News Bureau

The second annual Illini Success, an analysis of information gleaned from survey responses and other reports, draws from the experiences of those who completed undergraduate degrees in August 2015, December 2015 and May 2016.

When waterfowl return to Illinois in early spring on their way north, will they find enough food for a two-week layover? A limited food supply during spring migration and subsequent declines in duck populations can affect Illinois’ multimillion-dollar waterfowl hunting industry, say researchers from the Prairie Research Institute at Illinois.

Inner Voices at Illinois will present “Manifesto,” a performance of intersectional feminist voices of inspiration and intervention, at two locations in March. The performances are free and open to the public, and are in honor of Women’s History Month.

Warmer winter soils may have an effect on agriculture and crop pest control this spring, according to researchers at the Prairie Research Institute at Illinois.

Jay Rosen, a professor of journalism at New York University, will present his lecture “Winter is Coming: The Trump Regime and the American Press” at 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 8, at 1092 Lincoln Hall, 702 S. Wright St., Urbana.

University departments can improve campus energy efficiency through the Revolving Loan Fund. This semester, more than $800,000 will be available for utility conservation projects with short-term payback periods.

Peter James Garlick ... Sheldon Ward Williams

A university investigation found a series of deficiencies within Facilities & Services at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign but not systemic discriminatory employment practices and work environments.

Donna Cox, the director of the Advanced Visualization Laboratory at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the U. of I., will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award this week at the eighth annual IMERSA 2017 Summit in Denver. The event creates an opportunity to explore the converging worlds of virtual reality-themed entertainment and immersive cinema.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s 150th birthday celebration begins Tuesday with festivities at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.

Constitutional crisis scenarios have yet to occur under Trump, U. of I. law dean and constitutional scholar says.

The University of Illinois has been an “Engine of Innovation” throughout its history, per the title of a new book celebrating its sesquicentennial.

Four Illinois researchers are recipients of 2017 Sloan Research Fellowships from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. According to the foundation, the awards “honor early career scholars whose achievements mark them as the next generation of scientific leaders.” Awardees receive $60,000 to be used as they wish to further their research.

Steven Weitzman, a professor in the University of Pennsylvania’s department of religious studies, will present a lecture titled “The Double Helix of Jewish History: Genetics and the Search for the Origin of the Jews” on Monday, Feb. 20, at 5 p.m. in the Knight Auditorium at Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, 600 S. Gregory St., Urbana.

Allan Paul

Robert J. Carr ... Linda Kay Jenkins ... Brenda Ann Le’Noir ... John O. Marxmiller ... Adlon Dohme Jorgensen Rector ... Paul Stone ... Patricia Ruth Gueritey Weston 

A U.N. report calls for empowerment of young adults in Arab countries through education reforms that better prepare them for employment. An Illinois social anthropologist takes issue with the plan

The Illini Union will host a celebration of its 75th anniversary on Friday, Feb. 17, from 4 to 6 p.m.  in the Illini Union Art Gallery and Pine Lounge. All are welcome to attend.

Law professor Robin Fretwell Wilson: Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch similar to the late Justice Antonin Scalia.

Currently the dean of libraries and university librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, John Wilkin will become the interim vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost designate effective Feb. 18.

Helping early career teachers improve their instructional practices while fostering skills and relationships that promote professional development are the foci of the Illinois New Teacher Collaborative’s upcoming Induction and Mentoring Conference.

The city of Urbana and the U. of I. will host an inaugural stormwater public meeting Wednesday, Feb. 15 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Urbana Civic Center, 108 Water St., Urbana. 

Lawrence Bouton

The $44 million Multimodal Corridor Enhancement project, designed to improve access for all modes of transportation on campus and neighboring areas including Green Street, Armory Avenue, White Street and Wright Street, will begin work in early March. New streetscape improvements, a transit-boarding island on Green Street, reconfigured Illini Union vehicle entrance and parking, all-way pedestrian crossings and protected bicycle lanes are some of the features designed to improve travel links from Campustown to downtowns in Urbana and Champaign. All businesses will be open and reachable throughout the project.

“Stranded by the State,” a two-part documentary by Illinois Public Media focusing on the long-term toll the Illinois budget crisis has had on everyday people statewide, will begin broadcasting on public television stations Feb. 14, the day before Gov. Bruce Rauner’s state budget address. WILL-TV in Urbana-Champaign and WEIU-TV in Charleston will air the documentary from 7-8 p.m. on that date. Other public television stations statewide will air the documentary at later dates.

