbook. Read more>>

Media Advisory: UIS Earth Day speaker

UIS will observe Earth Day – Tuesday, April 22 – with "Education and Action for a Sustainable Future," an address by Dr. Debra Rowe, president of the U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development, at 7 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium.

Serving in leadership positions with a number of national organizations, Rowe works with educational institutions across the country to integrate a sustainable worldview into formal education at all levels. Read more>>

Media Advisory: Field Station at the Emiquon Preserve opens

UIS' Emiquon Field Station at The Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Preserve will host an open house for the Field Station's new state-of-the art research and educational facilities on Saturday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Guests are invited for tours of the field station, presentations on the Illinois River and area cultural history, a watershed demonstration model, and hiking tours of the Preserve.

The Emiquon Preserve is located at 11316 N. Prairie Road, Lewiston. Read more>>

UIS Music will host presentations by noted Creole scholar

Noted Creole scholar and composer Dr. Sybil Kein will be a special guest of UIS Music for two events on Friday, May 2.

From noon to 1 p.m. in the Visual Arts Gallery, Dr. Kein will present a free public lecture titled "Gumbo People: Celebrating and Teaching the Creole Culture of New Orleans." The program will feature poetry, folklore, and stories. At 7:30 that evening in the Studio Theatre, Kein will be present as UIS Music's annual Spring Showcase Concert includes a performance of her Suite from Didn't He Ramble! Read more>>

HistoryMakers exhibit celebrates black achievement

"African-American History Makers: Agents of Change" is the subject of a multimedia exhibit on display through April 30 in the PAC lobby. The exhibit is a production of the University of Illinois and The HistoryMakers, a Chicago-based independent nonprofit oral history archive; one exhibit will be installed at each U of I campus.

The UIS exhibit features 3-feet by 8-feet standing banners with original illustrations and short biographies of 10 subjects, including former U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Carol Moseley Braun; Illinois Senate president Emil Jones; Chicago Federal Reserve Bank chairman Lester McKeever; U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Barack Obama; and poet Sterling Plumpp. Read more>>

Media Advisory: Take Back the Night Rally and March

UIS and LLCC will sponsor their first-ever Take Back the Night Rally and March on Friday, April 18. The event begins at 7 p.m. with a rally at Lincoln Land at which survivors of abuse will share their stories. Read more>>

UIS to host annual Verbal Arts Festival

UIS' 2008 Verbal Arts Festival will be Friday and Saturday, May 2 and 3. Events will range from a presentation by a noted poet to a luncheon, a readers' theater, and a preview of the latest Alchemist Review.

The festival will begin with an address by award-winning poet Pamela McClure at 6 p.m. Friday in Brookens Auditorium. Read more>>

Media Advisory: "African-American History Makers, Agents of Change"

An opening reception for the multimedia exhibit "African-American History Makers: Agents of Change" will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 16, in the PAC restaurant. Read more>>

Kim Hayden receives fifth annual CAPE Award at UIS

Kim Hayden, director of the Office of Graduate Intern Programs, is the recipient of the fifth annual Chancellor's Academic Professional Excellence Award at UIS.

The award, which recognizes U of I academic professionals for their efforts in three general categories -- work projects, professional development, and contributions to their units -- was presented at a reception held April 15 in the PAC restaurant. Read more>>

Presentation on choices for LGBT students

Theatre historian and author Dr. Robert A. Schanke will speak on "Passing and Covering: Good Choices for LGBT Students?" at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, in Brookens Auditorium.

Schanke is professor emeritus of Theatre at Central College, Pella, Iowa. His numerous books include "That Furious Lesbian": The Story of Mercedes de Acosta, which was a ForeWord magazine Book of the Year in 2003. Read more>>

Campus Preview Day

UIS will host a Campus Preview Day for prospective students and their families from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 26. The program will include an academic fair, campus tours, lunch, and greetings from the chancellor and provost. Read more>>

Commencement speaker will be Justice Anne Burke

Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne M. Burke will be the speaker at UIS' 37th commencement ceremony, which will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 10, at the Prairie Capital Convention Center.

Long known as a children's advocate, Justice Burke has been a member of the judiciary since 1987 and was appointed to the State Supreme Court in 2006. Read more>>

Discussions on immigration and community organizing

Mary Gonzales, western territory director for the Gamaliel Foundation, will facilitate a series of Dialogues on Immigration and Community Organizing on Friday, April 18, at UIS.

