blog navigation

Illinois Featured Content

blog posts

  • Celebrate Black History Month at Illinois

    Black History Month gives everyone the opportunity to share, celebrate and understand the impact of Black heritage and culture. Uase this site to find events and stories of impact from Black students, alumni, faculty and staff at U of I.

  • A Silicon Valley Bank customer meets the press March 13, 2023, after exiting the bank’s headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP)

    Did 'woke' investments cause Silicon Valley Bank's collapse?

    PolitiFact (March 13) U of I business law expert Robert Lawless says 'wokeness' didn’t cause the bank’s collapse. 'It had nothing to do with it. It’s like saying, "Why isn’t ‘blue’ the answer to ‘one plus one’?" It’s Banking 101. That’s what was going on.'

  • a previous watch party at State Farm Center with Illini basketball shown on the videoboards

    Illini Basketball doubleheader watch party set for State Farm Center

    Fighting Illini Athletics will host a doubleheader watch party at State Farm Center on Thursday, with both women's and men's basketball playing postseason games being shown on the videoboard. Gates will open at 6 p.m. and admission is free.  

  • house with for sale sign from Adobe Stock

    A huge number of homeowners have mortgage rates too good to give up

    New York Times (April 15) The average American household has a fixed rate mortgage that’s a whopping three points lower than new mortgage rates. 'You could think of your locked-in rate as an asset that you own,' says U of I professor Julia Fonseca.

  • graduate student Maxine Katz and undergraduates Neel Khattri, Tina Wayne and Kellie Sucha received Boren Awards for intensive language study abroad during the 2023-24 academic year. Student photos submitted

    Four U of I students awarded Boren funding for overseas language study

    Graduate student Maxine Katz and undergraduates Neel Khattri, Kellie Sucha and Tina Wayne have received prestigious Boren Awards for study abroad during the 2023-24 academic year. 

  • Iowa Wesleyan University will close this spring despite a $26 million loan from the Agriculture Department. (The Gazette )

    The government is rescuing rural colleges that would otherwise close

    The Washington Post (April 27) Having a university nearby not only raises household income, U of I research has found; it increases high school graduation rates and boosts employment and other things that contribute to local economies.

  • Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast / Getty

    Scientists found a way to predict your death by how you walk

    Yahoo News (Oct. 21) The test is 'a very good external measure of what’s going on internally,' and could easily be replicated using the accelerometer in a wrist sensor or a smartphone, says Professor Bruce Schatz, a leader of the U of I study.

  • Illinois Public Media launching new radio station: Illinois Soul debuts February 1

    Illinois Soul will be broadcast on WILL-FM 101.1 and available to stream live at illinoissoul.org. 'We are so excited to launch Illinois Soul, bringing the best in jazz, R&B, and gospel to our listeners, with a unique focus on the Black community.'

  • informational graphic for the NCAA Tennis Championships hosted at Illinois

    U of I hosting 2022 NCAA Tennis Championships

    The NCAA Championships will take place at Illinois from May 19-28, with the team championship taking place on May 19-22 and individual bracket play taking place May 23-28.

  • U of I's Formula SAE race car cruises down the track

    Illini Motorsports: National Champions!

    For the first time in its Formula SAE 40-year history, U of I's team won both competitions that comprised the 2022 Formula SAE National Collegiate series, finishing as the national champions with a nearly clean sweep of first-place trophies.

  • fans watch a movie from the field at Memorial Stadium at a past FamILLy Night

    FamILLy Day at Memorial Stadium Set for Aug. 14

    You'll get a first look at the Fighting Illini football, soccer, and volleyball teams by interacting with student-athletes on the field. That's followed by a movie night (free admission) where the first 500 fans will receive a free Illini popcorn bucket.

  • excited students on a previous move-in day

    Details on move-in week at Illinois residence halls

    Book your move-in slot, see information specific to your residence hall, and check out information on traffic and parking. Plan ahead for a smooth move!

