UIS announces fall semester 2009 Deans' List

A total of 455 students have been named to the University of Illinois Springfield Deans’ List for the 2009 fall semester; 80 are students in the college of Business and Management, 68 are students in the College of Education and Human Services, 256 are enrolled in programs in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 40 are enrolled in programs in the College of Public Affairs and Administration, and 11 are non-degree or undecided.

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.

The list is organized alphabetically by hometown.

Download a PDF of the Fall 2009 Deans' List:
Deans' List Release Fall09.pdf

Burlingame's biography of Lincoln wins 2010 Lincoln Prize

A two-volume biography that was 30 years in the making, by one of the foremost living authorities on Abraham Lincoln, has won the 2010 Lincoln Prize.

Michael Burlingame will receive the $50,000 Lincoln Prize for his book, “Abraham Lincoln: A Life” (Johns Hopkins University Press), as well as a bronze replica of Augustus Saint-Gaudens life-size bust, “Lincoln the Man.” Burlingame is the Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair of Lincoln Studies at the University of Illinois Springfield. The prize, sponsored by Gettysburg College and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, will be awarded April 27 at the Union League in New York.

The prize was co-founded in 1990 by businessmen and philanthropists Richard Gilder and Lewis Lehrman, co-chairmen of the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History in New York and co-creators of the Gilder Lehrman Collection - one of the largest private archives of documents and artifacts in the nation. The Institute is devoted to history education, supporting magnet schools, teacher training, digital archives, curriculum development, exhibitions and publications, as well as the national History Teacher of the Year program.

The book is a comprehensive look at Lincoln’s life - from growing up impoverished in rural Kentucky and Indiana, to building a career as an ambitious politician that led him to become the 16th president of the United States. Burlingame writes about the trials and tribulations Lincoln experienced as commander-in-chief and focuses on his leadership during the Civil War. From private sorrows to public disasters, Burlingame tells the whole story of one of America’s greatest presidents.

“Burlingame’s massive biography of Abraham Lincoln is a landmark of American historical scholarship. Nothing surpasses Burlingame’s comprehensive and detailed research into the entire life of Lincoln,” Lehrman said. “His prose and arguments are always clear and straightforward, even if some judgments will be vigorously debated. Because the author of this extraordinary biography has unearthed new evidence and reviewed all previous scholarship, these debates will have to contend with the vast document-based evidence, which this Lincoln Prize winner brings to bear on the life of Lincoln. Every member of the literate general public, interested in Abraham Lincoln, is surely indebted to Burlingame for his tireless research into archives and newspapers never before examined.”

“Michael Burlingame’s “Abraham Lincoln: A Life” is meticulously researched and provides a multi-faceted portrait of a man who grew into greatness,” said Janet Morgan Riggs, president of Gettysburg College. “Though its length may be intimidating to some, Burlingame’s narrative is accessible and engaging. No one who reads this powerful work will ever look at Lincoln quite the same way again.”

The three-member 2010 Lincoln Prize jury - Douglas Wilson, the George A. Lawrence Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus and co-director of the Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College; Joseph R. Fornieri, Associate Professor of Political Science at Rochester Institute of Technology; and James Oakes, Distinguished Professor and Graduate School Humanities Professor at CUNY Graduate Center - considered 118 titles for the award before recommending the finalists to the Lincoln Prize board which makes the final decision. In addition to Lehrman, Gilder and Riggs, the Board includes James G. Basker, President of the Gilder Lehrman Institute; Gabor Boritt, Fluhrer Professor of Civil War Studies emeritus at Gettysburg College; and Edwin T. Johnson, Gettysburg College Trustee emeritus.

Finalists for the prize included Robert McGlone’s “John Brown's War Against Slavery” (Cambridge University Press) and Mark Wahlgren Summers’ “A Dangerous Stir: Fear, Paranoia, and the Making of Reconstruction” (University of North Carolina Press).
Past Lincoln Prize winners include Ken Burns in 1991 for his documentary, “The Civil War,” Allen Guelzo for his books, “Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President” in 2000 and “Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America” in 2005 and Doris Kearns Goodwin in 2006 for her book, “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.” Last year's co-winners were James McPherson for his book, “Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief” and Craig Symonds for his book, “Lincoln and His Admirals: Abraham Lincoln, the U.S. Navy, and the Civil War.”

