News Bureau

Move over, Illini Guides.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Sixteen professors, three academic professionals and five teaching assistants at the University of Illinois will be honored Tuesday (April 29) for excellence in teaching and advising. The recipients will be recognized during a reception at Alice Campbell Alumni Center, 601 S. Lincoln Ave., Urbana.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The artistic process - that mysterious zone between creative thinking and doing - will be explored in a new exhibition on view April 25 through May 31 at I space, the Chicago gallery of the College of Fine and Applied Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

A new graduate degree program under development at the UI aims to expand opportunities for graduates with bachelor's degrees in science and math and provide employers with well-rounded workers who know the fundamentals of business as well as their disciplines.

Michael H. Hites has been named associate vice president for Administrative Information-Technology Services (AITS).

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Tucked away behind a grassy knoll next to a small pond, Japan House is a tiny oasis of tranquility and natural beauty seemingly far from the traffic on South Lincoln Avenue only yards away. Nancy Quinn is one of a handful of lucky staff members who work at Japan House. Quinn's job responsibilities include planning the tea ceremonies and scheduling other events - experience that may come in handy as she helps plan a large August wedding for her son, Patrick. Quinn, who began her career at the UI and at Japan House in August 2000 as an Extra Help secretary, joined the UI's staff in August 2001.

Spring planting Katsuo Kubo, master landscape gardener from Japan, moves a root ball of a Yoshino cherry tree into its new home.

Notable faculty members and alumni and their achievements are being commemorated with a series of orange and blue banners that will be displayed along Green, Sixth and John streets later this spring and summer. The 20 honorees, who were selected by Provost Linda Katehi based upon nominations from each of the colleges, include current, retired and deceased faculty members as well as living and deceased alumni.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A group of international scholars will gather at the University of Illinois for a conference to discuss how forces of religion and nationalism may act to heighten intergroup tension around heritage claims - even to the point of causing the destruction of ancient and historic sites.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Steven Koonin, chief scientist for BP, will speak April 29 at the University of Illinois on the topic "Energy, Environment, Security: Can We Have It All?"

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The 11th Annual Conference on New and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases will take place April 17-18 at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine in Urbana. The goal of the conference hosted by the U. of I. Center for Zoonoses Research is to promote interdisciplinary research efforts and to call attention to the problems that infectious diseases pose locally and around the world.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Bring your brain to Lincoln Square in Urbana this Sunday (April 13) for a quick tune-up on the latest brain research, courtesy of the neuroscience program at the University of Illinois.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - This year's European Union Day activities at the University of Illinois will span two days, April 14-15.

Intel and Microsoft corporations will invest $10 million over five years in a new research center at the UI to develop ways to take maximum advantage of today's multi-core computer chips.

Tim Prunkard is a technical service supervisor in the department of civil and environmental engineering.

Faced with budgetary deficits for energy costs and concerns about retaining faculty members, maintaining educational quality and a looming shortage of health-care professionals, the UI Board of Trustees voted to raise tuition and fees for the 2008-09 academic year and to endorse a resolution that called for establishing a dedicated stream of funding for educating doctors, nurses and other medical professionals.

The UI fares well in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings of America's best graduate schools. The 2009 edition of the magazine's ratings of graduate programs is scheduled for publication April 7-14.

Two academic programs may soon become departments within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The Urbana-Champaign Senate approved separate proposals from the Senate Committee on Educational Policy to reorganize the African American Studies and Research Program to the department of African American studies, and to reorganize the Program for the Study of Religion as the department of religion.

Vladimir Tolstoy, left, greets Rajmohan Gandhi at the kickoff event for a series of local initiatives connected with the Big Read, a nationwide campaign sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts aimed at promoting the reading of classic literature. 

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The recipient of the University of Illinois' 2007 Madhuri and Jagdish N. Sheth International Alumni Award for Exceptional Achievement will return to the campus April 2 to receive the award and deliver a lecture on global efforts to end poverty and hunger in the world's poorest countries.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The newly organized Center on Health, Aging and Disability at the University of Illinois will hold its inaugural symposium on April 3 at the Alice Campbell Alumni Center, 601 S. Lincoln Ave., Urbana.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Oscar-winning director and University of Illinois alumnus Ang Lee will be among the featured guests for the 10th annual Roger Ebert's Film Festival, otherwise known as "Ebertfest," coming April 23-27 to Champaign and the U. of I. campus.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - James C. Schroeder has been named vice chancellor for institutional advancement at the Urbana campus of the University of Illinois. He also becomes senior vice president of the U. of I. Foundation. The appointment, which the U. of I. Board of Trustees approved at its March 26 meeting, is effective March 27.

Beginning April 1, about 3,000 additional civil service employees at Urbana will be covered by the Performance Partnership Program, a performance-management system that emphasizes good performance and helps employees commit to improve attendance, conduct or other problems.

If you have trouble keeping track of your belongings from one day to the next, imagine the challenge involved in keeping track of nearly 6,000 items in 327 buildings. Sound like a full-time job? For John Rhoades, a safety officer in Facilities and Services, it is. Rhoades is responsible for tracking, inspecting and arranging for maintenance and replacement of the thousands of fire extinguishers throughout campus. Rhoades began his career at the UI in September 2001 as a night-shift building service worker, then transferred to the moving crew for six months before starting his current job in July 2004. Rhoades' dedication to his work earned him a "Most Valuable Person" award from F&S in September 2006.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Some of the best new films from Latin America will be screened locally during the second annual Latin American Film Festival April 4-10.