  • Promotional image for Ludacris

    Ludacris returns home to perform at State Farm Center

    Ludacris, a Champaign native and rapper, will perform Saturday, October 15 at 8:00pm as part of the University of Illinois Homecoming festivities. 

  • RBML curator Cait Coker, RBML head Lynne M. Thomas and Elias Petrou, the librarian for classical studies, medieval studies and modern Greek studies, are pictured with the volume. Photo by Fred Zwicky

    U of I Library acquires first edition of Plato’s works in Greek

    The Rare Book and Manuscript Library has acquired a rare first edition of Plato’s works printed in the Greek language. it was printed in Venice in 1513 by Aldine Press, one of the most successful printing houses of the time.

  • wrestler Lucas Byrd works out with 75 pound dumbbells

    Wrestler Lucas Byrd selected to NWCA All-Star Classic

    Illinois wrestler Lucas Byrd has been selected to wrestle in the National Wrestling Coaches Association All-Star Classic on November 22 in Austin, Texas. 'This group is the elite of the elite in college wrestling,' said Illini head coach Mike Poeta. 

  • Elizabeth Beilke, postdoctoral researcher and lead author on the study, works in a forest to prepare for bat research

    Bats protect young trees from insect damage, with three times fewer bugs

    Bats help keep forests growing. Without bats to hold their populations in check, insects that munch on tree do three to nine times more damage than when bats are on the scene, according to a groundbreaking new study from the U of I.

  • graphic says 'Class of 24' and features images of signees Morez Johnson Jr., Jason Jakstys and Jase Butler

    Illinois Men’s Basketball signs top 20 class for 2024

    Head coach Brad Underwood announced Wednesday the signing of top-35 national recruit Morez Johnson Jr. and three-star prospects Jason Jakstys and Jase Butler to national letters of intent on the first day of the early signing period.  

  • Ted Underwood, Photo by L Brian Stauffer/University of Illinois; beside iStock photo by Rebecca Zisser/BI

    America's greatest AI visionary is... an English professor at Illinois

    Business Insider (Dec. 6) In a world filled with artificial intelligence skeptics and chatbot alarmists, Illinois English professor Ted Underwood is making one of the strongest, most compelling cases for the value of artificial intelligence.

  • Ian Skirkey competing on the pommel horse and sophomore Ashton Anaya competing on the still rings

    Skirkey, Anaya earn national titles at NCAA Championships

    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.

  • signage with map of Chicago State University, one of the schools that could benefit from the state's revised funding plan.

    State of Illinois crafting new, equity-based higher education funding formula

    Crain’s Chicago Business (May 12) Dollars could shift from the flagship U of I system to other state schools which enroll fewer people, but have higher percentages of minority and low-income students.

  • graphic by Laura Baker/Education Week and iStock/Getty

    How bad is the teacher shortage? What two new studies say

    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.

  • the Alma Mater statue at sunset

    U of I is getting into the business of angel investing

    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. 

  • Terrence Shannon Jr. and Matthew Mayer stand beside each other on court in photo featured in larger graphic promoting the final Illini home game of the season

    Senior Night for Illini Men's Basketball Thursday vs. Michigan

    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.

  • Logo for the new Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament

    Illini Women's Basketball will host Missouri State on Thursday in WBIT

    The Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament is a postseason single-elimination tournament sponsored by the NCAA. This is the first year of WBIT play.. 

  • Pre-game huddle of Illini women's basketball team

    WBIT first-round game time announced for Illinois at State Farm Center

    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.

  • Undergraduate researcher Lilian Lucas, left, and geology professor Patricia Gregg. Photo by Fred Zwicky

    Ice-capped volcanoes slower to erupt, study finds

    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.

  • image of Sheila Johnson beside graphic announcing her role in the Title IX Summit planned for this summer.

    Alum Sheila Johnson, co-founder of BET, to keynote Title IX summit

    '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...'

