News Bureau

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A panel of professors, including the grandson of author Dee Brown, will hold a symposium in his honor March 4 examining how the media have helped craft attitudes about American Indians. Brown played an influential role in reshaping perceptions about American Indians and westward expansion with his 1970 book "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee." For more than two decades leading up to its publication, Brown, who died in 2002, was a librarian and professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Nancy Cantor, chancellor of the UI’s Urbana campus since 2001, has been named the 11th chancellor and president of Syracuse University.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The College of Communications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign not only should remain intact, it should expand to become a four-year college, a task force appointed by the interim dean of the college recommended today to the provost.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Civil rights leader Julian Bond, National Public Radio commentator Andrei Codrescu and composer Don Davis, who wrote scores for "The Matrix" movies, will all be among the speakers this spring in the Center for Advanced Study/MillerComm lecture series at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

UI president announces February 2005 retirement

Career services staff members help students find their niches

Gates to visit campus Feb. 24 Bill Gates, the chief software architect for Microsoft, will be on campus Feb. 24 to talk with students about computer science. He is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. in Foellinger Auditorium. All tickets have been distributed to students through academic units across campus. The talk also will be broadcast; details about when and where will be forthcoming. Gates intends to share with students his excitement for computer science, engineering and related disciplines. He also plans to provide an overview of work at Microsoft and in university research laboratories to solve some of the most difficult problems in computer science. His talk at the UI is the first on a three-day, five-campus tour.

PITA grants to fund projects to enhance UI teaching

Galina Cotton is an animal caretaker in the psychology building.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A former apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright will present an anecdotal account of his experiences working alongside the celebrated architect during a public talk Feb. 2 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Two new exhibitions focusing on architecture are on view Feb. 6 through 28 at I space, the Chicago gallery of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign:

2003 Campus Charitable Fund Drive Campus exceeds $1 million goal

Trustees re-elect Eppley as chairman By Sabryna Cornish UIC News About 30 anti-Chief protesters traveled to the UI Board of Trustees meeting held at the Chicago campus Jan. 15 to urge board members to take up the issue at their March meeting. Controversy regarding Chief Illiniwek has heated up in the past few months after trustee Frances Carroll introduced a resolution at the board's December meeting to do away with the symbol. Carroll, who said at the time that she might not have had enough votes to retire the Chief, withdrew the resolution at the meeting. The issue is expected to be on the March board meeting agenda. Formal protests against the Chief have been ongoing for the past 15 years. Native Americans say the symbol is racist while supporters say the symbol honors Native Americans and is a long-standing tradition of the university worth retaining. Eppley elected to second term Board chairman Lawrence Eppley was re-elected to serve a second year as board chairman. "It is an honor to have the support of my fellow trustees and to work with them and the administration for another year in leading one of America's best universities to continue to do great things," he said. Eppley has served on the board since 2001 after being appointed by Gov. George Ryan. Eppley, 44, is an attorney in corporate practice at the Chicago firm of Bell, Boyd and Lloyd. Eppley has spent his time on the board concentrating on economic development activity. He was key to creating strategies that transfer university research and technological innovations to business applications. "Beyond our core missions of education, research and public service, the UI has enormous potential to enhance the economic vitality of the state through innovation and job growth," he said. In other business • The board of trustees passed a resolution Jan. 15 supporting and recognizing the sacrifice those in the UI community have made during the last 10 months of the Iraqi war. About 200 UI students, faculty and staff members have been stationed in Iraq since 2002. Many alumni also have been called to duty. "It is with pride that we take this opportunity to praise the courage and valor of these outstanding men and women of our extended university family," the resolution states. The board also paid its respects to Army 1st Lt. Brian Slavenas, a recent UI engineering graduate, who was killed in action in Iraq in November.

