Thursday, March 31, 2005

UIS Cares will focus on Washington Middle School

UIS' Office of Student Volunteers and Service Learning will sponsor the third annual “UIS Cares” event on Saturday, April 16. This year, UIS will again partner with Washington Middle School, 2300 E. Jackson, to work on landscaping projects on the school grounds. Volunteers are still needed. Read more>>

UIS graduate wins distinguished thesis award

Tracy DiMezzo, who graduated from UIS last May with a master of science degree in Biology, has received a 2005 MAGS Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award from the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools. Her thesis, titled “Uptake Analysis of Fluorescently-Labeled Hydrophobic Organic Phosphate Substrates by Aquatic Hydrophobic Bacteria,” had previously been chosen Outstanding Master’s Thesis for the 2003-04 academic year at UIS. Read more>>

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Founder of Center for Advanced Defense Studies to speak

Dr. Newton Howard, founder and chairman of The Center for Advanced Defense Studies, will discuss the organization’s mission and goals at 11 a.m. Friday, April 1, in UHB 2034. CADS is a non-profit, non-governmental educational institute located in Washington DC that provides programs and research to complement efforts by government and international organizations focused on conflict prevention and resolution. Read more>>

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

40 UIS students named to Who's Who

Forty UIS students have been named to the 2005 edition of Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges. See the list of names>>

UIS to host Raise Your Voice - Lobby Day

UIS will host “Raise Your Voice – Lobby Day,” on campus and at the Statehouse, on Sunday and Monday, April 10 and 11. The conference will culminate with a rally at the State Capitol Rotunda. Read more>>

UIS to host Verbal Arts Festival

UIS' 2005 Verbal Arts Festival, an annual celebration of the arts, is scheduled for April 6 through 9. The opening event is a presentation by Jackie Jackson, emerita professor of English. Read more>>

Monday, March 28, 2005

UIS to hold 7th Annual Health Fair

UIS will host its Seventh Annual Health Fair from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 13, in the PAC concourse and conference rooms. The fair is sponsored by Campus Health Services in conjunction with National Public Health Week, which this year focuses on the theme “Prevent, Protect, and Plan: Empowering Americans to live stronger, longer.” There will be about 25 booths, each with an interactive feature. Read more>>

Friday, March 25, 2005

Alumni Association to host etiquette dinner

Brush up on your table manners, learn the correct way to exchange business cards, and enjoy a four-course meal by attending “The ABCs of Forks, Knives, and Toasting” to be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, April 8, in the PAC restaurant. Presented by the U of I Alumni Association, the event will feature instruction in business and social etiquette. Read more>>

Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Public Policy Summit will examine politics & religion

“Politics and Religion: Global and American Perspectives” is the topic of the third annual Public Policy Summit, April 11 at UIS. Two sessions will be held, both open to the public. The luncheon session requires advance registration by April 4. The evening session is free.

Pippa Norris, from Harvard University, will give the keynote address, “A World Divided – Sacred and Secular Values,” at the luncheon session. The evening program will feature a presentation by James A. Morone, a professor at Brown University, titled “Hellfire Nation: Moral Values in American Politics.” Read more>>

Criminal justice honor society to induct 11

Induction ceremonies for 11 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 3, in the PAC restaurant at UIS. Alpha Phi Sigma is the only national honor society for criminal justice majors and recognizes the academic excellence of undergraduate and graduate students. Read more>>

"Hurricane" Carter to speak at UIS

Dr. Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, the former middleweight contender whose boxing career was ended by a conviction for three murders he did not commit, will speak on “The Fight for Justice” at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, April 13, in the Studio Theatre. The program is presented by the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project at UIS.

Carter’s visit will be preceded by screenings of the film The Hurricane, starring Denzel Washington, at noon, 6 p.m., and 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 31, in Brookens Auditorium.

A reception with Carter will precede his public presentation on April 13. Tickets are $50 per person and advance registration is required. Read more>>

Child care center to join Week of the Young Child observance

Cox Children’s Center at UIS will join organizations around the country to observe Week of the Young Child, April 4 through 8. The week honors America’s more than 35 million children aged birth through eight years, and the families, teachers, and other adults who help them make the most of opportunities the early years afford.

Events planned for Cox Center include Grandparents Day, Activity Day, Breakfast with Parents, and an Open House. Read more>>

Child care center receives grant

Cox Children’s Center at UIS has received a reimbursement grant of more than $10,000 from Quality Counts 2004-2005, a project sponsored by Community Child Care Connection and the Illinois Department of Human Services.

Stacey Hembrough, Cox Center director, explained, “My focus in applying for the grant was on improving the quality of care we offer school-age children and on enabling us to continue caring for children with special needs." Hembrough said that the center has requested a large amount of material, furniture, and equipment that will be purchased in time for its summer school-age camp. Read more>>

Monday, March 21, 2005

Book signing set for professor's new work

UIS faculty member Rosina Neginsky will sign copies of her new book, Zinaida Vengerova: In Search of Beauty. A Literary Ambassador between East and West, at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, March 31, in the lobby of the Studio Theatre. A reception will follow.

Though little-known today, Zinaida Vengerova (1867-1941) was in her lifetime an important Symbolist writer and literary critic. Neginsky describes her book as “a biography, but also a cultural history and literary criticism.” Read more>>

Friday, March 18, 2005

Presentation looks at the Peace Corps in Madagascar

Area residents who have ever wondered what the Peace Corps is all about are invited to attend “Peace Corps in Madagascar: Life on the Big Red Island,” beginning at 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, in PAC conference room F. The discussion will be led by three former Peace Corps volunteers who worked in Madagascar between 1998 and 2001. Read more>>

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

UIS to host 24th David Dodds Henry Lecture

Dr. Constantine W. Curris, president of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, will present the 24th David Dodds Henry Lecture at 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 30, in Brookens Auditorium at UIS. Dr. Curris will speak on “Public Higher Education: Is the Public Lost?”

