Faculty Emeriti honored at luncheon

By Courtney Westlake

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Four faculty emeriti in the College of Education and Human Services were honored at a celebratory luncheon on Thursday, June 19, in the Sangamon Auditorium Lobby of the Public Affairs Center.

Each of those honored took part, with family members, in the unveiling of their personal, exquisitely-painted portraits, which will be hung in Brookens Library.

Done Yohe and Drs. Gary Storm, Barbara Hartman and Jack Genskow were recognized during the reception. Genskow, who has passed away since his retirement from the university, was represented by his wife and other family members.

All four honored faculty began at the university when it was Sangamon State University. Genskow came to SSU in 1978 and remained for 18 years while serving as professor and then chair of human development counseling.

"His prestigious presence was highly sought-after on numerous councils, committees and boards," said Larry Stonecipher, dean of the College of Education and Human Resources. "But it pales in comparison to the interpersonal contributions that he made to each and every person he knew. Those of us who knew Jack would find it difficult to adequately describe him. Apt descriptions include authentic, genteel, respectful, compassionate, hardworking. These virtues made him immensely effective as an adviser and teacher."

Dr. Barbara Hartman started at the university in 1973 and spent 20 years here as an associate professor of human development counseling and chair of the human development counseling department.

"As a teacher, Dr. Hartman had rigorous expectations of her students, yet even higher expectations of herself," Stonecipher said. "With passion, she devoted countless hours to the refinement of her courses and delivery of the content through teaching, always providing copious and truly meaningful feedback to her students. Dr. Hartman's striking contributions to the program, college and university created an enduring legacy for which we are all grateful."

Dr. Gary Storm came to SSU also in 1973 and served as a professor of both teacher education and social justice, chair of the teacher education program and associate dean of the human services and sciences during his 30 years here.

"His impact of service extended throughout the region by means of his extraordinary outreach of public service," Stonecipher said of Storm. "He is a model of service, scholarship and public engagement."

Don Yohe spent 27 years at SSU, starting in 1973 and retiring in 2000 after working as an associate professor and chair of Child, Family and Community Services.

"The expanse and fullness of his stellar contributions are still felt today," Stonecipher said. "He sought to ensure new faculty were practicing theorists and practicing clinicians. Students wholly appreciated the complete array of information he presented in classrooms, as well as his enthusiasm for his subjects."

After lunch, the three emeriti faculty participated in a question-and-answer session, during which they spoke about their experiences when first arriving at SSU and reminisced about their classes, relationships with other faculty and the legacies they all hoped to leave. Dr. Judy Everson, fellow faculty emeritus, served as moderator for the discussion.

Dr. Bill Abler, current chair of the Department of Human Development Counseling, also read a monologue entitled "Of Stasis and Movement: The Portrait as Still Life."

After the portrait unveiling, Genskow's wife spoke words of gratitude for her late husband.

"I'm so proud to stand here and see Jack so honored," she said. "I thank you all for being here and Larry for his comments. The one adjective that rang true to me was 'compassionate.' I just know how proud Jack would be to be presented as he is today. It's a beautiful portrait, and I thank you."

UIS appoints new Associate Chancellor for Access and Equal Opportunity

Deanie Brown (pictured at the left) has been appointed Associate Chancellor for Access and Equal Opportunity at the University of Illinois at Springfield, effective July 15. Her appointment is pending approval by the U of I Board of Trustees.

Brown comes to UIS from Dillard University in New Orleans, where she served as Senior Executive Officer, providing leadership and oversight for the President's Office, University Athletics, University Police, the University Disabilities Support Task Force, and Human Resources.

"Ms. Brown brings to UIS a wealth of knowledge and experience about diversity values, goals and benefits, as well as civil rights and issues related to minorities," said UIS Chancellor Richard Ringeisen. "Her legal expertise and success in higher education administration have prepared her well for this position. We welcome her to this university."

Before accepting the position at Dillard in 2006, Brown was Assistant to the President for Internal Relations at California State University, Stanislaus, for three years. In that capacity, she served as Chief Diversity and AA/EEO Officer. From 1996 to 2003, she worked at the U of I in Urbana-Champaign, first as staff associate in the Office of the Assistant Chancellor for Equal Opportunity and Access and later as that office's associate director. From 1999 to 2003, she served as UIUC's Director of Employee Relations and Human Resources.