Senators debate disclosure policy at Dec. 8 meeting By Sharita Forrest, Assistant Editor 217-244-1072; slforres@illinois.edu A proposed amendment allowing university officials to publicize the outcomes of student disciplinary hearings evoked much debate at the Dec. 8 meeting of the Urbana-Champaign Senate. Nicholas Burbules, chair of the conference on conduct governance, presented a proposal to amend Rule 62 of the Campus Code of Policies and Regulations Applying to All Students that said that the "name, code violations and sanction of a student found in violation" of the Code "may be released to the public." Recent amendments to the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act granted universities permission to disclose the final results of disciplinary proceedings involving students who are alleged perpetrators of violent crimes or non-forcible sex offenses if university officials determine that a student's criminal offense also violated university policies. The amendment was crafted by a task force of campus faculty members, students and administrators, which included associate dean of students William Riley. Burbules said they believed that disclosure was a matter of public safety and that it protected the university from potential liability if a previous offender were to re-offend. Moreover, the task force believed that the student disciplinary process might be the only recourse available to victims who decline to pursue prosecution. However, Burbules said that the disciplinary process is not a default mechanism and that often cases subject to criminal proceedings are also heard by student discipline. Several senators stringently objected to the proposal, including Linda Biehl, professor of law, who said the wording was vague and left disclosure open to subjective judgment. Other senators expressed concern that the policy violated due process, that it would stigmatize students and that it established the university as a proxy for law enforcement and the justice system in criminal matters where the university has no jurisdiction. Burbules said that current university statutes cite the criminal offenses named in FERPA as being violations of university policy, and that jurisdiction was not at issue. The amendment only granted university officials the option of publicizing the results of disciplinary proceedings. CCG member Mark Roszkowski, professor of business administration, spoke against the amendment at the meeting and in a memorandum to Chancellor Nancy Cantor that was distributed to the Senate. Roszkowski challenged the task force's rationale that disclosure was a matter of public safety and said he failed to see how disclosure would afford any protection to other students. In addition, Roszkowski said that reporting a violator's name under Section 951 of FERPA would tie the offender's name to the federal criminal code, thereby criminalizing the disciplinary proceedings. Disclosure would be viewed by the violator and the public as a punitive sanction and would violate the rights of criminal defendants. Roszkowski also expressed concern that publicizing students' names and alleged offenses would undermine the educational value of the disciplinary process by encouraging students to deny wrongdoing in an attempt to circumvent the disciplinary process and public scrutiny. "I think the proponents of this proposal seriously underestimate the criminal character of this sanction," Roszkowski said. "This proposal is a bad idea. It's bad for victims. It's bad for the accused. It's bad for the disciplinary system because it destroys the integrity of the system." Cantor volunteered to meet with CCG to address the concerns raised by senators before rendering a decision on the amendment. In other business:

Dan DoBell is a business manager at Enterprise Works in the UI Research Park.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - At its Jan. 15 meeting in Chicago, the board of trustees of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign approved the following faculty and staff appointments for the Urbana campus effective Jan. 16, 2004:

Five years ago, it might have seemed like an unlikely match: Miles, a seventh-grade boy whose unruly behavior was landing him in trouble with school officials and other authorities, and Art Spomer, a recently widowed UI professor of plant physiology who liked to sculpt.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Throughout history, various cultures have been lumped together into the broad categories "East" and "West" in order to distinguish an "us" from a "them," according to art historian David O'Brien. This habit continues today, he says, "but at the expense of cross-cultural understanding, and despite the fact that the lives of many people now cross the East/West divide."

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Aggravated assaults and batteries and criminal sexual assaults decreased while robberies and other sex offenses increased slightly in the University of Illinois reporting district during the Sept. 1, 2003 - Dec. 31, 2003, reporting period, according to statistics released this week by the University of Illinois Division of Public Safety.

An old service unit on the Urbana campus began 2004 with a new name that reflects a campuswide initiative to bolster learning by encouraging faculty members to rethink their roles as teachers and researchers.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The dramatic growth of the prison population in the United States and its connection with education will be the subject of a three-day interdisciplinary conference this week at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The lineup of speakers for this year's weeklong Champaign County Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration includes state Sen. Barack Obama, D-Chicago; Erika Harold of Urbana, a former Miss America; Charles Burnett, a movie director; and Christopher Edley Jr., a founding co-director of the Harvard Civil Rights Project.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Eleven undergraduate students in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Architecture were honored for scholastic excellence during the 2003 fall semester. A total of $1,500 in fellowships, scholarships and prizes was presented.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Students and faculty in architecture, landscape architecture and urban and regional planning at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are taking their knowledge of good urban design to the streets - or more precisely, to 112 W. Main St. in downtown Urbana. That's the new home of Civitas: the University of Illinois Community Design Center, an innovative town-gown enterprise that opens its doors to the public from 6-9 p.m. Tuesday (Dec. 16).

