blog posts Hangouts: Favorite bars, restaurants and other haunts through the decades Dec 19, 2024 9:30 am It’s 1933: Prohibition is ending after 13 inglorious years, and on Daniel Street in Champaign, Kamerer’s Pharmacy is expanding—opening a fried chicken restaurant in the building next door. U of I students call it 'KAMS.' Actor, producer, restauranteur: Alum Billy Dec is unstoppable Dec 22, 2017 12:00 pm He's been on TV shows like Empire and Criminal Minds, owns restaurants, does a podcast with NBA stars, hosts charity events... How does alumnus Billy Dec do it all? Website celebrates achievements of University of Illinois women Apr 3, 2018 12:00 pm Visit the University Library's website highlighting 150 women nominated for the significant achievements they realized as Illinois students, staff, faculty, or alumni What did a University of Illinois student handbook look like in 1934? Apr 20, 2017 11:15 am The handbook allowed Illini to plan which class dance they’d attend, pencil in a class schedules and check guidelines on curfew. (Yes, there was a residence hall curfew.) Rashard Mendenhall: Gridiron writer Sep 9, 2019 9:45 am For Mendenhall, 'capturing a vision—a line or a scene' in the HBO show, Ballers, 'pulling inspiration out of the air and putting it on the TV screen, that’s as good as any touchdown.' Alumnus launches bionic hand Sep 25, 2019 11:45 am Millions of hand amputees around the world are now closer to receiving a life changing prosthetic device. Illinois to honor its only Medal of Honor awardee Oct 25, 2017 8:00 am Maj. Kenneth Bailey of Danville, a 1935 graduate, was awarded the medal posthumously for leading his company in defending an airfield during the Guadalcanal Campaign in September 1942 Doris Derby: Alumna, photographer documented Civil Rights Movement Dec 23, 2019 1:30 pm 'When I came here, the University of Illinois embraced me in terms of my interests and my values. I see this as the home for the kind of things I value.' Robert Falls: Visionary leader of Chicago's Goodman Theatre Jan 9, 2019 10:30 am Robert Falls’ theater career was launched at Illinois. '[We] were given a ton of freedom to act and direct; we did plays all over campus, in every nook and cranny.' Alumnus Larry Gies to deliver commencement address Mar 4, 2019 10:15 am Gies will encourage each graduating student to 'find your why' at the May 11 ceremony. 'It’s about being able to connect the dots from what you are doing each and every day to a higher purpose.' Q+A with alumnus Russell Wigginton, president of the National Civil Rights Museum Jun 21, 2022 9:30 am From academia to public service, Russell Wigginton has led a career driven by a passion to assist others and build relationships – traits he’s carried since he was a student at Illinois. Dave Eggers and the Secret Agent Supply Co. Nov 12, 2018 3:30 pm Dave Eggers talks about 826CHI, the Chicago chapter of his nonprofit that provides tutoring support for young writers and aims to illuminate children’s voices around the world ECE's Phil Krein named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors Jan 8, 2018 10:15 am Krein made significant strides in optimizing the use of solar power as a feasible energy resource, and wrote the first undergrad text to provide an engineering framework for power electronics Great friends, beautiful memories: UIAA's Korea Chapter celebrates 100 years Jan 24, 2023 10:30 am Duck Choo Oh’s Homecoming coronation in 1955 symbolized the blossoming of an international era for the University of Illinois. The seeds of that growth started nearly five decades earlier with President Edmund Janes James (1904–20). Alejandra Carrillo-Estrada: Interweaving technology and tradition Jun 19, 2019 9:45 am 'I am especially captivated by the fretwork designs of the archaeological site of Mitla, Oaxaca,' the author writes. She uses 3D modeling to recreate the designs, then uses the models to cast them in silver. Want to help Tatyana McFadden win an ESPY? Jul 12, 2016 3:45 pm You can vote for Illinois alumna Tatyana McFadden to win an ESPY for Best Female Athlete With A Disability Watch now: New BTN documentary ‘Illinois Artists’ Aug 21, 2018 11:45 am A new Big Ten Network documentary features the work of the Definition Theatre Company, Endalyn Taylor and Illinois Jazz Studies