Brown graduated from the University of Illinois College of Law and received a bachelor's degree in History of Architecture and Art from the U of I at Chicago.

At UIS, she succeeds Dr. Margaret Noe, who accepted a position as dean of the College of Education at Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

UIS' Office of Access and Equal Opportunity

More about Dillard University

UIS to host presentation on UN discussion of violence against women

Dr. Cindy Smith, chief of the International Center of the National Institute of Justice, Washington, DC, will speak on "The Ultimate Diversity: 191 Member Countries of the United Nations Try to Agree on Issues of Violence against Women" at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 26, in Brookens Auditorium at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Brookens Auditorium is located on the lower level of Brookens Library on the UIS campus.

The program is free and open to the public.

At the 17th session of the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, held in April in Vienna, member states were unable to agree on issues surrounding violence against women around the world.

This presentation will examine the political and cultural context in which these debates took place, as well as the implications of UN resolutions for the United States.

From 1996 to 1998, Smith was a faculty member in the Criminal Justice program at UIS, where her teaching focused on research methods and statistics, policy, and the fundamentals of criminal justice. She is presently on leave from the University of Baltimore, where she was the director of the Criminal Justice Graduate Program for several years. A Senior Fulbright Research Scholar, she recently returned from Ankara, Turkey, where she spent nearly a year conducting research on human trafficking. Dr. Smith serves as chair of the Division of International Criminology of the American Society of Criminology and is a board member of the International Scientific and Professional Advisory Council to the United Nations. Over the past decade she has received state and federal grants for research in such areas as prison-based therapeutic communities, chronic juvenile offenders, and juvenile gender issues. She has also published widely on the topics of suicide terrorism, elderly victims of financial abuse, restorative justice in the United Nations, and transnational crime and technology methods.

Dr. Smith’s presentation is part of the ECCE (Engaged Citizenship Common Experience) Speakers Series at UIS, campus-sponsored lectures by speakers who exemplify engaged citizenship. The series is a one-hour course that is part of the Engaged Citizenship Common Experience, the distinctive set of courses taken by undergraduates at UIS to foster appreciation for and practice of diversity and the active effort to make a difference in the world. This summer’s series concludes with "The Power of Photography in Social Movements," a presentation by Dr. Larry Livingston, UIS assistant professor of Social Work, on July 16.

For more information about the ECCE speaker series, contact Kimberly Craig at 206-6425 or by e-mail at speakerseries@uis.edu.

See a webcast of the presentation

More about the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

More about the Commission's 17th session

More about the National Institute of Justice

The NIJ International Center

The NIJ Violence against Women and Family Violence Program

More about Dr. Cindy Smith

More about Criminal Justice at UIS

Management Department announces award winners

Three students majoring in Management at the University of Illinois at Springfield have received awards for excellence.

Jacqueline W. Ripper, of Edelstein, Illinois, is the recipient of the department's 2008 Highest Academic Achievement Award. This honor, which includes a monetary award, recognizes Ripper for academic excellence.

Timothy R. Mulvihill, of Orland Hills, Illinois, is the recipient of The Wall Street Journal Student Achievement Award, presented annually to a student who best exemplifies managerial competence, both in the classroom and professionally. Mulvihill is a staff sergeant in the Illinois Air National Guard (Peoria Air National Guard Base). He received a year's subscription to The Wall Street Journal.

Rachel L. Dasenbrock, of Greenville, Illinois, has been awarded the 2008 James C. Worthy Award for writing the best senior paper in the program. This honor, which includes a monetary award, pays tribute to the late James C. Worthy, a charter member of the management faculty. Each year's winner is selected by the faculty who teach the course Strategic Management and Leadership.

Housed within UIS' College of Business and Management, the baccalaureate Management program prepares students to become leaders in all types of organizations through a curriculum designed to develop critical conceptual and interpersonal skills.

UIS graduate signs copies of new book on campus

By Courtney Westlake

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UIS hosted a book signing with award-winning author Carol Manley on Wednesday evening, June 11, in the Public Affairs Center restaurant. Manley signed copies of her latest novel, Church Booty, which was a runner-up for the third annual Tartts Fiction Award.