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Program in Arms Control, Disarmament and International Security at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is seeking applicants for a new scholarship program.

Project helps people of Afghanistan help themselves

Closing of ERIC clearinghouse signals end of an era

Marita Romine is an administrative aide in the Business Office of the Foreign Languages Building.

Suburbanization of small towns is reversing the exodus of the best and brightest that led sociologist E.A. Ross to declare in 1915 that Midwestern towns “remind one of fished-out ponds populated chiefly by bullheads and suckers.”

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Festival passes now are on sale for the sixth annual Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival, to be held April 21-25 at the Virginia Theater in Champaign, Ill., and at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Walk this way With the autumn chill taking hold outdoors, walkers and joggers welcomed the reopening of the Armory's track on Nov 7. Closed since August for resurfacing, the reconditioned track and floor area now contains restrooms and a drinking fountain and can be accessed through Room 190 in the building's southwest corner. Through the end of the calendar year, patrons can use the Armory track without charge but will need memberships to Campus Recreation or the Armory to use it beginning in January. Details about memberships and facility hours are available by calling the Armory Message Center at 333-8333 or visiting the Web at www.uiarmory.com.

The mansion pond and surrounding area are a favorite spot for visitors to Allerton Park. However, staff members will soon be emptying the pond to better assess the cause of noticeable deterioration in the pond's health. In an effort to identify the causes of these problems and recommend a solution, Allerton Park and the UI department of natural resources and environmental sciences have created a unique educational opportunity. During the next year, UI students will propose and implement a restoration plan to improve the health of the pond and restore beauty to the pond area. As the pond is drained, fish species will be relocated to the Allerton Diversified Farm Pond. While the pond is empty, research and repairs will be performed. Data will be gathered on depth and composition of sediment, contour of the pond, and water flow rates. The student team and Allerton staff members will remove sediment to restore the original depth of the pond and plant aquatic vegetation on the banks. If necessary, repairs will be made to the wall of the dam and pond banks. After completing necessary repairs and improvements, the pond will be allowed to refill naturally. When the water level returns to an appropriate depth, the student team will introduce a diverse fish population to the pond. The restoration project is scheduled to continue through the summer of 2004. Visitors will notice ongoing work by both students and Allerton staff members throughout the research and implementation phases of this project. These temporary inconveniences will provide long-term benefits ensuring future health and enjoyment of the pond. For more information, stop by the Visitor Center at Allerton.

Faculty members display art through Jan. 4

Steven Fay is the facilities manager in veterinary pathobiology.

Current UI students who are Illinois residents will see their tuition increase by $223 per semester at Urbana, by $196 per semester at Chicago and by $138 per semester at Springfield next year, according to proposals passed by the UI Board of Trustees Nov. 13.

The state of Illinois’ $4 billion state budget deficit brought the UI a $58 million diminution in state support this fiscal year, which began July 1. But the university is not alone: Nearly all of its Big Ten peers, and indeed public universities around the nation, are struggling to fill multimillion-dollar gaps in their operating budgets and worrying what they will do if funding recedes further next fiscal year.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - David Weightman today was named the director of the School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Weightman's appointment, effective Dec. 16, was approved by the university's board of trustees at its meeting in Urbana.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Lani Guinier, a professor of law at Harvard, will be the speaker at both Commencement ceremonies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on May 16, 2004. She and seven others also will receive honorary degrees at the ceremonies. Guinier will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree.

