News Bureau

The U. of I.'s presidential search committee, which met for the first time May 19, could recommend a successor for retiring President Bob Easter to the U. of I. Board of Trustees by December.

The original resolution supporting the principles of academic freedom and fair employment for faculty members on the Urbana campus was replaced with an alternate version and approved by senators at the May 5 Urbana Academic Senate meeting.

Benefit Choice continues through June 2. As reported last issue, copayments, deductibles and other health care costs will rise for U. of I. employees beginning July 1, although health insurance premiums will remain the same, the Illinois Department of Central Management Services has announced. The deductible for prescriptions and the dental plan, and copays for the vision plan also have increased.

Cindy Masko doesn't tiptoe around the fact she has found a home in her second career as an office support specialist for the U. of I.'s dance department.

Managers of the Faculty/Staff Emergency Fund say there are more campus emergencies than money this year - and that help is needed to replenish the fund.

Copayments, deductibles and other health care costs will rise for U. of I. employees beginning July 1, although health insurance premiums will remain the same, the Illinois Department of Central Management Services has announced. The deductible for prescriptions and the dental plan, and copays for the vision plan also have increased.

The seven professors attending a special meeting of the U. of I. Board of Trustees on April 18 represented different campuses and disciplines, but they all came with the same message: They are not ready to leave the university, but a provision of the state's new pension law means if they don't retire by June 30, they will face a substantial loss in monthly benefits.

Campus leaders are forming a committee to study employee hiring and grievance processes.

Michael S. Hopkins, the U. of I. aerospace engineering alumnus who recently spent 166 days orbiting Earth on the International Space Station, wasn't just along for the ride.

Bryan Holderfield is among the most power-hungry employees on campus.

Chancellor Phyllis M. Wise, during her first town hall address to campus in 2012, said it would take an era of action to prepare and position the U. of I. to face the challenges of the 21st century.

The U. of I. does have $1.8 billion in available unrestricted cash, but it also has a long list of unescapable expenses that make that cushion short-lived.

Senators at the April 14 Urbana Academic Senate meeting unanimously supported a resolution asking the U. of I. Board of Trustees to offer university employees a supplemental retirement program.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Six academic professionals will be honored with 2014 Chancellor's Academic Professional Excellence awards at a reception April 8.

Like the astronomically large questions asked of the U. of I.-based Blue Waters supercomputer, Michael Showerman, a systems administrator for the National Center for Supercomputer Applications, is difficult to pin down.

Chancellor Phyllis M. Wise and Provost Ilesanmi Adesida will discuss this year's progress involving some of the initiatives outlined in the campus Strategic Plan and also will talk about what they believe are critical goals for the coming year and current budget and pension challenges. The event also will be streamed live on the Web. To view the webcast, find the link from the Illinois homepage.

The U. of I. is releasing a new online portal for researchers at its three campuses, that is intended to reduce the burden of administering grants and allow them to spend more time focusing on academic inquiry.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The Alma Mater sculpture will make her long-awaited return to the Urbana campus April 9, where she will be put back on her pedestal to silently watch the next century of university progress.

Julie Pioletti, the office manager for the U. of I. men's basketball team, has job expectations like anyone else: Be prepared to lace up your sneakers every day, push the ball up the court when you can, and use hard work and opportunity in the face of adversity.

Senators have until March 21 to vote for faculty members who have been nominated to serve on the U. of I. presidential search committee.

U.S. News & World Report released its rankings of some graduate programs March 11 as part of the 2015 U.S. News & World Report Best Graduate Schools rankings. Civil engineering and condensed matter physics at Illinois both received No. 1 rankings.

U. of I. leaders, aware that the expiration of a temporary state income tax increase next January would lead to reductions in the state's education budget, will spend this spring lobbying legislators for level university funding.

Between work tasks, Heidi Hardenbrook, a nine-year U. of I. employee and office administrator for the School of Art and Design and Krannert Art Museum, likes to get in a little light reading.

