blog posts Senior Night for Illini Men's Basketball Thursday vs. Michigan Mar 2, 2023 9:00 am Illinois will recognize five members of its program at State Farm Center on Thursday night – three managers and two players (Matthew Mayer and Terrence Shannon Jr.) – in a pre-game ceremony that begins at 5:39 p.m. Skirkey, Anaya earn national titles at NCAA Championships Apr 17, 2023 8:00 am Ian Skirkey (pommel horse) and Ashton Anaya (still rings) both were named national champions at the NCAA Championships Saturday night in State College, Pa. This is the first time Illinois has two national champions since 2012. How bad is the teacher shortage? What two new studies say Sep 7, 2022 10:30 am Education Week (Sept. 6) Three researchers, including U of I's Paul Bruno, spent years crunching data. Thier estimate: more than 36,500 teacher vacancies nationally, and more than 163,500 positions filled by teachers who aren’t fully certified. U of I is getting into the business of angel investing Mar 2, 2023 11:15 am Crain’s Chicago Business (Feb. 28) The Urbana campus is launching Illini Angels, a program that will allow U. of I. alums to invest in startups coming out of the university as well as companies started by students after they leave. Illini Women's Basketball will host Missouri State on Thursday in WBIT Mar 18, 2024 8:30 am The Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament is a postseason single-elimination tournament sponsored by the NCAA. This is the first year of WBIT play.. WBIT first-round game time announced for Illinois at State Farm Center Mar 20, 2024 8:00 am Illinois women's basketball will play its first-round matchup of the Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament against Missouri State at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday, March 21. Illinois is one of 16 host schools for the first round. Ice-capped volcanoes slower to erupt, study finds May 9, 2022 8:45 am Undergraduate researcher Lilian Lucas and geology professor Patricia Gregg found that additional pressure from thick overlying glacial ice can make volcanic systems more stable and slower to erupt than volcanoes without ice. Alum Sheila Johnson, co-founder of BET, to keynote Title IX summit May 17, 2022 9:45 am 'Sheila has been a pioneer in every sense of the word, breaking new ground throughout the course of her life in education, media, business, and sports,' said DIA Director Josh Whitman. 'Sheila has always been a proud Illini...' PBS NewsHour live from U of I: 'Tipping Point: Agriculture on the Brink' May 17, 2023 11:30 am PBS (May 16) – U. of I. professor of crop sciences Andrew Margenot joins a PBS NewsHour panel discussion called 'Tipping Point: Agriculture on the Brink' on Wednesday, May 24. Illini Baseball kicks off Big Ten Tournament against Michigan Thursday May 25, 2022 10:45 am The Illinois travel to Omaha, Nebraska, for the 2022 Big Ten Baseball Tournament at Charles Schwab Field. Illinois is making its 24th Big Ten Tournament appearance and looks for its fifth tournament title (1989, 1990, 2000, 2011). Yu-Chieh Chiu: Clear for take off Jul 6, 2022 9:45 am How the joy of paper planes led graduate student, Yu-Chieh Chiu, to compete on the world stage at the Red Bull Paper Wings World Championships in Austria, and find community at Grainger Engineering Visionary Violet: A U of I feminist pioneer Jan 5, 2023 12:30 pm This short documentary from U of I's BTN producers tells the story of the first dean of women at Illinois, Violet DeLille Jayne, who championed women’s inclusion on campus, including the first women’s intermural basketball team. Heck earns second B1G Athlete of the Week honor Apr 20, 2022 8:45 am Hunter Heck extended his singles win streak to eight and moved to 14-4 on the season including 5-0 in Big Ten Play on Saturday. Cleaning water naturally the ancient Maya way Jan 29, 2024 9:15 am Scientific American (Jan. 26) U of I anthropology professor Lisa Lucero discusses the way ancient Mayans cleaned their water naturally, and the lessons we can learn from them. U of I gets grant to start First Amendment clinic Aug 2, 2022 10:45 am Crain’s Chicago Business (Aug. 1) U of I's College of Law is establishing a First Amendment clinic to take on freedom-of-expression cases and train lawyers in the subject. Dean Vik Amar says the college already has about a half dozen clinics on other themes. Illinois welcomes second-largest freshman class Sep 7, 2022 11:00 am U of I's incoming class of 7,957 first-year students brings greater representation by gender, nationality and students who are the first in their family to go to college, while a change in the application process resulted in greater academic competition. Chase Brown: Chasing History Oct 20, 2022 9:15 am The nation's leading rusher is Illini Chase Brown. He's the first Illini to rush for 100+ yards in the first seven games of a season, leads the nation in all-purpose yards, yards gained after contact, and rushes of 10+ yards. This