At 1 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium, Gonzales will make a presentation offered as part of the ECCE Speakers Series. She will also lead two workshops, from 3:30 to 4:45 p.m. and from 6 to 7:30 p.m., in PAC conference room H.

Gonzales is widely considered to be one of the country's most gifted speakers on community organizing and women's leadership development and is recognized as one of the most effective trainers in the art of grass-roots organizing today. Read more>>

Criminal justice honor society inducts five

Induction ceremonies for five new members of the Epsilon Chi Chapter of Alpha Phi Sigma, the national criminal justice honor society, will be held at 6 p.m. Sunday, April 13, in the Public Affairs Center restaurant.

New inductees are Karen Harrold, Jonathan Hartwig, Jennifer Lamb, Nicole Reynolds, and Ashley Stewart. The ceremony will also honor 21 members who are graduating this academic year.

Alpha Phi Sigma is the only national honor society for criminal justice majors and recognizes academic excellence. Read more>>

Symposium will spotlight graduate fellowship program

The Whitney M. Young Graduate Fellowship Program at UIS will host a spring symposium from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 17, in PAC conference rooms C/D. Prospective students who are interested in becoming Fellows are especially encouraged to attend.

The program will showcase current Fellows discussing their academic work and participation in community service efforts. The Fellowship honors Whitney M. Young, who was executive director of the National Urban League, as well as an educator and social activist. Read more>>

Hal Holbrook returns in "Mark Twain Tonight!"

UIS will host another return performance of "Mark Twain Tonight!" starring Oscar nominee Hal Holbrook on Saturday, April 19, at 8 p.m. in Sangamon Auditorium.

Holbrook's one-man show was the inaugural performance when the Auditorium opened its doors on February 21, 1981, and he has presented the show five times on campus since then. However, he draws from more than 15 hours of Twain material in his repertoire and there is no set program — Holbrook chooses the program as he goes along. Read more>>

Fred Garbo's inflatable family fun comes to Auditorium's Family Series

Fred Garbo Inflatable Theater Co. will bring larger-than-life inflatable creations to Sangamon Auditorium for a fun Family Series performance on Friday, April 18, at 7 p.m. The stars are pneumatic wizard Fred Garbo and Brazilian ballerina Daielma Santos, and, most importantly, big blow-up shapes that dance, shimmer, balloon, deflate, and bounce in a rainbow of colors. Read more>>

Domestic partner benefits are subject of presentation

"Domestic Partner Benefits: A Matter of Equity" is the subject of a presentation beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 24, in Brookens Auditorium. Panelists will analyze the disparities between benefits offered to "traditional" and "non-traditional" couples.

The program is designed as an introductory session for anyone interested in the legal and fiscal implications of domestic partner benefits – especially health insurance. Sponsors are the UIS Pre-Law Center and the State University Annuitants Association. Read more>>

Student is finalist in international photography contest

UIS student Sue Huskins is a finalist in the 28th Annual Student Photography Contest sponsored by Nikon, USA and Photographer's Forum Magazine. Her photo, a Chicago street scene titled "Repetition in Glass," will be published in Best of College Photography Annual 2008. Over 4,000 students entered this year's contest, which was open to photography students worldwide. Read more>>

UIS names first Ameren Endowed Professor

Dr. Karl McDermott has been named UIS' first Ameren Endowed Professor in Business and Government. He assumed his duties on April 1. The professorship was established through a $500,000 gift to UIS from the Ameren Corporation and will be housed within UIS' College of Business and Management.

Gary Rainwater, chairman, chief executive officer, and president of Ameren Corporation, said that the gift recognizes UIS' "forward-thinking approach."

Dr. McDermott comes to UIS from National Economic Research Associates, where he was a vice president. Read more>>

Earth Day observance focuses on a sustainable future

UIS will observe Earth Day – Tuesday, April 22 – with an address by Dr. Debra Rowe, president of the U.S. Partnership for Education for Sustainable Development. Dr. Rowe will speak on "Education and Action for a Sustainable Future" beginning at 7 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium.

The United Nations 2002 World Summit declared 2005-2014 a Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. As president of the U.S. Partnership, Rowe works with educational institutions across the country to integrate a sustainable worldview into formal education at all levels. Read more>>

Visual Arts Gallery presents alumni exhibition

The UIS Alumni Exhibition, a group show of works by outstanding recent alumni of the Visual Arts program, will be on display in the Visual Arts Gallery through Friday, April 18. A wine and hors d'oeuvres reception will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, April 11, as part of the Arts Night celebration. Read more>>