News Bureau

Fourteen University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign students and young alumni will pursue international educational, research and teaching experiences this coming year via student Fulbright grants. Applications are open for Fulbright grants for the 2018-19 academic year.

A $40,000 reward was raised by the community to generate information leading to the arrest of those involved in the apparent kidnapping of Yingying Zhang, a 26-year-old visiting scholar who has been missing since June 9. The reward will be discussed at a 7 p.m. news conference tonight on campus.

James E. Hixon ... Richard “Dick” Nash ... Peggy F. Olsen ... Anna May Partenheimer ... Margaret L. Puckette ... Donna Franklin Scheibly ... Harvey J. Stapleton ... Edith A. Wade ... Irma Jane Wienke ... Gerald Paul Wirtz

Danita M. Brown Young will become the vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign effective Aug. 7. She currently is the vice provost for student affairs and dean of students at the University of Minnesota.

Three Illinois students have been awarded Critical Language Scholarships to study a foreign language this summer: Adam LoBue, of Brooklyn, New York; Jenny Peruski, of Bangkok; and Eileen Witthoff, of DeKalb, Illinois.

Milan Bagchi, the head of the department of molecular and integrative physiology, was named the next director of the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, part of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Illinois.

The statewide average temperature for May was 61.9 degrees, 0.8 degrees below normal, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel with the Illinois State Water Survey, part of the Prairie Research Institute at the U. of I. A few locations in Illinois reached 90 degrees, including Moline and Springfield. In mid-May, several locations reported temperatures below freezing, including Mount Carroll with 29 degrees.

Audrey “Wally” Brown ... Darlene “Gerri” Hawkins

Twelve faculty members were honored with the Provost’s Campus Distinguished Promotion Award for 2017. During its annual promotion review process, the Campus Committee on Promotion and Tenure identifies scholars whose contributions have been extraordinary in terms of quality of work and overall achievement.

The New Americans Initiative of the University YMCA is hosting three free U.S. citizenship information sessions in June. The final meeting will be held from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 14, at the University YMCA, 1001 S. Wright St., Champaign. Free child care is available. Topics include the process of naturalization and how to prepare for the citizenship exam. For additional event details and program fliers, visit http://www.universityymca.org/welcome/#nai.

John Walker Gray ... Barak Rosenshine ... Linda A. Scott ... Patricia Ann Tempel

The Audiology Clinic at Illinois is offering free adult hearing screenings June 1 through July 28. Screening appointments may be scheduled by calling 217-333-2230. No appointments are accepted via email.

Derek Hoot of Middleton, Wisconsin, a senior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was awarded an $18,500 Boren Scholarship for a 2017-18 study abroad experience in Jordan.

Beginning Monday, May 22, two sections of Green Street between Wright Street and Goodwin Avenue will close to through traffic as construction resumes on Multimodal Corridor Enhancement (MCORE) Project 1 (see map). Significant detours for vehicular and pedestrian traffic will occur for primary campus locations.

After a cool beginning of the month, soil temperatures are rising throughout the state in mid-May, according to Jennie Atkins, the Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey, part of the Prairie Research Institute at Illinois. 

Teena M. Beason ... Lorena J. Dorsey ... Joann T. Hower ... Scott Maclaren

Computer science professor Sheldon H. Jacobson discusses the proposed Department of Homeland Security ban of laptop and tablet computers in the passenger cabins of certain flights.

U. of I. student Amber Winters, a resident of Colona, Illinois, is one of four U.S. students selected for a three-week cultural and academic summer program in Scotland.

The University YMCA seeks volunteers to collect, sort and pack donations for its annual Dump and Run recycling sale in August. The program has been a completely volunteer-run program since its inception 15 years ago.

Yue Zhuo, a postdoctorate fellow in the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory and at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at Illinois, has been awarded a Postdoctoral Scholar Award for a paper that was submitted to the annual Microscopy and Microanalysis Conference.

A new exhibition at Krannert Art Museum, “Provenance: A Forensic History of Art,” shows the challenges of provenance research and the efforts to document the history of ownership of several of the museum’s works.

Students, alumni share what shaped them most 

Mary Buescher McDonald ... George W. Swenson Jr.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Richard L. Kaplan, the Peer and Sarah Pedersen Professor of Law at Illinois, is an internationally recognized expert on U.S. tax policy and retirement issues who is available for media interviews on issues surrounding the efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, President Obama’s signature health care law.

Kaplan has lectured on taxation and retirement issues on three continents and has testified before the U.S. Congress on several occasions, and has developed one of the first law school courses on elder law, an emerging specialty dealing with the legal implications of extended life.

According to Kaplan, the proposed American Health Care Act would further complicate an already complicated health insurance system.