faculty Two alums shed light on the Black experience on Rt. 66 Sep 9, 2021 1:15 pm Gina Lathan (AHS ’20) and Stacy Grundy (ACES ’10) opened Route History, a tourist destinations in Springfield gives visitors a different perspective on the Mother Road as well as a look into the history of Black struggle and success in the state capital. The many faces of former Illini Troy Pryor Oct 17, 2018 10:15 pm Troy Pryor is making moves. But that’s nothing new for the former Illinois football player and current actor/entrepreneur who owns his own full-service production house Rich Nye: From Cubs pitcher to exotic vet pioneer Mar 1, 2017 9:30 am After his pitching career, Nye became a nationally renowned authority on avian medicine and 1989 president of the Association of Avian Veterinarians. Journalists Balz and Simon part of panel on Trump-era political reporting Apr 6, 2018 9:15 am The panel will include alunmni Dan Balz, chief correspondent for The Washington Post, and Roger Simon, who retired last year as chief political columnist for Politico Rooks receives College of Media Emerging Leader Award Jun 1, 2022 10:15 am Taylor Rooks, sports broadcaster at Bleacher Report, is known for her interviewing skills and for her ability to connect with athletes. This award honors her exemplary early career achievements and engagement with the college. Meet a spring grad who's already helping people at the U.S.-Mexico border Jun 12, 2019 9:30 am I was a psychology major when I first enrolled but my I-Promise mentor suggested that I look into Human Development and Family Studies because it seemed like a better fit, and it was! Illinois Homecoming Week 2017 Oct 12, 2017 10:30 am Return to your campus, explore the University's 150 year history, and share your photos, memories and stories via social media For Illini in Chicago, it's like Cheers Jan 8, 2025 10:30 am Eric and Carrie Schmidt’s Illini-themed bar, Orange & Brew, earns local—and international—recognition. Alumnus Nate Azark: Drawn to the City Jan 14, 2019 11:15 am Nate Azark owns of 12 Line Studio, which does design work for national brands and local startups. His distinctive style has also been featured on concert posters and album covers Illinois names inaugural class to its Athletics Hall Of Fame Feb 23, 2017 10:45 am The 28-person Class of 2017, dates back to the first Illini football team in 1890, through the addition of women's varsity teams in the early 1970s, and up to coaches and athletes from the current century. Max Levchin: The Making of a Tech Mogul Mar 18, 2018 11:00 am Max Levchin is the poster child for transformation. From Soviet refugee, through the University of Illinois, to becoming one of the world's most influential tech pioneers Public Health alums on the front line of COVID-19 battle Apr 10, 2020 11:45 am 'The (epidemiology) knowledge and biostatistics prepared us for how a pandemic is going to come in waves, how we can track cases. ...Knowing the science and the (epidemiology) behind it really helps.' Two alumni being inducted into National Inventors Hall of Fame Apr 25, 2016 3:30 pm The late William Sparks (PhD, chemistry, ’36) and the late Welton Taylor (BA, ’41, MS, ’47, and PhD, ’48, bacteriology) were among 16 inductees recently admitted to the National Inventors Hall of Fame Illinois: The early years Jun 22, 2017 8:00 am From the muddy prairie rose a school—and a student body—rooted in manual labor and religious worship, in addition to cultural activities that left sports in the dust Two alumnae, team share NASA award for 'major milestone in the history of flight' Jul 13, 2022 11:30 am NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab Ingenuity Mars Helicopter team received the 2021 Robert J. Collier Trophy for 'the first powered, controlled flight of an aircraft on another planet, thereby opening the skies of Mars and other worlds for discovery and exploration.' Making air traffic safe for real-life George and Jane Jetsons Jul 15, 2021 2:45 pm 'Because these flights will operate in major metro cities...there's going to be a lot of potential for interaction between the urban air mobility flights and the commercial air traffic,' says aerospace engineering alumna Heather Arneson. 