  • stock image of tractor harvesting corn in light of setting sun. Getty images

    PBS NewsHour live from U of I: 'Tipping Point: Agriculture on the Brink'

    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.

  • Yu-Chieh Chiu launches a paper airplane. Photos by Joerg Mitter / Red Bull Content Pool

    Yu-Chieh Chiu: Clear for take off

    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

  • Hunter Heck celebrates a point in an Illini Men's Tennis match

    Heck earns second B1G Athlete of the Week honor

    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.

  • A jacana, sometimes called a lily trotter, navigating among white lilies in Guatemala. Credit: iLantis/Getty Images

    Cleaning water naturally the ancient Maya way

    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. 

  • Big Ten Baseball Tournament bracket

    Illini Baseball kicks off Big Ten Tournament against Michigan Thursday

    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).

  • College of Law building at Illinois. Photo by L. Brian Stauffer

    U of I gets grant to start First Amendment clinic

    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.

  • freshman class poses in a 'Block I' pattern on the football field at Memorial Stadium. Photo by Fred Zwicky

    Illinois welcomes second-largest freshman class

    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.

  • Jer'Zhan Newton in motion running forward

    Newton named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year

    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. 


  • A group of U of I administrators pose for a picture on a porch. The group includes just one woman, first dean of women Violet Jayne. Image via U of I Archives

    Visionary Violet: A U of I feminist pioneer

    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.

  • Sophomore guard Luke Goode featured on graphic advertising the game against Northwestern on Feb. 23, 2023

    Illini face Northwestern tonight at State Farm Center

    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.

  • Illini guard Justin Harmon featured on promotional graphic for the Men's Basketball game on March 5, 2024

    No. 12 Illini Host Senior Night vs. No. 3 Purdue Tuesday

    The Illini close out the home schedule with Senior Night at State Farm Center, honoring seven players and three managers in a pregame ceremony.  

  • Orio Autonomous Tool Carrier for vegetables and industrial crops from the French company Naio Technologies. Photo by Elizabeth Weiss

    Robot farmers? Machines are crawling through America's fields. Some have lasers.

    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

    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.

  • graphic shows profile image of Chase Brown with text, 'Chase Brown: Chasing History

    Chase Brown: Chasing History

    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.

  • Brochure image for Freedom Conference. The corridor is a connected network of sites in west-central Illinois and eastern Missouri linked to the Underground Railroad, such as New Philadelphia National Historic Site in Pike County.

    Freedom Corridor aims to create narrative of region's Black history

    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.

  • graduate student harvests wild rice from a canoe in September 2022. Photo by Joe Graveen

    Ojibwe Tribe joins scientists to save Midwest's sacred wild rice plant

    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.

  • A worker removes a small metal box from the cornerstone, dated 1907, of Illini Hall

    Illini Hall demolition uncovers a time capsule

    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.

  • The moss-covered stems of decaying fronds, where roots have sprouted anew, anchor in the soil and provide nutrients. Photo by James Dalling

    A fern’s ‘zombie’ fronds sprout unusual roots

    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.

  • Dr. Ehab Kamarah. Photo provided by subject.

    Executive Director of Facilities & Services announced

    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.

  • Design rendering of the JJK FAN campus in East St. Louis, Illinois. (Courtesy Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects)

    U of I, Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation creating East St. Louis ag & nutrition center

    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.

  • five Illini players look weary as they walk up the floor during overtime at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night

    Illini take down No. 2 Texas in overtime

    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.

  • promotional graphic for Saturday's game against Rutgers

    Illini face No. 24 Rutgers in Saturday showdown at State Farm Center

    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.

  • The fossilized molar, seen here from several angles, is thought to have belonged to a young Denisovan girl that died between 164,000 and 131,000 years ago. Photo by F. Demeter

    150,000-year-old human tooth rare evidence of Denisovans

    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.