Many ways to see us technologically

Sherry Hutson, our talented webmaster, is also a master at using other modern means of technology to communicate. You can now get information about, view or listen to our opening Convocation in several ways. This information comes from an announcement that Sherry has sent to the campus. Enjoy:

The fall convocation is now available via the Web in several media formats:
1. The chancellor's speech comprises Episode #4 in our UIS Presents audio podcast. For more information about the podcast and how to subscribe, go to:
http://www.uis.edu/mediaquad/podcasts.html

(If you have previously subscribed to UIS Presents, you will automatically receive this new episode. The most common way to subscribe to a podcast is by using free iTunes software.)

2. The chancellor's speech is now available as a text file in the chancellor's website in the Remarks section:
http://www.uis.edu/chancellor/remarks/RR-Convocation2006.html

3. Streaming Video of the entire convocation is available at this URL:
http://www.uis.edu/its/otherservices/webcasting.html

4. We've created a new podcast series called UIS Faculty Spotlight. The first episode is an Enhanced Podcast featuring the introductions of Faculty and Administrative Staff from convocation. See this web page for info on how to subscribe:
http://www.uis.edu/mediaquad/podcasts.html

(An enhanced podcast includes images and chapter markers, making it visually interesting and convenient to skip ahead in the presentation. Once you subscribe to UIS Faculty Spotlight, you will automatically receive future episodes.)

5. Our Meet Our New Faculty web page has been updated to include a Web-based PowerPoint of the introductions of Faculty and Administrative Staff. It is available here:
http://www.uis.edu/faculty/

Production of these media is a joint effort of the Office of Web Services, the Information Technology Services department, the Office of Electronic Media, the chancellor's division and the academic affairs division. We hope this helps tell the UIS story to our new colleagues and to the world at large.

Picnic

What perfect weather for the Chancellor's Picnic! We were running a bit low of food, and that's a very good sign. I saw our student photographer, Jeremy Wilburn, out taking pictures, and I'll be eager to see what he captured. It a great crowd with wonderful music, and I was pleased to see people introducing themselves to one another or catching up with people they perhaps haven't seen over the summer. I always enjoy this picnic in the middle of First Week. I sense a lot of excitement on campus. We're off to a great start of this school year.

First day of classes

It's great to have so much activity on campus again after the summer break. We have a record number of freshmen taking classes at UIS this semester -- and we continue to be very strong in the number of new students who transferred here from other schools. So the semester is shaping up very nicely already.

I also want to mention that I am grateful for all of the kind remarks I heard about our Convocation, which occurred last Thursday to begin this academic year. Many of us were very impressed to hear about the credentials of our 41 new faculty members. Our faculty is getting stronger and stronger in so many fields; it is just wonderful to see.

This is First Week with a lot of special activities. I hope to see you around -- please come up to say hello if we haven't met before. For a list of activities, go to the UIS home page.

A word of thanks to UPI

I have written a couple of times already about faculty, which is important. But I also want to mention that these faculty -- and our students -- receive tremendous support here from our civil service and Academic Professional staff. Many of them work behind the scenes and rarely receive any recognition, and their unselfish service is critical to our success. It's interesting that many of our staff are community leaders, too, and I am pleased about that. And sometimes, as you will see again this year, they get together to really help the community. I am thinking especially of the donation that our UPI union gave to the local food pantry last spring. What a generous and thoughtful gift that was.

Faculty dinner

Carolyn and I had a great time at the dinner for new faculty last night. It was great to meet them and to greet our returning faculty leaders. I am especially impressed by the credentials these faculty bring to UIS -- they will help us become the premier university that we aspire to become.

Big day at IBHE today

Today is an important day for UIS at the Illinois Board of Higher Education meeting in Chicago. We expect to get final approval to build a new section of townhouses, which will add 96 beds for the fall of 2007. We're also seeking approval to build the new residence hall on Eliza Farnham Drive (just south of Lincoln Residence Hall), and that should add another 200 beds for our residential students. All of this is happening as we pursue our vision of becoming a more residential university. It's exciting to see all of this growth.

Welcome, new faculty

Some 40 new faculty members will begin work this week at UIS. It's a tremendous addition of talent and energy. They will be able to say, years down the road, that they started the same year that UIS expanded its general education curriculum so that we could add more freshmen and become a full-fledged four-year university. Most of the new faculty begin officially August 16, and so I assume they're getting unpacked at home and getting organized at UIS. Welcome to all of you!