About Burlingame
Born in Washington, D.C., Burlingame attended Phillips Academy, Andover. As a freshman at Princeton University, he enrolled in the Civil War course taught by the eminent Lincolnian David Herbert Donald, who took him under his wing as a research assistant. When Donald moved to Johns Hopkins University, Burlingame followed him upon his graduation from Princeton. Burlingame received his Ph.D. in 1968 from Johns Hopkins University and joined the history department at Connecticut College in New London, where he taught until retiring in 2001 as the Sadowski Professor of History Emeritus. He joined the faculty at the University of Illinois Springfield in 2009.

Burlingame is the author of “The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln” (University of Illinois Press, 1994) and has edited volumes of Lincoln primary source materials. Burlingame has received the Abraham Lincoln Association Book Prize (1996), Lincoln Diploma of Honor from Lincoln Memorial University (1998) and an Honorable Mention for the Lincoln Prize (2001). He was inducted into the Lincoln Academy of Illinois in 2009.

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition that includes Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate and other distinguished scholars among its alumni. The college enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students and is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, founded in 1994, is a not-for-profit organization that oversees the Gilder Lehrman Collection and conducts history education programs in all fifty states, serving more than 3,000 teachers, their students and their communities, across the country every year.

Technology Day draws crowds to learn about social technologies

Technology within education has been growing by leaps and bounds, and now educators and institutions are even using social media tools within online learning and teaching.

The latest and greatest of this innovative technology was showcased during the 10th annual Technology Day at UIS on Wednesday, February 10 in the Public Affairs Center. The theme for this year’s event was “What Are You Learning Now? Teaching with Social Technologies.”

"It's appropriate that our campus would have Technology Day," said Provost Harry Berman. "Technology has become such a big part of our instruction. About half of our students take at least one online course and about half of our faculty teach online."

The keynote speaker for the event was Kyle Bowen, who is the director of informatics at Purdue University. Bowen spoke primarily about his role in the development of Hotseat, a new social networking-powered tool that enables students to collaborate via Twitter or Facebook both inside and outside of the classroom.

"Students use these during classroom time and are usually disruptive, but what they're doing at Purdue is trying to use these tools to get students engaged in classroom," explained Tulio Llosa, director of educational technology in the office of Information Technology Services at UIS. "They're changing the mode from a disruptive thing to an engagement thing so that students are asking questions, interacting with class and not falling asleep in the back row."

There were also more than 20 workshops and presentations throughout the afternoon with topics such as using social technology for marketing and recruitment at UIS, Lecture Capture (which is available for faculty to record their own lectures for student use), and training sessions for faculty on BlackBoard 9, which is an update from Blackboard 7 currently used at UIS.

A former UIS instructor also gave a presentation on free online tools that he is currently using to teach with. His presentation was done via Skype, a free online video service.

"We are a state-of-the-art facility in terms of having different technology available to our faculty," Llosa said. "During Technology Day, we try to show the world that we have these tools at UIS, what we're using these tools for and how we're making our classes more engaging for our students. We want to show people the exciting things we're doing here."

UIS student receives award for leadership and academics

University of Illinois Springfield student Brett Walker has recently received the William N. Wasson Student Leadership & Academic Award, given by the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA).

The award recognizes top undergraduate and graduate students who are participants of and/or employed by the Department of Recreational Sports at their university and honors outstanding student leaders who are active participants, employees or volunteers at their institution.

Walker, a senior legal studies major from Greenville, Ill., has been employed by the Department of Recreational Sports at UIS since the fall of 2007, first as a front desk attendant and currently as a facility supervisor. He was nominated for the award by JT Timmons, director of Recreational Sports.

“I’ve had thousands of students work for me over the years and have come to recognize the character and abilities that would exemplify the most worthy to receive this distinguished award,” Timmons noted. “Brett models these things while working for Recreational Sports, and it is also clear to me that he has become part of the fabric that is critical to influencing, and caring for, the learning environment here at UIS. His dedication to Recreational Sports and the university, as well as current and future students, is appreciated by many.”

Walker’s award is a plaque designed by NIRSA, and it will be presented at the Student Business Meeting of the annual NIRSA conference held in Anaheim, California on April 22.

“I was extremely excited and surprised to receive the award,” Walker said. “Just being nominated was really impressive and honorable.”

UIS sets record for spring semester enrollment

Enrollment at the University of Illinois Springfield has set a record for a spring semester with 4,862 students enrolled, an increase of 327 over last spring. Spring 2010 enrollment tops a record set in spring 2007 when 4,613 students were enrolled.

The 7.2 percent increase is primarily due to a larger number of continuing students, according to both UIS Chancellor Richard Ringeisen and Dr. Tim Barnett, vice chancellor for student affairs.

“We are making significant strides in retaining students. UIS is a unique combination of a state liberal arts university with a public affairs mission,” said Barnett.