State Universities Annuitants Association last week announced its intention to become the sixth group to file a lawsuit challenge against changes in state pension plans made by legislators last year.

A report commissioned by the Senate Executive Committee that focuses on the university's financial condition will be revised before its findings are presented to the full Urbana Academic Senate.

The average statewide temperature for the three core winter months of December, January and February was 20.8 degrees. It was 8.2 degrees below average and the fourth coldest December-February period on record, according to Illinois state climatologist Jim Angel at the Illinois State Water Survey at the U. of I.

Editor’s note: The discussion about establishing a faculty union on the Urbana campus has accelerated in recent months amid efforts by the Campus Faculty Association to identify and sign up supporters. News Bureau news editor Mike Helenthal submitted the same questions to CFA leaders and two critics of a faculty union, asking them to discuss shared governance and the pros and cons of establishing a faculty union at Illinois.

The discussion about establishing a faculty union on the Urbana campus has accelerated in recent months amid efforts by the Campus Faculty Association to identify and sign up supporters. News Bureau news editor Mike Helenthal submitted the same questions to CFA leaders and two critics of a faculty union, asking them to discuss shared governance and the pros and cons of establishing a faculty union at Illinois.

Vicki Sparks, an administrative aide for the University Library and a 14-year employee at the U. of I., has lived up to her last name at every place she has worked.

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Editor's note: The discussion about establishing a faculty union on the Urbana campus has accelerated in recent months amid efforts by the Campus Faculty Association to identify and sign up supporters. News Bureau news editor Mike Helenthal submitted the same questions to CFA leaders and two critics of a faculty union, asking them to discuss shared governance and the pros and cons of establishing a faculty union at Illinois.

Representatives from the Office of the Provost presented a draft Provost's Communication on Specialized Faculty to the Urbana Academic Senate on Feb. 10.

To Anne Stites, an administrative assistant in academic programs in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, recalling her career at the U. of I. is like recounting a family timeline.

Recommendations from a yearlong review of university administrative functions will be revealed soon, U. of I. President Bob Easter said on Jan. 27 in his annual meeting with the Senate Executive Committee on the Urbana campus.

University trustees approved a 1.7 percent tuition increase for incoming freshmen that matches last year's increase - both the smallest since 1994.

At the Jan. 22 meeting of the U. of I. Board of Trustees, trustees directed university administrators to seek options for preserving employee retirement benefits in light of recent pension legislation.

There are plenty of reasons to complete a building emergency action plan.

A report presented at the Feb. 3 Senate Executive Committee meeting says that while the university continues to face budget challenges, the methods it uses to prepare annual financial statements are transparent and sound.

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Thanks to a group of well-connected employees, help is always just a phone call away for anyone with a campus connection traveling overseas.

David Steiner, a building service worker for Facilities and Services, has never stopped moving and doesn't plan to stop anytime soon.

The opportunity to get a flu shot has not flown, but it's gotten a little more difficult.

Christopher Learned has been at the U. of I. as a laboratory animal specialist for nearly 14 years, but the most recent year has been especially challenging.

U. of I. President Bob Easter told members of the Council of Academic Professionals on Dec. 5 that university leaders are developing options for a supplemental employee pension-benefits package.

A new state law that affects university employee pensions was the center of discussion at the Dec. 9 meeting of the Urbana Academic Senate.

Some of the new regulations that take effect Jan. 1 on the U. of I. campus:

A group of about 30 mature and dying trees at the U. of I. Arboretum will be removed in January.

University trustees on Dec. 13 approved a $5 million grant to support a new manufacturing initiative and heard presentations about the university's efforts to advance economic development across the state.

There's nothing unusual in the account of how Maria Rund, an office administrator for the department of human and community development, ended up working at the U. of I.

Senators will be asked at their Dec. 9 meeting to vote on a resolution supporting the 2013 Information Technology Strategic Plan.