Journalism professor Stephanie Craft: To be news literate, know how to judge a story’s credibility, and also be intentional in how you consume news and understand the forces that shape it.

The statewide average temperature in January was 31.4 degrees, 5 degrees above normal, and the 14th-warmest January on record, according to Illinois State Climatologist Jim Angel of the Illinois State Water Survey, part of the Prairie Research Institute at Illinois.

Robert C. Corum ... Charles M. Draper ... Norma Bartholomew Kent 

University of Illinois political scientist Alicia Uribe-McGuire describes the politics involved in the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch.

Aerospace engineering professor John Lambros and his Ph.D. student, Owen Kingstedt, were recognized with the 2017 Society of Experimental Mechanics M. Hetényi Award. An aerospace engineering faculty member since 2000, Lambros has simultaneously garnered SEM’s 2017 P.S. Theocaris Award, which recognizes a senior individual for distinguished, innovative and outstanding work in optical methods and experimental mechanics.
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The executive order on immigration sets U.S. policy back more than 50 years, says Illinois labor and employment relations professor Michael LeRoy, an expert on immigration and employment policy.

Barry Benson has been named the Urbana campus’s vice chancellor for advancement and the senior vice president of the University of Illinois foundation, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. He will report for duty March 16. 

The University of Illinois College of Law will host a panel discussion at noon Friday on President Trump’s executive order on immigration. The discussion will be moderated by U. of I. law professor Lesley Wexler.

Audience members will use their cellphones to interact with dancers and the set during the premiere of “Critical Mass” this week at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. The performances are part of February Dance: Designed Environments, presented by the University of Illinois dance department.

The Ice Arena at Illinois is getting a new refrigeration system and ice mat.

The new system will be more efficient than the one currently in use and will have  a life expectancy of eight to 10 years. The new ice mat could be moved if a new facility or larger renovation are planned.

Cody A. Breitenfeldt ... Hazel C. Cacioppo ... David M. Grothe ... Luther H. Holmes ... David F. Mulliken ... Dan White

Special education professor James Shriner on a case recently heard by the U.S. Supreme Court to decide the educational benefits that public schools are required to provide to students with disabilities.

After 33 years of service, the Scholarship Program Committee for the Civil Service Employee and Dependents Scholarship Program is analyzing the program  to ensure its continuity. 

The Audiology Clinic at Illinois is offering free adult hearing screenings Jan. 25 through April 22. Screening appointments may be scheduled by calling 217-333-2230. No appointments are accepted via email. 

Krannert Art Museum will host the first solo museum presentation by performance artist Autumn Knight, who incorporates elements of theater, dance, psychology and religious studies into her work.

Professor and copyright librarian Sara R. Benson explains an upcoming Supreme Court case at the intersection of copyright and patent for functional designs.

University Primary School is now accepting enrollment applications for the 2017-18 academic year. The school is the College of Education at Illinois lab school, serving children preschool through fifth grade in a Reggio Emilia, project-based curriculum.

The theme for the YMCA Spring 2017 Friday Forum Lecture Series is the “State of the State.” With many challenges facing the state of Illinois, the lecture series seeks to address state-level issues including the budget impasse’s effects on social services, funding for education, incarceration and more.

Charlotte Jane (Honn) Brownfield ... Mary L. Giles ... Margaret McLaren Jensen ... Martin L. Maehr ... Robert J. Nelson ... Dorothy Ann (Sturdivant) Schoeps

Why the sudden impetus to reorganize the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? For starters, it was never a bipartisan effort.

Communication professor John Murphy, who studies presidential rhetoric, says the inaugural address traditionally carries a message of unifying the country, which may be even more important this time.

Edward Feser is leaving the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to become the provost and executive vice president at Oregon State University.

With a theme of “Pursuing the Dream in Challenging Times,” the 2017 communitywide celebration of the life of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. includes a half-dozen events throughout Champaign and Urbana.

The department of mathematics at Illinois will hold a family winter math carnival called The Gathering for Gardner 2017 on Saturday, Jan. 28, from 2-5 p.m. at Altgeld Hall, 1409 W. Green St., Urbana. The day is filled with hands-on activities, demonstrations, games, puzzles, refreshments and mathematical prizes for participants.

Professor Richard Kaplan discusses the impetus behind congressional leaders’ desire to change Medicaid, the health insurance program with more than 74 million enrollees in the U.S.