The UI and other state universities would receive no increase in funding from the state next fiscal year if the budget proposed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich in his annual address on Feb. 20 is approved by legislators. However, Blagojevich did propose funding several capital projects at the UI campuses, including renovations at Lincoln Hall and the petascale computing facility at Urbana, and supported transferring operation of the four state scientific surveys to the UI.

A new online community with resources and information specifically for academic professionals at Urbana is being considered as one component of a comprehensive plan for fostering personal and professional development of APs. The Web site was one of the recommendations in a recently released report about issues affecting APs at the Urbana campus.

As part of President B. Joseph White's resources summit initiative, he has appointed a systemwide steering group and charged it to construct a long-term revenue and expenditure plan that "delivers the most resources possible to the academic front lines."

Three diverse efforts will be the inaugural projects of the new Institute for Advanced Computing Applications and Technologies at the UI. The institute transfers advances from the computer science and engineering research at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications to the larger scientific, engineering, and arts, humanities and social science communities in order to speed progress across all of these frontiers.

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Mya Clements, a program secretary in the College of Medicine, began her career with the UI as a learner secretary in the department of nuclear, plasma and radiological engineering in September 2001. Clements, who has been in her current position since September 2006, works with the college's Internal Medicine Residency Program. Carle Foundation Hospital is the primary teaching hospital for the program. Clements' department is on the lower level of the Carle Forum. Along with the other members of her department, Clements provides support for medical residents and their families during their three-year stay. Before coming to the university, Clements worked as a customer service representative/receptionist for a local insurance agency.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The four state scientific surveys - the Illinois State Geological Survey, the Illinois Natural History Survey, the Illinois Waste Management and Research Center, and the Illinois State Water Survey - will become part of the U. of I. if a plan proposed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich is approved. The surveys, on the U. of I.'s Urbana campus, would be organized as a new unit, the Institute for Natural Sciences and Sustainability, under the university's auspices beginning in Fiscal Year 2009.

A committee is being assembled to advise Chancellor Richard Herman about parking-related issues such as implementing salary-based rates, enhancing safety, and reducing vehicular traffic on campus and promoting "green" transportation modes. The Urbana-Champaign Senate approved a resolution from the Committee on Campus Operations to form an advisory committee when the senate met Feb. 25. The advisory committee, which will be charged with developing short-term and long-term parking policies by January 2009, will include faculty and staff members, graduate and undergraduate students as well as experts in business/economics and sustainability and a member of the Illinois Center for Transportation.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The University of Illinois has promised to achieve climate neutrality by joining a nationwide consortium of concerned colleges and universities that are signing the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. By signing the commitment, Chancellor Richard Herman pledged that the U. of I. is developing a long-range plan for reducing and neutralizing greenhouse gas emissions on campus and is accelerating its research and educational efforts to equip society to re-stabilize Earth's climate and help the U.S. achieve energy independence.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -Tests revealed a 21-year-old University of Illinois senior died last week of a non-contagious bacterial infection, campus health officials said today (Feb. 25).

University officials and police are working with Champaign Police and Champaign officials to keep a lid on this year's Unofficial St. Patrick's Day event.

Increase the percentage of female faculty members and students in underrepresented units

A Pet's Place was the first to receive the campus's "Team Award" through the Campus Award for Excellence in Public Engagement, an honor recognizing teams comprising members of the campus community who have made a significant contribution in engaging with the public on a sustained basis to address critical societal issues.

Urbana native Ted Burgin, an electrician in the Facilities and Services Division, has been at the university for 10 years, and was honored with a Chancellor's Distinguished Staff Award in April 2007. After about three years working in the construction services unit, Burgin transferred to the systems and controls crew, where he has worked ever since. Before joining the university's staff, he worked for Potter Electric at Kraft Foods for about 1 1/2 years. He has been in the electrical trade since 1984.

The UI's prized Rare Book and Manuscript Library will close Feb. 25 to combat a mold outbreak that has spread throughout the vault. There are approximately 300,000 volumes in the collection, which is valued in excess of $1 billion. The library is scheduled to reopen May 5.

In the wake of the tragedy at Northern Illinois University, it is important for all members of our University community to review the Emergency Messaging System. This system is currently in place, fully operational, and is a way to reach you in the event of a campus emergency. The campus already has several ways to reach you, including mass mail, the campus home page, a telephone tree, local media, recorded messages at 265-UIPD, weather sirens, and loudspeakers in police cars.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Authorities have identified the offender in Thursday's shootings at Northern Illinois University as Steven Phillip Kazmierczak of Champaign.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Ivan Ilyich is dead, but you're not.

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The Center for Teaching Excellence is offering four new teaching certificates to address faculty members' and teaching assistants' professional development needs and interest in teaching excellence and enhancing student learning. For many years, the CTE has offered a Graduate Teacher Certificate for TAs, and this year the center has developed several additional certificates so that faculty members, academic professionals, instructors and TAs can have additional opportunities for professional development and can document their efforts accordingly, said Cheelan Bo-Lin, head of instructional development in CTE.

Students and faculty and staff members are requested to log on to the emergency system Web site at emergency.illinois.edu and enter their contact information. Each person can enter up to three e-mail addresses and two text-message addresses. Users can change, add to or delete their contact information at any time.

When Donna Korol arrived at the UI in 2000, the move, she says, hit her "like a breath of fresh air." The spirit of cooperation and support among faculty members struck her as unique.