President of China's Harbin University of Science and Technology visits UIS

The University of Illinois Springfield is strengthening its partnership with China’s Harbin University of Science and Technology. A delegation, including the President of Harbin University, visited UIS on Friday, October 29, 2010.

The two schools want to grow their partnership to allow for the further exchange of students and faculty members. Already, UIS has welcomed visiting faculty members from China and now the hope is to give students from both schools exchange opportunities.

“I hope that this visit will be the beginning of more visits by faculty and students from the Harbin University of Science and Technology,” said UIS Chancellor Harry Berman.

College of Business and Management Dean Ronald McNeil helped arrange the delegation’s visit to the United States and recently traveled to China to meet with administrators at Harbin.

“In a global world we need to understand our cultures better to compete, to work together and collaborate, so it gives us that opportunity,” said McNeil.

Harbin is the largest province-owned engineering university in the Heilongjiang Province in northeastern China. The university has four campuses and a total enrollment of around 21,000 students.

“To work together it means these things will happen to benefit Springfield, to benefit our students and benefit Illinois,” said McNeil.

While in Springfield the group also toured Hanson Engineering, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and the Illinois State Capitol.

Lynn Pardie named Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

University of Illinois Springfield Acting Chancellor Harry Berman has appointed Dr. Lynn Pardie to serve as Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, effective January 1, 2011, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees at its November meeting. Pardie will replace Berman in his position as provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, which he will continue to fill until the end of this year.

“Her administrative experience, her scholarship, and the respect she has earned as a UIS faculty member and administrator since 1989 make her a great choice to lead Academic Affairs through this important period of transition,” said Berman.

Since 2006, Dr. Pardie has served as Associate Vice Chancellor for Graduate Education and Research, providing broad oversight and advocacy for graduate education, research administration, and advancing faculty and student scholarship. She had prior administrative experience as Interim Associate Dean for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and as Chair of the Psychology Department.

Dr. Pardie received her Ph.D. in psychology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She came to UIS in 1989 as an assistant professor of psychology, then was promoted to associate professor in 1995 and to full professor in 2005.

She is highly regarded by her colleagues. Dr. Pardie received the Faculty Excellence Award in 2005 in recognition of accomplishments in teaching, scholarship, and service. She has published work on stress-illness relationships, sex bias in psychological research, and sexual orientation issues. She supervised many students’ theses and has been a strong contributor to important campus endeavors, including strategic planning, curriculum and policy development, academic program review, faculty and staff mentoring and development, and institutional research. She has been a long-time member of the Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects (IRB) and has chaired that committee for the past six years.

Several faculty and staff will pick up Dr. Pardie’s current responsibilities during her service as interim VCAA. The duties of Dr. Cecilia Cornell, associate professor of history and director of the Whitney M. Young fellowship program, will be expanded to include broad oversight of graduate education. Dr. John Barker, currently a member of the IRB, will take on administrative tasks associated with the IRB. Leslie Defrates, assistant to Dr. Pardie, will assume a broader range of administrative tasks associated with oversight of the graduate assistantship program.

“I am well aware of Dr. Pardie’s reputation as a collaborative administrator, and I am confident that she will lead the division energetically in ways that continue the progress that UIS has been making in teaching, scholarship, and service,” said Berman.

For more information contact Derek Schnapp, director of Public Relations at 217/206-6716 or email dschn3@uis.edu.

UIS founded New Century Learning Consortium adds Hampton University as ninth member

The New Century Learning Consortium (NCLC), founded at the University of Illinois Springfield has added Hampton University as its ninth member. The Consortium is designed to assist universities in implementing high quality, large-scale online and blended learning programs.

“We are delighted to have Hampton University join the consortium. Hampton University has a long history of academic excellence and is one of the top historically black universities in the world. The university’s Hampton U Online program offers a growing number of doctoral, master’s, bachelor’s degrees fully online.” said Shari McCurdy Smith, NCLC director and associate director of the Center for Online Learning, Research, and Service (COLRS) at UIS.

The Consortium plans to expand to 14 institutions by May of 2010. Consortium activities include developing a clearinghouse of online classes where there is excess capacity; shared research projects; shared IT expertise to support building infrastructure capacity; and peer support at the upper administration, dean, and faculty member levels. NCLC was founded utilizing a grant from the Sloan Consortium, who is also providing funding for the expansion.