Dance legend Modern dance choreographer Dianne McIntyre directs UI students rehearsing for next week's November Playhouse Dance concert series to be presented at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13-15 in the Colwell Playhouse at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. McIntyre, who has taught key figures in the dance world, is known for her collaborations with jazz greats and for her choreography for stage and screen. Included in her body of work is choreography for Oprah Winfrey's film adaptation of Toni Morrison's "Beloved." McIntyre is in residence at the dance department as part of "Conversations in Black on Brown," a program organized by dance professor Cynthia Oliver to coincide with the yearlong Brown v. Board of Education Jubilee Commemoration. In addition to working with UI students and performing in next week's concert, McIntyre will give a free master class in contemporary dance at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club in Champaign.

CAS serves as campuswide 'interdisciplinary catalyst'

Envisioning the past and future Latina/o Studies Program continues to grow in size, stature

UI establishes scholarship to honor Sen. Stan Weaver UI President James J. Stukel has announced the Stanley B. Weaver Scholarship program to honor the long-time state senator whose district included the Urbana-Champaign campus. "There will be six Stanley B. Weaver Scholarships," Stukel said. "Each of them will reflect the interests and the values of the extended Weaver clan. And all of them will reflect the Weaver family's emphasis on higher learning and, specifically, the University of Illinois." Weaver, 78, represented the 52nd District in the Illinois Senate since 1970, after a single term in the Illinois House and a dozen years as mayor of Urbana. After 22 years as assistant senate leader, he was named senator majority leader in 1997 and held that post until his retirement last January. "I am honored by the university's establishment of these scholarships," Weaver said. "While I am not sure I am deserving of this honor, I am sure there is no shortage of students who will benefit from them - and that makes me very happy." Stukel said the scholarship program will begin in fall 2004 and will be funded by an endowment created in the UI Foundation by the President's Office. The Urbana-Champaign campus, however, will administer the program, which will provide $2,500 scholarships to undergraduates in civil engineering, special education, finance, chemistry, food science and human nutrition, and natural resources and environmental sciences. The academic areas in which the scholarships will be given relate to personal or professional ties to the university by members of the Weaver family.

Arnould splits retirement between Illinois, Florida

Aaron Landers is a police officer with the UI Division of Public Safety.

At the Nov. 3 meeting of the Urbana-Champaign Senate, concerns were expressed about the campus’s communications strategies.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Kim B. Rotzoll, recently retired as the dean of the College of Communications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, died today (Nov. 4) in Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana from complications related to cancer. He was 68.

Governor releases $82 million in capital projects University plays important role in state economic development Remarking that the university environment also can serve as an economic engine, Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced Oct. 10 that he will release $82 million in state capital dollars to fund a laboratory addition at the UI's Urbana-Champaign campus and construction of a lab at the Chicago campus. During his visit, the governor also congratulated the university for being the home of two Nobel Prize winners and one Crafoord Prize winner in one year. Joining the governor and UI President James Stukel at the announcement were Nobel Prize winners Paul Lauterbur for physiology or medicine and Anthony Leggett for physics; and Carl Woese who won the Crafoord Prize, which is the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for biosciences. "When we award state funds, we generally look at certain criteria: need, the availability of matching funds, or potential for economic growth," said the governor. "But let me tell you, knowing that money we award will be used to help further the research of a faculty that has two Nobel Prize winners and one Crafoord Prize winner this year alone certainly helps." The governor released $18 million for expansion and remodeling of the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory. The laboratory is a multidisciplinary research facility in the College of Engineering that supports research in photonics, microelectronics, nanotechnology and biotechnology. The governor also released $64 million to build the Advanced Chemical Technology Laboratory at the UI's Chicago campus. The proposed new building (117,000 net square feet) will replace existing space that is both limited and outdated and will allow for the creation of an interdisciplinary Institute of Environmental Science and Policy, bringing faculty together who have succeeded at commercializing products. The proposed Institute of Environmental Science and Policy will serve as a clearinghouse for more than 40 faculty members in six colleges, who will tackle complex, interdisciplinary problems. "Building the Advanced Chem Lab doesn't only mean developing new products that will help create new jobs, it means developing new products that will help people survive deadly diseases," said Gov. Blagojevich. "These are exactly the kinds of investments we should be making in the University of Illinois."

New retiree Martin finds gardening therapeutic

Cellofest honors world-renowned cellists

UI Committees 2003