“The most layered and complex health insurance system in the developed world would become even more incomprehensible if the new health reform legislation gets enacted, because it authorizes each state to isolate persons with pre-existing conditions so others can enjoy lower insurance premiums until they develop medical conditions themselves,” he said.

To contact Kaplan, call 217-333-2499; email rkaplan@illinois.edu.

The School of Art and Design Bachelor of Fine Arts exhibition at Krannert Art Museum allows seniors to show the best of their work.

The Carle Illinois College of Medicine has announced nearly 100 inaugural faculty members.

Four University of Illinois professors have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest professional honors a scientist can receive.

The 2017-18 season for Krannert Center for the Performing Arts will include a 15th anniversary celebration of Jupiter String Quartet, dance traditions from around the world, joint programming with Japan House, classical and chamber music artists, and a concert in honor of the 100th anniversary of the birth of jazz pianist Thelonious Monk.

Three University of Illinois students have been nationally recognized for their potential to contribute to the advancement of research in the natural sciences, mathematics or engineering.  One student was awarded a Barry M. Goldwater scholarships for the next two academic years, and two others earned honorable mentions.

Alonzo Juan “Beets” Mitchell ... William Dean “Bill” Morrison ... Frank “Wright” Neely ... Susan M. Schmidt

Champaign, Ill. – Faculty and staff members and graduate teaching assistants at the U. of I. were honored for excellence in teaching, mentoring and advising at an April 26 reception at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center.

Guitarists from around the world will showcase a wide range of musical traditions at this year’s ELLNORA: The Guitar Festival, Sept. 14-16 at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.

Audio artist Eric Leonardson will lead soundwalks in two Urbana parks as part of the Sonified Sustainability Festival, to celebrate sustainable practices in the arts. The soundwalks aim to make people more aware of the sounds around them, both natural and man-made.

Illinois alumnus and actor, humorist, author and woodworker Nick Offerman, best known for his role as Ron Swanson on the NBC hit comedy series "Parks and Recreation," will be the U. of I.’s commencement speaker Saturday, May 13.

Anne Price received the 2017 Office Professional of the Year Award from the Secretariat at Illinois.

Marine Le Pen, a far-right candidate in France’s presidential race, could have significant future influence, says the associate director of the European Center at Illinois.

An external review team found that a more centralized organizational structure of diversity efforts would better align the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s institutional goals with outcomes.

Four Illinois faculty will be formally honored with Campus Awards for Excellence in Faculty Leadership at an April 25 dinner tonight.

The Senate Committee on Honorary Degrees invites all departments and units to identify and nominate individuals who have made substantial contributions to their respective academic disciplines for an honorary degree award. Information regarding the nomination procedure and criteria for honorary degree award nominations can be found online.

Students, faculty members, staff and visitors to the U. of I. campus can grab a shovel and help plant one of five new trees Friday, April 28, on National Arbor Day.

College of education faculty member Hua-Hua Chang will receive 2017 E.F. Lindquist Award from the American Educational Research Association and the American College Testing Program at the AERA Awards Luncheon on April 29. The luncheon will take place during the AERA’s annual meeting, April 27-May 1 in San Antonio.

The Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities will hold its annual award reception honoring the faculty, graduate student and undergraduate student recipients of this year's IPRH Prizes for Research in the Humanities at 4 p.m. May 1 at IPRH Lecture Hall, Levis Faculty Center, fourth floor, 919 W. Illinois St., Urbana.

NPR’s 1A, hosted by Joshua Johnson, will join the WILL-AM 580 lineup May 1, airing from 9-11 a.m. Monday through Friday. With a name inspired by the First Amendment, 1A explores important issues such as policy, politics and technology. The program delves into pop culture, sports and humor.

Eight civil service staff employees were honored with the Chancellor’s Distinguished Staff Award at a banquet April 20. The award recognizes exceptional performance.

Frank Carter ... Julie Ann Elliott ... Willard Thouston Garrison ... Ralph L. “Bud” Lieb ... Lottie Russell ... Nancy “Jan” Scott ... Melvyn Skvarla

The Moms Association at Illinois announced the winners of its annual awards and scholarship programs during Moms Weekend on April 7-9.

Abbott Power Plant’s 77-year-old south stack will be taken down in much the same way it went up, one piece at a time. Crews this month began preparations to disassemble the 197-foot concrete stack at the plant, located on the U. of I. campus at 1117 S. Oak St. The work is expected to end this summer.

A recent vote on constitutional changes may mean Turkey is headed even further from its one-time status as a model for Islamic democracy.

The Sonified Sustainability Festival, presented at the University of Illinois during Earth Week and in its second year, celebrates sustainable practices in the arts.

Organizers of the 19th annual Roger Ebert’s Film Festival have announced the slate of panel discussions for the festival.