Manley is a 2003 graduate of UIS and received her master's degree in English. She is currently a guest editor of the People's Poetry column in Illinois Times.

In 2006, Manley won a $7,000 Illinois Arts Council fellowship, as well as first place, third place, and seven honorable mentions in the categories of literary/mainstream short fiction and non-rhyming poetry in a contest sponsored by Writer's Digest.

Church Booty is Manley's second story. After her daughter got in a car accident a few years ago, and then Manley became involved in a couple of churches, these experiences led her to develop the characters and plot in Church Booty, she said.

Manley feels Church Booty could have easily been the winner of the Tartts Fiction Award, but, as evidence of her strong writing, it is the first time that the editors published the runner-up novel in addition to the winner.

"I've come in second to stories I haven't thought were as good as mine, but they're more dignified," Manley said. "But they've never done this before, never published the runner-up."

Manley said she has heard from her publisher that the people working on editing and publishing the book have enjoyed reading it. And to her credit, there was nothing they changed in the book, she said.

There have been delays in the book's release, but that didn't stop UIS professor emerita and Manley's mentor Dr. Jackie Jackson from organizing the book signing on Wednesday.

"It's exciting. It's all Jackie Jackson; she put it all together and pressured me," Manley laughed. "I'm really surprised and happy to see all these people. I think that people really like the book."

Transition plan for Division of Student Affairs announced

Chancellor Ringeisen announced today a transition plan for the Division of Student Affairs, to be effective when Vice Chancellor Chris Miller leaves UIS to become the Vice President for Student Affairs at Marquette University in Milwaukee. Dr. Miller begins his new job there July 15.

First of all, a search for Dr. Miller's replacement will begin immediately. In fact, it has already begun, because the chancellor is in the process of consulting with the Campus Senate leadership to determine the makeup of the search committee. We hope to have a new vice chancellor in place by January 1, 2009.

There will not be an interim vice chancellor. Instead, two senior administrators in Student Affairs will assume responsibility for day-to-day operations. They are Steve Chrans, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, and Dr. Marya Leatherwood, Associate Vice Chancellor and Director of Enrollment Management/Associate Professor, Management. Both will be "interim assistant chancellors" and report to Ed Wojcicki, Associate Chancellor for Constituent Relations and Chief of Staff to the Chancellor. These interim titles and reporting lines are temporary and will end when the new vice chancellor is hired.

All units in Student Affairs will report either to Chrans or Dr. Leatherwood during the interim period. Chrans and Leatherwood met with division leaders today to inform them of these new plans.

Joining Chrans, Leatherwood and Wojcicki on an "interim senior management team" will be Tisha Palmer, the Student Affairs Office Administrator, and Chris Ryan, Assistant to the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. Palmer and Ryan will continue to provide leadership to the entire division.

Another important change taking place this summer will be the re-establishment of an Administration Division. UIS used to have an Administrative Services division and vice chancellor, but that position was cut and the division split up a few years ago during times of severe budget cuts. Pending Board of Trustees approval, Dave Barrows will become Associate Chancellor for Administration. Dave will continue to serve in his role as executive director of Facilities and Services. Among the units moving into this division will be Facilities and Services from Student Affairs; and Conference Services from the Chancellor's Division. Also in this division will be the new Office of Sustainability and a new Parking Services unit. Other units may be added, but these are the first ones to be a part of the new division. The administrative aspect of parking services -- the selling of parking decals maintenance of parking records -- will move to this division from the Police Department. The changes to the administration of parking services are expected to take a few months or up to year, with Barrows and Police Chief Don Mitchell working together to provide a smooth transition

Finally, the reporting line for the Department of Athletics will move from Student Affairs to the Chancellor's Division, a strong preference of the NCAA as UIS makes the transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division II.

"I am grateful to everyone who is stepping up at this time," Chancellor Ringeisen said. "We have a lot of great leadership who I am confident will continue to move UIS in pursuit of becoming one of the top five small public liberal arts universities in the nation. Everything we do, we do for students; that is how we have been operating, and that will continue."

Comments about these changes are welcome on Wojcicki's blog; go to

http://www.uis.edu/newsbureau/community/. Just click on the "comments" link under the most recent entry.