2019 World Series contenders share Illinois connections Nov 14, 2019 8:00 am The College of Liberal Arts & Sciences was well-represented in the 2019 World Series. NASA renames GLIDE mission after trailblazing U of I alumnus Dec 5, 2022 12:45 pm As one of the first African American men to earn a PhD in astrophysics, George Carruthers was a trailblazer. He invented the camera that took the first images of space, significantly improving our understanding of space and earth science. Newsweek's 'Medical Marvels': U of I alum and his affordable bionic hand Dec 16, 2021 11:00 am Newsweek (Dec. 15) Aadeel Akhtar's company makes smart, durable, responsive and - this is key - affordable prosthetic limbs. 'We're... leveling the playing field for all those people who couldn't get access to this kind of technology before.' Shaping the narrative Jan 15, 2020 9:45 am Illinois alumnus Carey Cranston oversees the only national museum dedicated to celebrating the written word. Illinois alum awarded Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship Jan 26, 2023 4:15 pm Brittney Nadler will complete a summer internship at the State Department in 2024 and an overseas internship at a U.S. embassy or consulate in summer 2025. Upon successful completion of the program, Nadler will become a U.S. diplomat. Alumni launch wheelchair basketball podcast Feb 1, 2022 8:45 am Former Illini players Derek Hoot and Martinez Johnson have started “Push Podcast: Wheelchair Basketball in the United States” to reach those who have never heard of adaptive sports. The courage to be first Feb 26, 2019 8:30 am When she graduated from Illinois in 1906, Maudelle Brown Bousfield was the only African American woman on campus. Later, she continued to break barriers in education in the Chicago Public Schools. Tatyana McFadden wins fourth straight Boston Marathon Apr 18, 2016 12:45 pm American Tatyana McFadden cruised to her fourth straight victory in the women’s wheelchair race at the 2016 Boston Marathon, finishing in a time of 1 hour, 42 minutes, and 16 seconds. A rich trove: Roger Ebert at the University of Illinois Apr 21, 2017 10:30 am Roger Ebert was not a typical University of Illinois student. His time here laid a foundation for his future, as they do for most students. But, unlike most students, they also shaped the university. Forber-Pratt appointed by White House as institute director May 24, 2021 4:15 pm Dr. Anjali Forber-Pratt, a wheelchair racing star who holds three degrees from the U of I, has been appointed Director of the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. Two alumni named to Crain's '20 In Their 20s' May 29, 2018 2:15 am Read about alumni Dan Klein and Lucas Frye. Both have been named to the 2018 Crain’s Chicago Business 20 In Their 20s Passes for 22nd annual Ebertfest now on sale Jun 9, 2021 10:45 am Festival passes cover all of the screenings during the festival, which runs September 8-11 at the Virginia Theatre, a restored downtown Champaign movie palace, with related talks and panel discussions at other Champaign or University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign venues. Writing the first drafts of war Jun 14, 2017 11:00 am Degrees in Russian and rhetoric help shape the career of a combat reporter Journalism alumnus lands Edward R. Murrow Award Jul 4, 2016 1:45 pm Charlie Meyerson has won a 2016 national Edward R. Murrow Award for audio investigative reporting from the Radio Television Digital News Association. Chemistry alumna recognized for groundbreaking career in biotech Jul 5, 2016 11:00 am “It was an opportunity to ask questions to which we didn’t know the answers yet,” said Chilton, recipient of the 2016 U of I Alumni Association Achievement Award. First woman to fly a transoceanic jumbo jet on breaking through the 'glass cockpit' Sep 30, 2021 10:15 am 'As I quizzed those pilots—and later studied a pilot’s training manual one of them gave to me to “answer questions without bothering people”—I realized they weren’t doing anything I couldn’t do,' says U of I alumnus Lynn Rippelmeyer. Illinois' Tatyana McFadden won her fourth straight New York City Marathon Sunday Nov 7, 2016 11:30 am the 27-year-old U.S. Paralympian won her fifth overall New York title, earning her a fourth straight sweep of all four major marathons – not done by anyone else in the history of wheelchair racing or elite running.