website is all about him. Newton named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Nov 29, 2023 9:15 am Illinois defensive tackle Jer'Zhan Newton was named the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year and the Defensive Lineman of the Year. He's just the fourth Illini in history to earn the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award. Illini face Northwestern tonight at State Farm Center Feb 23, 2023 9:00 am Fighting Illini Men's Basketball plays its penultimate game at State Farm Center on Thursday night, facing No. 21 Northwestern. Illinois is 13-2 at home this season and carries a four-game winning streak at State Farm Center. No. 12 Illini Host Senior Night vs. No. 3 Purdue Tuesday Mar 5, 2024 8:15 am The Illini close out the home schedule with Senior Night at State Farm Center, honoring seven players and three managers in a pregame ceremony. Robot farmers? Machines are crawling through America's fields. Some have lasers. Jun 5, 2023 10:00 am USA Today (June 4) Robots developed at Illinois can scoot under the canopy of crops to plant cover crop seed before the main crop is harvested. 'This will expand the ability to do cover cropping and take less time.' says professor Shadi Atallah. Homecoming Week at Illinois Oct 3, 2022 2:15 pm Events throughout the week include a student dinner on the Quad, the Global Talent Show, Saturday Night Live: Homecoming Edition in downtown Champaign, two concerts at State Farm Center and - of course - football on Saturday. Freedom Corridor aims to create narrative of region's Black history Feb 7, 2024 1:15 pm Journal Courier (Feb. 5) "So our story — small 'o' — is now Our story — capital 'O'," says U of I professor Gerald McWorter, the great-great-grandson of he first African Americans to found a town in the U.S. Ojibwe Tribe joins scientists to save Midwest's sacred wild rice plant Feb 15, 2023 12:30 pm The Nation (Feb. 15) 'If we can scaffold (Western science and ‘traditional ecological knowledge’), we'll strengthen our knowledge about these places and what’s happening to them,' says U of I historian Rosalyn LaPier, a member of the Blackfeet Tribe. Illini Hall demolition uncovers a time capsule Feb 16, 2023 10:45 am WCIA-TV (Feb. 15) U of I officials didn't know there was a time capsule in a cornerstone of Illini Hall, but they'll be excited to see what it contains when it's opened this fall as part of the campus YMCA's 150th anniversary celebration. A fern’s ‘zombie’ fronds sprout unusual roots Feb 26, 2024 5:15 pm New York Times (Feb. 25) 'This is completely unknown in any other plant in the world'” says Jim Dalling, a professor and forest ecologist at the U. of I., who discovered the fern while searching for a completely unrelated plant. Illinois program turns cowgirl dreams into livestock research reality Apr 15, 2022 12:15 pm The moment 4-year-old Sarah Graham sat in a saddle for the first time, she announced she wanted to be a cowgirl. For the suburban Chicago preschooler, it was an unlikely dream. But it stuck. Can you hear corn grow at this time of year? In fact... Jun 13, 2023 10:45 am KKRC-FM (June 12) 'On very still nights you can hear a popping or cracking noise,' says U of I crop physiologist Fred Below. 'What you hear is the cell walls of the stalk expanding. Mostly I believe it is the tracheids expanding.' Executive Director of Facilities & Services announced Jun 29, 2022 11:15 am Ehab Kamarah has been selected to serve as the new Associate Vice Chancellor and Executive Director of Facilities and Services, pending approval by the Board of Trustees. U of I, Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation creating East St. Louis ag & nutrition center Aug 2, 2022 9:45 am The space will include indoor, outdoor ag demonstration sites along with space for engagement with hands-on training and certification programs related to growing food, ag innovation, as well as space for athletics and physical training. Illini take down No. 2 Texas in overtime Dec 7, 2022 8:45 am Illinois fought back from a double-digit second-half deficit to force overtime and take down No. 2 Texas, 85-78. Freshman guard Jayden Epps scored the Illini's final five points of the second half to send the game to overtime. Illini face No. 24 Rutgers in Saturday showdown at State Farm Center Feb 10, 2023 2:30 pm Following an unexpected idle week with Tuesday's home game against Minnesota postponed due to COVID concerns, U of I returns to action Saturday at home against Rutgers (1 p.m. CT, FS1). Illinois has won seven of its last nine games. 