News Bureau

Faculty members teaching six Grand Challenge Experience courses this fall say they've enjoyed opening students' eyes to the unnoticed connections of a research campus, and they hope it leads to a new way of engaging student participation and thinking.

A Minute With...™ Jennifer Hardesty, expert on intimate partner violence

Do you have a work-related question that doesn’t have a simple answer? Are you unsure of which office to contact? Representatives from campus, community and affiliated organizations will provide information about benefits, services, programs and other related topics at the All Employee Expo.

Who can see what we share? Does our email belong to us? How is technology changing the ways we communicate? Two faculty members from the College of Fine and Applied Arts will address such questions at the college’s Uncorked and On Topic event at 5:15 p.m. Oct. 15 in the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts Tryon Festival Theatre Foyer.

The U. of I. will again offer four-week online courses during winter break this year. Winter Session 2015-16 will run Dec. 21 through Jan. 15. The courses offer an opportunity for undergraduate degree-seeking students to take an active role in their education, learn time management, set goals and meet them as they work toward degree completion. Illinois faculty members teach the courses that are offered to U. of I. undergraduate students at the Urbana campus and nondegree students at other institutions.

The seasonal flu shot is now available 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday for free at McKinley Health Center to all U. of I. students who have paid the Health Service Fee and all benefits-eligible faculty and staff members, retirees and state employees. Check the McKinley website and its Flu Clinic Events Calendar for other locations on campus.

Stephen P. Long, the Center for Advanced Study Professor of Plant Biology will deliver the 25th Annual CAS Lecture at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27 in the Knight Auditorium at Spurlock Museum. Long’s topic is “Feeding and Fueling the World from Crops: Will it be Possible by 2050?”

Nominations are being accepted for the Chancellor’s Academic Professional Excellence Award program, which is designed to recognize the important contributions made by academic professionals at the U. of I.

Six academic units came together to offer the new Sustainability, Energy and Environment Fellows Program, a campuswide undergraduate minor through the Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment to promote systems-level thinking about energy and sustainability, and to foster the development of an integrated view of the economy, society and the environment.

A Los Angeles-based artist will discuss how race is represented in art in a lecture this evening, Oct. 8, at Krannert Art Museum. Ken Gonzales-Day, a professor of art and humanities at Scripps College, will speak at 5:30 p.m. The title of his lecture is "Interruption and Absence: A History of Lynching (Latinos) and How It Changed What I Think About Contemporary Art."

Kelly Tu, an assistant professor of human development and family studies in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, is among the new faculty members to be featured in our New Faces feature. Inside Illinois continues its tradition of introducing some of the new faculty members on campus and will feature one new colleague each week during the fall semester. 

Undergraduate education at Illinois is in the process of a new experiment. This semester marked the start of a multiyear pilot designed to analyze what general education is and what role it serves on a research campus such as the University of Illinois.

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

Many of those who helped make the Chez Family Foundation Center for Wounded Veterans in Higher Education a reality were on hand to cut the ribbon Oct. 2 to  mark the official opening of the center. 

A Minute With...™ Leslie Looney, professor of astronomy

Ten interdisciplinary research teams at the Urbana campus have been awarded grants under the first phase of the Illinois Learning Sciences Design Initiative’s seed funding program.

The design concept behind the U. of I.'s new Center for Wounded Veterans in Higher Education building was simple: It should feel free from conflict. The concept becomes reality with the official dedication of the center from 3:30-5 p.m. Oct. 2.

Returning service men and women have always faced the challenge of reintegrating into civilian life. But those returning with disabilities because of a combat injury face the additional challenge of having to redefine their physical identity.

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 4, more than 350 veterinary medicine students will give a behind-the-scenes look at the state’s only veterinary medicine college. From prospective veterinarians to anyone fascinated by animals, visitors will find something of interest at the U. of I. College of Veterinary Medicine Open House.

Three faculty members will join Krannert Art Museum curators at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 1 for a discussion of the current exhibition “Attachment.”

Emanuel Donchin, a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida, will present the U. of I. department of psychology's 2015 Lyle Lanier Lecture, “Typing With Your Brain Waves: A Communication Tool for Locked In Patients.” The lecture is at 4 p.m. Oct. 15 at the auditorium of the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology.

The Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies will host a daylong symposium dedicated to exploring the Ganges River – its heritage, threats to its sustenance and planning initiatives to conserve it.

