News Bureau

March 2016 was the 10th-warmest March on record with an average temperature of 46.5 degrees, 5.2 degrees above normal.

Two upcoming public forums will provide overviews of the process for updating the campus master plan and ask for ideas on the future of the Urbana campus.

The Faculty and Staff Emergency Fund is seeking donations to meet its goal of $50,000.

Former University of Illinois police chief Paul Dollins is being remembered as a leader in law enforcement, a community builder and a great friend.

Wendy Mathewson, from left, academic advisor in the history department; Juniper Lawrence, 5; and Dashiel Gaines, 3, view a gingerbread house created by the children's mother, Brianna Lawrence.

Stanford University Ecologist Christopher B. Field will deliver the 2016 Charles David Keeling Lecture – “Climate Change: The Road through Paris” – from 7-8:30 p.m. April 14 in Room 100 Noyes Laboratory. A reception will follow.

Benjamin Cashore, a professor of environmental governance and political science with the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University, will speak on campus April 8. The Social Dimensions of Environmental Policy program is sponsoring the event.

The Staff Advisory Council seeks nominations for one representative from Equal Employment Opportunity Group 5 (clerical-secretarial) and one representative from Equal Employment Opportunity Groups 1 and 3 (executive-administrative-managerial). These representatives will serve a four-year term beginning July 1.

Michael Posner, a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Oregon and an adjunct professor at Weill Medical College, will present the 2016 SmithGroup Distinguished Lecture at noon April 15 in the auditorium of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. His talk is titled "Mechanisms of Brain Network and Brain State Training.”

Jeff Moore will serve as the interim director of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology; Paul Ellinger became the new vice provost for budget and resource planning; Katherine Galvin will join the Office of the Chancellor as an associate chancellor.

The committee leading an effort to update the campus master plan has announced a new website and that it will host two upcoming public forums.

Werner Baer … Andrew Bendel … Paul Wayne Dollins … Jerry D. "Squirrel" Exum, … Betty June (Brooks) Smith Golladay … Bill Hawn … Donna Mae Menacher

Memorial services: Paul Clifton Jr. and Gail Scherba 

A report on honors, awards, appointments and other outstanding achievements of faculty and staff members.

A Minute With...™ Carol Tilley, professor and one of six judges of the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards

Film-related panel discussions have been announced for the 18th annual Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, coming April 13-17 to Champaign-Urbana.

In celebration of the 18th Annual Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, Illinois Public Media – in partnership with the College of Media at the University of Illinois – produced “Ebertfest 2016: Center of the Universe.” This 30-minute companion documentary covers the life and legacy of Roger Ebert as well as the history of the festival. It also includes a short preview of Ebertfest 2016.

Coursera, a leading online education company known for massive open online courses, announced March 30 a professional data science master’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The 11th annual Edible Book Festival, sponsored by the University Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will be April 4. The campus and local communities are invited to experience this unique intersection of the book arts and cuisine.

A student walks by two limestone sculptures on the south side of Foellinger Auditorium earlier this week.

The School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics at the University of Illinois is offering a unique learning opportunity in the form of the Intensive Foreign Language Instruction Program for spring 2016.

The University Language Academy for Children offers quality summer camp second-language programs in Spanish, Latin and Greek, where children learn the language and gain knowledge of the rich cultural traditions from around the world.

The Urbana chapter of the American Association of University Professors is sponsoring a workshop dealing with tenure and promotion issues. “Achieving Tenure and Promotion Policies and Procedures at UIUC” will be 2:30-4 p.m. April 14 at 314 B Illini Union.

Ten faculty and staff members and students associated with the department of history will get six minutes each to make their case for the book they think changed everything. A jury will then vote and declare a winner.

Tia Mowry, star of “Sister, Sister” and “The Game,” has been involved in many different facets of the entertainment industry for more than 20 years. She will speak at the Illini Union at 7 p.m. March 31 in the I-Rooms.

The Illinois Student Senate Ad-hoc Committee on the Exploration of a University Mascot will host its fourth meeting at 5 p.m. April 1 in Illini Union Room 104.

Saturday Engineering for Everyone is an open and free lecture series aimed at non-engineers of all backgrounds who are interested in learning about engineering.

Two things haven’t changed since Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost Edward Feser concluded a month of campus budget presentations: The state still doesn’t have a budget, and the university still doesn’t have its annual appropriation.

Robert L. Sprague

Illinois alumnus Jeff Huber, whose company is developing a revolutionary blood test to detect early stage cancer, will be the U. of I.'s commencement speaker on Saturday, May 14. The event starts at 9:30 a.m. in Memorial Stadium.

Hillel V. Gauchman … John R. Shumard … Andrew “Tippy” Young Jr. III

A Minute With...™ Adrian Burgos, expert on Latinos in baseball

She just returned from Turkey and is planning a trip to Israel. This is the work life of Brooke Eisenmenger, the director of international advancement.

The remaining films have been announced, along with the schedule and additional guests, for this year’s Roger Ebert’s Film Festival hosted by Chaz Ebert, also known as “Ebertfest,” coming April 13-17.

The Police Training Institute is again offering the Citizen Police Academy, an educational program that allows area residents to learn about issues faced by those in law enforcement. The academy begins April 14, with graduation June 16.

Global Arts Performance Initiatives will present the inaugural Sonified Sustainability Festival from April 14-May 1.

Alumni of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences are encouraged to register to attend ACES Family Academies with their young Illini fans ages 8 to 13. The one-and-a-half-day event will take place July 7-8.

Local residents will join faculty and staff members and students of the University of Illinois on April 9 for the 2016 Community and Campus Day of Service.

Soil temperatures increased through the first half of March, according to Jennie Atkins, Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring Program manager at the Illinois State Water Survey at the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois.

The College of Fine and Applied Arts will present its final Uncorked and On Topic event of this academic year at 5:15 p.m. April 14 in the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts Tryon Festival Theatre foyer.

Sara Pearson, a second-year veterinary student, was among the veterinary students volunteering for the “lamb watch" program in the U. of I.'s College of Veterinary Medicine.

A report on honors, awards, appointments and other outstanding achievements of faculty and staff members.

A Minute With...™ Vikram Amar, expert on constitutional law and the federal courts

Frederic Magill Jenkins … Reiner "Tom" Zuidema
Memorial Services: Bonnie B. Armbruster … Thomas S. Elliott … Frances M. Johnson.

The department of French and Italian is hosting a free, live performance of Italian music at 5 p.m. March 17 in Illini Room B in the Illini Union.

What has become a favorite feature of the annual Engineering Open House is the Tesla Coil Concert, hosted this year on the Bardeen Engineering Quad.

The Committee on Institutional Cooperation continues to promote interuniversity partnerships that lead to better collaboration and lower individual institutional costs.

The U. of I system’s long-term strategic plan will leverage the combined academic power of all three campuses to uphold the land-grant principle of “serving the public good,” while continuing to offer students a diversified, world-class liberal arts education.

A report on honors, awards, appointments and other outstanding achievements of faculty and staff members.

The heavy-lifting phase is just beginning, but members of the committee leading the search for a permanent chancellor say identifying the best candidate will take the strength of the entire campus.

Assessment is a tool that can be used to measure anything, but according to Jennifer Amos, a professor of bioengineering and this year's Distinguished Teacher-Scholar, it's especially useful in the classroom.