150,000-year-old human tooth rare evidence of Denisovans May 20, 2022 11:45 am If confirmed, this discovery would be the first fossil evidence that Denisovans — an extinct hominin species that co-existed with Neanderthals and modern humans — lived in southeast Asia. What's the legacy of Federal Indian Boarding Schools in Illinois? Aug 1, 2023 12:00 pm WNIJ-AM (Aug. 1) Professor Dave Beck describes the legacy of St. Mary’s Training School for Boys in Maryville, Ill., where many Native American children were indoctrinated into white American culture, and where several of them died. Friday night football: Illinois hosts Nebraska Oct 3, 2023 4:00 pm Illinois and Nebraska meet on Friday night at Memorial Stadium with the Illini looking to extend their three-game winning streak in the series. Both teams enter the game at 2-3 overall, and both seek their first Big Ten wins of the season. Men's Basketball: Illini face UCLA Friday in Las Vegas Nov 17, 2022 9:30 am No. 19 Illinois faces No. 8 UCLA on Friday night, marking the 21st game against a top-10 team under head coach Brad Underwood. The Illini set a single-season school record in 2020-21 with six wins over top-10 opponents. U of I research: Reading for pleasure can strengthen memory in older adults Dec 7, 2022 12:00 pm Reading is simultaneously engaging and relaxing, and it’s fun to do alone or with friends. Now researchers say reading may help preserve memory skills as people — and their brains — grow older. U of I celebrates Memorial Stadium 100th Anniversary in 2024 Jan 10, 2024 11:15 am Illinois is set to host Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 19 - 100 years and one day from Red Grange's historic six-touchdown game at the stadium's opening. 100th anniversary celebrations are planned throughout the year. Hamlin’s injury highlights precarious position of many young NFL players Jan 30, 2023 11:00 am The New York Times (Jan. 29) 'The world’s collective heart is pouring itself out for Hamlin, but the main point is there are a lot of journeymen players who leave the league with serious problems,' says U of I labor law expert Michael LeRoy. Exhibition explores black ink, watercolor paintings by Shozo Sato Mar 21, 2023 1:45 pm The black ink and watercolor paintings by Shozo Sato, including landscapes of the American West, are featured at Krannert Art Museum. Contemporary work by artists using traditional Japanese aesthetics has not been well-studied by art historians, says curator Maureen Warren. World's largest softball tailgate returns Saturday May 6, 2022 9:00 am With a goal of filling every seat at Eichelberger Field, tailgating begins at 11:00 a.m. with inflatables, balloon artists, face painting, food trucks, and more. Fans are encouraged to stay to watch their Fighting Illini take on Penn State. Alumnus Eli Murray wins Pulitzer Prize with ‘Tampa Bay Times’ team May 10, 2022 4:15 pm Murray, and his colleagues won for their series 'Poisoned,' an exposé of highly toxic hazards inside Florida’s only battery recycling plant that forced the implementation of safety measures to protect workers and nearby residents. Kayla Burbage joins Illini Volleyball for Fall 2022 May 10, 2022 9:30 am A 6-4 opposite/outside hitter from Clayton, N.C., Burbage transferred to Illinois following a year at the University of Missouri, where she started 24 of their 28 matches as a Freshman and led the team in blocks. Cycle syncing is trendy. Does it work? Jun 2, 2023 3:00 pm The New York Times (June 1) Much of the advice about timing training regimens around menstrual cycles is impractical, given that cycles vary, says Kathryn Clancy, a biological anthropology professor at the U. of I. Vet Med: Saving an endangered breed of donkey Jun 3, 2022 10:45 am Numbers of Baudet du Poitou donkeys have dwindled to only 300-400 worldwide. A breeding effort is underway at Illinois to expand their numbers and help save the breed from extinction. Photos by Michelle Hassel. Welcome, Class of 2027 Aug 14, 2023 4:00 pm LInk to Welcome Week events page Why businesses are still furiously hiring even as a downturn looms Sep 6, 2022 10:00 am Yahoo Finance (Sept. 5) The demand side of the jobs market has not changed much by the pandemic, but the supply side was more radically altered according to a recent study by U of I professor Eliza Forsythe and three co-authors. Reflecting on Thurgood Marshall's speech at U of I in 1956 Jan 17, 2024 10:15 am On March 8, 1956, future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall visited the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to talk about his work, the many cases of segregation in Illinois, and the murder of Emmett Till. We have a mink problem: Birds aren’t humanity’s only bird-flu worry Mar 1, 2023 11:00 am The Atlantic (Feb. 28) –A bird-flu outbreak at a mink farm killed thousands of the animals. The good news, says U of I professor James Lowe, is that, 'we’re just not very susceptible' to bird flu, even when other mammals are infected. Report shows U of I grads' success in job placement, starting salaries Mar 28, 2023 10:45 am “No matter where they are from or where they land, a degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is one of the best decisions and best investments a student can make for their education, career and life,” Chancellor Robert J. Jones said. “We are thrilled to see our graduates succeeding at such high rates.”