The Urbana campus will have an additional four weeks to fully implement a new employment background check policy for new hires that goes into effect Oct. 5, university officials have announced.

Bernard Hammes, a professor of medicine, will speak on advance care planning from noon-1 p.m. Oct. 14 at the Presence Covenant Medical Center auditorium, 1400 W. Park St., Urbana. The event is free and open to the public.

The U. of I. and Dow AgroSciences LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company, announced the Sept. 28 grand opening of the Dow AgroSciences Innovation Center in the Research Park on the Urbana campus.

Supporters of the U. of I. Wildlife Medical Clinic will host a fundraiser at the Harvest Moon Drive-In Oct. 3 for a viewing of “How to Train Your Dragon.”

Sergei Maslov, professor of bioengineering and the Bliss Faculty Scholar in the College of Engineering, is among the new faculty members to be featured in our annual "New Faces" feature. Inside Illinois continues its tradition of introducing some of the new faculty members on campus and will feature one new colleague online each week during the fall semester. 

Michael Merriman, a building operations engineer for Campus Recreation, is comfortable in almost any environment. Stationed at the Activities and Recreation Center, Merriman monitors and services the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems at ARC and several other recreational facilities on campus.

A search committee established to find the Carle Illinois College of Medicine’s inaugural dean will begin its work this month with the goal of naming the dean by spring 2016

A Minute With...™ Sheldon Jacobson, expert on airport security

Seven Urbana campus faculty members have been named University Scholars and will be honored at a campus reception Sept. 28 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. in the ballroom of the Alice Campbell Alumni Center, 601 S. Lincoln Ave., Urbana.

As senators approved a measure Sept. 21 outlining the committee selection process for a permanent chancellor, U. of I. President Timothy L. Killeen told them this search could be less conventional than those in the past.

A resolution to establish a committee to consider whether "ethical norms" were breached by faculty members in an incident related to their conversations with former Chancellor Phyllis M. Wise failed to pass the senate Sept. 21.

The U. of I. Police Department last week started citing smokers who flout the campus's smoking ban.

Senators overwhelmingly approved a resolution Sept. 21 calling for the postponement of a universitywide background check policy set to go into effect Oct. 5.

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

A graphic illustration of the freshman class, which boasts the university’s largest class since 2005.

University Primary School will host an open house Oct. 13 and 14. Prospective families, researchers and community members may observe the preschool in action from 9 a.m. to noon.

The Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana announces its 20th anniversary season. When holding its first concert, the group had no idea it would still be bringing baroque music to central Illinois in 2015.

Wesley Student Center and United Methodist Church at the U. of I. have been sponsoring a monthlong exploration of race and violence in America. The final event will be a panel discussion at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 4 featuring Travis Dixon, a U. of I. professor of communication, and Monica McDermott, a U. of I. professor of sociology, as well as Champaign Mayor Deb Frank Feinen and Champaign Police Chief Anthony Cobb.

Nev Schulman, of MTV’s “Catfish: The TV Show,” will speak at the Illini Union I-Rooms at 7 p.m. Sept. 24 as part of the Illini Union Board Lecture Series.

Liliane Windsor, assistant professor in the School of Social Work, is among the new faculty members to be featured in our annual "New Faces" feature. Inside Illinois continues its tradition of introducing some of the new faculty members on campus and will feature one new colleague online each week during the fall semester. 

A Minute With...™ U. of I. agricultural economist Craig Gundersen

The Office of Volunteer Programs is sponsoring the eighth annual Cans Across the Quad food drive Sept. 29 in conjunction with National Hunger Action Month. Registered student organizations, campus units and people from the university and community are encouraged to participate.

A Minute With...™ Valerie Hotchkiss, expert on religion and medieval studies

Bill Geist, noted columnist, author, correspondent and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign alumnus, will serve as grand marshal of this year’s Homecoming Parade.

A Minute With...™ political scientist Thomas Rudolph

A new documentary premiering on the Big Ten Network features three extraordinary women at the University of Illinois. “Making Their Mark” will air on BTN on Friday, Sept. 25 at 8 p.m. CDT, following the Illinois-Maryland women’s volleyball match. The 30-minute program profiles athlete Jean Driscoll, entomologist May Berenbaum and computer artist Donna Cox.