Student enrollment at UIS in fall 2009 was the largest ever in the institution’s 39-year history, with 4,961 students. Chancellor Ringeisen pointed to recent positive additions on campus, such as the Center for First Year Students, the Center for Teaching and Learning, the Diversity Center and more undergraduate advisors, as reasons for record enrollment in both the fall and spring.

“The larger-than-expected increase in spring enrollment is a sign that UIS is attracting and retaining students at a record pace,” Ringeisen noted. “It shows that new students are sensing the excitement and that our continuing students want to stay with us more than ever. We are extremely proud of our students, faculty and staff.”

Additionally, the number of students majoring in degree programs at UIS that are fully online is at an all-time high for a spring semester as well, according to Ray Schroeder, director of UIS’ Center for Online Learning, Research and Service. The total number of students with online majors is 1,290, which is an increase of 9.7 percent over last spring.

UIS offers 16 online degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. More than one-fourth of UIS students are online degree program students, and more than half of all students at UIS are taking at least one online class.

“It is exciting to know that we continue to grow through this difficult recession, and that UIS is able to offer students online opportunities that give them flexibility to seek new careers and employment opportunities while completing degrees and certificates online,” Schroeder said.

Public invited to participate in UIS study abroad course in Japan

The University of Illinois Springfield’s Global Experience program will be offering a short course on Japanese language and culture in Ashikaga, Japan during the second and third weeks of June. Members of the public community, in addition to degree-seeking students, are invited and welcome to participate.

The daily schedule in Ashikaga will include instruction in Japanese language and culture on the campus of the Ashikaga Institute of Technology (AIT), UIS’ sister university in Japan. Participants will be able to experience a tea ceremony, Japanese cuisine, flower arranging, Buddhist meditation, calligraphy and Japanese martial arts.

Each day will include educational field trips including trips to the Mayor's Office and City Hall; the Civil Engineering Department and Environmental Studies Program at AIT; the Kurita Porcelain Museum; the Ashikaga Gakko, the oldest university in Japan; the Bannaji Buddhist Temple; a farm or factory and a public school. In addition, participants will attend field trips to the Nikko Nature Preserve and Shinto Temple complex and to Tokyo.

Lodging will be in a combination of hotels, guest houses and home stays. All expenses, lodging, meals (with the exception of a few lunches), local and international travel and entrance fees are included in the program fee. Tuition and university fees for degree-seeking students are not included in the program fee, however. It is anticipated that the program fee will be approximately $2,500, dependent upon international airfare.

The deadline for signing up for the course is March 26.

For more information and application materials, contact the UIS Office of International Programs at 217/206-8319 or email intprog@uis.edu.

Bob Lael is named 2009 Employee of the Year at UIS

Bob Lael, assistant manager of Human Resources at the University of Illinois Springfield, was named 2009 Employee of the Year at the 27th annual Employee of the Year Recognition Ceremony, held January 28 on the UIS campus.

Lael was selected from among 11 UIS staff members who had been employees of the month during the past year. He was employee of the month for May.

Materials nominating him at that time noted that “Bob always has time for everyone. No matter what time or how busy he is, he takes time to meet with current and prospective employees and students to answer questions regarding all of the various employee benefits and student insurance. He is an excellent example of what we should all strive to be here at UIS.”

Serving as master of ceremonies, Wesley Weisenburn, director of Human Resources, cited all 11 employees of the month for their “exemplary characteristics and attitudes. They serve as role models,” he said.

UIS Chancellor Richard Ringeisen made the official announcement and presentation. All 11 employees of the month also stood up to be recognized for their achievements.

As he accepted the award, Lael said, “I’m standing up here today not because of what I did, but because of what you all have helped me to do; each and every day, I rely on many others around me to give me the tools that I need to succeed in my job. I’m humbled, honored and very thankful for this award.”

Lael has been employed at UIS since 2005.

Other employees of the month for 2009 were Emily Welch Boles, computer assisted instructional specialist in the Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning; Tom Micklus, electrician foreman for Facilities & Services; Patricia Stoutamyer, office support specialist for the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences; Kimberly Craig, assistant to the associate vice chancellor of undergraduate education for Academic Affairs; Pam Rodgers, microcomputer coordinator for Information Technology Services; Michelle Green, director of marketing; Laurie Koehne, building service worker for Facilities & Services; Terry Minder, assistant grounds gardener; Bobbie Fults, office support specialist for the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences; and Patty Sullivan, graphic designer for Service Enterprises.

The UIS Employee of the Year receives gifts that include a check for $500.