Curris is a strong advocate for public higher education and a proponent of strengthening institutions of higher education to meet public needs and expectations in the 21st century.

The Henry lectures honor the late David D. Henry, who served as U of I President from 1955 until 1971. Read more>>

Monday, March 14, 2005

Sheila Simon to discuss her parents' legacy

Sheila Simon will speak on “A Life in Illinois Politics and Law: A Daughter Carries Forward the Legacy of Jeanne and Paul Simon” at 7:30 p.m. Monday, March 28, in Brookens Auditorium. A question-and-answer session and a reception will follow the formal presentation, which will also include a discussion of current trends and future challenges concerning women in Illinois politics and law. Read more>>

Events mark Disability Awareness Week

UIS will host a number of activities in observance of Disability Awareness Week, April 4 through 8. Events range from demonstrations of the latest adaptive technology to a wheelchair basketball game, screening of a major motion picture, and a demonstration of adaptive martial arts. All events will be held on campus and are fully accessible to the mobility-impaired. Read more>>

Forum examines prosecution complex and the wrongfully convicted

A public forum on “The Prosecution Complex and the Wrongfully Convicted” will be held at 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, in University Hall, room 2008.

The forum will feature a panel discussion with Thomas Frisbie, a Chicago Sun-Times reporter and co-author of Victims of Justice, about the Jeanine Nicarico murder case; John Hanlon, an attorney for the Illinois Office of State Appellate Defender’s Capital Litigation Project; and Bill Clutter, a private investigator and director of investigations for the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project. Hanlon and Clutter have worked in the appeals process in many innocence cases, including the Nicarico case. Read more>>

Friday, March 11, 2005

An Evening with the Arts at UIS

The U of I Alumni Association at UIS will host An Evening with the Arts -- featuring sculpture, theater, dance, and good food -- on Friday, April 1.

Events include an exhibit by Michael Dunbar in the Visual Arts Gallery, a candlelight buffet dinner in the PAC restaurant, and two theater options: UIS Theater Program’s production of Fifth of July or a performance by Trinity Irish Dance Company in Sangamon Auditorium. Read more>>

Expanding Your Horizons conference for girls

The Expanding Your Horizons conference will allow more than 300 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade girls to explore potential careers via interactive workshops on topics ranging from webpage design to engineering, veterinary medicine, speech pathology, computer gaming, video production, archaeology, and forensic science.

The conference is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Saturday, March 12, in the PAC. Read more>>

Thursday, March 10, 2005

UIS Theater to present Fifth of July

The UIS Theater Program's spring production will be Lanford Wilson's comedy-drama The Fifth of July. Set in 1977, the story deals with a group of old friends and the changes that have occurred in their lives and attitudes in the years since they were antiwar activists in college. Critics have hailed the play as “a major work by one of the theater’s most important and celebrated writers…alternately funny and moving.”

Six performances will be presented: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, April 1-3 and 8-10, in the Studio Theatre. All performances will be at 8 p.m. except the two Sunday performances, which will be at 2 p.m. Read more>>

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

"Machinist Studies" next at Visual Arts Gallery

“Michael Dunbar: Machinist Studies” will be on display from March 22 through April 21 at the UIS Visual Arts Gallery. An opening reception will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Friday, April 1, in the gallery and a special Artist’s Lecture is set for 7 p.m. Thursday, April 7, in PAC C/D.

Dunbar’s machinists studies, initially conceived as models for larger works and nearly all composed of bronze, “employ the most sophisticated industrial technology, yet continue to define his personal identity." Read more>>

Monday, March 07, 2005

UIS faculty member named to St. Augustine BOT

UIS faculty member Anthony Sisneros has been selected to serve on the Board of Trustees for St. Augustine College in Chicago. Established in 1980, St. Augustine is an independent, bilingual institution created to make higher education accessible to a diverse student population, with emphasis on Hispanics.

Sisneros said he is honored to have been considered and selected. “I consider service on this board as the most significant challenge in my career,” he said. Read more>>

Friday, March 04, 2005

College of Education and Human Services to host alumni roundtable

UIS' College of Education and Human Services will host its first roundtable program from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, in PAC conference room C/D. This is the first event sponsored by the newly formed CEHS Alumni Council. Faculty members from various programs within the college will make short presentations and a light supper will be served. Read more>>

Taste of UIS presents history of the women's movement

The U of I Alumni Association at UIS will present “International Women’s Movements a Century Ago: Buried History, Repeated History” from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, at Maldaner’s Upstairs, 222 South Sixth St., Springfield. This is the second program in the spring Taste of UIS Series and the speaker is Margot Duley, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Read more>>

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

UIS faculty member publishes book on William Maxwell

A UIS faculty member is the author of the first major critical study of renowned Illinois writer William Maxwell’s life and work. University of Illinois Press has announced the publication of William Maxwell: A Literary Life by Barbara Burkhardt, an assistant professor of English at UIS. Burkhardt was a close acquaintance of Maxwell and conducted extensive interviews with him over a ten-year period before his death in July 2000 at age 91. Read more>>

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

New scholarship available for UIS students with disabilities

Applications are being accepted for the Friends of UIS Scholarship for Students with Disabilities, a new scholarship at UIS that will be awarded for the first time for the 2005-2006 academic year. Two scholarships of $1,000 each are available.

Eligible students must be enrolled for at least four credit hours each semester, have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00, and must be registered with the UIS Office of Disability Services. Read more>>