"We are most excited about our newest member of the consortium, Hampton University. They are a university with a 150-year-long tradition of excellence in academics and one of the emerging leaders in online learning in the U.S. We are looking forward to establishing close working relationships with Hampton University as part of the New Century Learning Consortium." said Ray Schroeder, director of COLRS and founder of NCLC.

The member institutions are dedicated to developing vigorous online and blended learning initiatives to expand and stabilize student enrollments.

Current members are University of Illinois Springfield; California State University Easy Bay, Hayward; Southern Oregon University, Ashland; Chicago State University; Oakland University, Rochester Hills, Michigan; University of Southern Maine, Portland; Louisiana Tech University, Ruston; SUNY Empire State College, Saratoga Springs.

For more information about the Consortium, contact Shari McCurdy Smith at 217-206-7360 or email smccu1@uis.edu.

UIS colonnade selected as 2010 Official City Ornament

The University of Illinois Springfield is proud to have been selected by the St. Joseph’s Home as the centerpiece of the 2010 Official City of Springfield Ornament.

“It’s a great honor for us to be recognized by St. Joseph’s Home on our 40th anniversary in this way,” said UIS Chancellor Richard Ringeisen.

The ornament features the UIS colonnade, which was completed in the summer of 2005. It quickly has become the major landmark of the university.

“The university is indeed a worthy addition to this wonderful group of buildings and landmarks that define not only the infrastructure of our city, but our very identity as community members here in Springfield,” said Terri Hempstead, development director at St. Joseph’s Home.

A ceremony naming the colonnade as the official city ornament was held near the landmark on October 13, 2010. Springfield Mayor Tim Davlin read a proclamation making the ornament’s title official.

“There’s no better Christmas gift that you can go and give right now and once you start giving that gift people expect that,” said Davlin.

The Ornament is the eighteenth collectible design in the series depicting local landmarks and events. Each ornament is die-cut, hand-assembled, 24-karat gold-plated, and made in the U.S.A. No more than 5,000 of these ornaments will be produced. Each comes with a signed and numbered certificate.

The ornament program supports the mission of St. Joseph’s Home, which has relied on the generosity of Springfield benefactors since the ministry began in 1903. In its first 17 years the ornament program has generated approximately $600,000 to support the home’s ministries.

Ornaments are now available at these Springfield locations: St. Joseph’s Home, UIS Bookstore, St. John’s Hospital gift shops, Tinsley Dry Goods, the Illinois State Museum Store, Heartland Credit Union, Vono Medical Supply, Pleasant Nursery, Pease’s Candy, Wild Birds Unlimited, Bank of Springfield, and It’s All About Wine.

For information on how you can order an ornament online visit the UIS 40th Anniversary website.

UIS celebrates Homecoming 2010

The UIS community celebrated 40 years of history and showed off their Prairie Star pride during Homecoming 2010.

Participants packed the campus for the annual Homecoming Parade and Pet Parade, BBQ & Lawn Party and UIS Students vs. Alumni/Faculty/Staff Basketball game on Saturday, October 9. The day began with the 2nd annual UIS Homecoming 5K Run/Walk and "Through the Decades" Brunch.

Earlier in the week a Homecoming Pep Rally was held, followed by Mashed Potato Sculpting on Tuesday. Students were also given a chance to make their own spirit wear, treated to a performance by the Neo-Futurists, a homecoming dance and much more.

Students spent time volunteering at Ball Charter Elementary in Springfield on Friday as part of the Prairie Star Service Event. It’s UIS’ traditional way to end the week by giving back to the community.

View photos from Homecoming 2010 on Flickr

Freshmen paint recycling mural at Founders Hall

A group of freshmen students is leaving a lasting mark on Founders Residence Hall at the University of Illinois Springfield. They’re painting a mural to encourage fellow students to recycle.

“Recycling is really important in today’s society. We’ve done a lot to this earth and it’s not good and if we don’t take action soon we’re really going to regret it,” said Cheyenne Stephens, freshman psychology major.

The students are painting the mural as part of their UNI 101 class, which introduces first year students to the college experience. The class teaches study habits, organization and time management, but that’s not all.

“We have to do a project around campus to help make the campus look a little bit nicer,” said Megan Johannsen, freshman biology major.

Class members came up with the design for the mural and sketched it on their own. They then approached Housing Director John Ringle about the mural. He approved the idea and the students’ idea became a reality.

“It’s something that kids will see everyday and it gives some lively color to the residence halls,” said Keenan Eberlin, freshman clinical laboratory science major.

The mural is located above the Founders Hall recycling bins, which are next to the front desk.