UIS Music program presents Fall Showcase Concert

For a musical tour around the world, UIS students, faculty, staff and community members are invited to attend the UIS Music Fall Showcase Concert on Friday, Dec. 4, 2009, at 7:30 p.m.

The event will feature music from a variety of countries, cultures and historical periods. Highlights include selections from Russia, China, Germany, and New Orleans plus songs sung in Swahili and Hebrew.

The evening begins with a pre-concert lecture by UIUC musicology student Jessica Davis of Urbana in the lobby outside the PAC Studio Theatre from 7 to 7:20 p.m. Doors will open for the concert following the lecture, and refreshments will be served after the performance.

The Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Todd Cranson, will open the evening with music of John Robichaux’s 19th Century New Orleans Dance Orchestra. This music was all the rage at high society dances around the turn of the 20th Century and competed and comingled with early jazz in the Crescent City.

Following the Chamber Orchestra, the Chorus, under the direction of Dr. Sharon Graf, will perform numerous selections from around the world including Eric Whitacre’s “Five Hebrew Love Songs” performed with the Chamber Orchestra.

The program concludes with selections by Sousa, Wagner, and more performed by the UIS Concert Band.

The Showcase Concert is free and open to the public. Donations are welcome and will benefit the UIS Music Student Merit Award.

The current UIS Music program began in 2001 and is comprised of students, faculty, staff and alumni as well as Springfield community members, all with a variety of skill levels. Anyone interested in joining the UIS Chorus, Band or Chamber Orchestra may contact Sharon Graf or Todd Cranson by emailing music@uis.edu or calling (217) 206-6240.

Design Jam to celebrate World Usability Day

WHAT: Student web designers, usability practitioners, and computer science faculty will roll up their sleeves and interactively design a new Therkildsen Field Station for the Emiquon website with sustainability, usability, and community building in mind.

WHEN: Thursday, November 12, 2009 from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

WHERE: University Hall (UHB) Room 2028

DETAILS: What better way to recognize World Usability Day and this year's “Designing for Sustainability” theme than to spend an afternoon inventing new ways to increase virtual engagement in a real world effort devoted to sustainability!

For more information contact Mary Sheila Tracy, Computer Science Instructor at 217/206-7328 or mtrac1@uis.edu.

Putting the Economy in its Place: A Socio-Ecological Conception of Sustainability

WHAT: University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series presents Putting the Economy in its Place: A Socio-Ecological Conception of Sustainability featuring Dr. Stefano Longo, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at UIS.

WHEN: Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 6:00 p.m.

WHERE: Public Affairs Center (PAC) Conference Room F at UIS
(The event will be available via live webcast and video on demand at http://www.uis.edu/technology/uislive.html)

DETAILS: Sustainability and sustainable development have become dominant buzzwords when discussing environmental concerns. Utilizing a socio-ecological lens, this discussion will examine the emergence of these concepts in public discourse, their forward potential and/or shortcomings, and offer new directions for understanding and application.

During his graduate studies Dr. Longo developed an expertise in the areas of environmental sociology, political economy, and social theory. His research focuses on the global food system, examining the intersection of environmental and social processes in the context of food production, consumption, and distribution.

This event will be held along with other UIS Sustainability Week activities on campus.

For more information and a list of other speakers series events visit http://illinois.edu/goto/speakerseries or contact Kimberly Craig at 217/206-6245 or craig.kimberly@uis.edu.

"Central Illinois: Patchwork of Creative Minds" Lunch-time Presentation

“Central Illinois: Patchwork of Creative Minds”, a thought provoking lunch time educational series examining creative expression that has flourished in the heartland of Illinois, will focus on “Creative Images: Canvas and Glass” on Wednesday, November 18 at the University of Illinois Springfield. A hot lunch buffet is available at 11:30 a.m. and program will be from 12 noon until 1:30 p.m.

Local architect Dick Morse, Principal, Mellote Morse Leonatti Parker Ltd., will make a presentation on the history and evolution of stained glass in Central Illinois. A variety of styles will be shown and contrasted. “Painters from the Heart of Lincolnland" is the topic to be addressed by Robert Sill, Curator and Assistant Director of Art for the Illinois State Museum, Springfield. Selected paintings from regional artists will be displayed and discussed.

There is a charge for lunch, but the presentations are free and both lunch and presentation are open to the public. The luncheon and presentations will be held in the University of Illinois Springfield Public Affairs Center (PAC) Conference Rooms C/D (level below the Sangamon Auditorium lobby). The cost for lunch is $20 and paid reservations are required for the luncheon by November 11, 2009. Pre-registration is also requested from those not purchasing the lunch who wish to attend the presentations.

For more information and to register, visit www.uiaa.org/uis, or contact the Office of UIS Alumni Relations at 217/206-7395 or alumni@uis.edu. This series is a partnership between the University of Illinois Alumni Association, the Chancellor’s Office and the Illinois State Historical Society.

Speakers Series presents Beyond Binaries: Identity and the Sexuality Spectrum

WHAT: University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series presents Beyond Binaries: Identity and the Sexuality Spectrum. The presentation features Robyn Ochs, long-time activist, and the editor of the Bisexual Resource Guide and the new anthology Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals Around the World (2nd edition).

WHEN: Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 4:30 p.m.

WHERE: Public Affairs Center (PAC) Conference Room H

DETAILS: Like snowflakes, no two people are exactly alike. In this interactive program we explore our sexual orientation identities. How do we assign labels to our complicated and unique experiences? What relationship exists between experience and self-identity, and between our self-identity and the way others see us? Is identity fixed for everyone, or do some individuals experience change over time? What generational changes are we experiencing around labeling?

Robyn Ochs has taught courses on GLBT history & politics in the United States, the politics of sexual orientation, and the experiences of those of us who transgress the binary categories of gay/straight, masculine/feminine, black/white and/or male/female. Her writings have been published in numerous bisexual, women's studies, multicultural, and GLBT anthologies. She lives in Massachusetts, and on May 17th, 2004--on the first day it was legal to do so--Robyn Ochs married Peg Preble.

For more information and a list of other speakers series events visit http://illinois.edu/goto/speakerseries contact Kimberly Craig at 217/206-6245 or craig.kimberly@uis.edu.

UIS to hold Second Annual Sustainability Week

The University of Illinois Springfield is raising awareness about sustainability and the environment by hosting its Second Annual Sustainability Week from November 9 through November 14, 2009.

UIS is working to be a role model in promoting campus environmental sustainability. UIS recognizes that we are part of a global community with limited resources and that our choices can positively affect the community and campus life.

Sustainability Week will feature a wide range of events including a bike ride, Native American dance performance, recycled art contest, scholarly lecture, poetry reading, and more. One of the unique features of this year's Sustainability Week is a brownbag presentation on Tuesday at noon by a current UIS student, Mandy Altman, who was able to put her passion for sustainability issues into practice this summer through her work with an international grassroots development organization.

“It is our hope that the events of the Second Annual UIS Sustainability Week will be well supported by members of the campus community and will prompt consideration of the link between human practices and ecological effects,” said Mae Marie Noll, undergraduate academic advisor and co-presenter of Sustainability Week.

Activities held throughout the week focused on sustainability include:

Monday, November 9
· A bike ride will begin at 1:30 p.m. in front of Lincoln Residence Hall on the UIS campus and will be led by UIS Bike Enthusiasts.
· Battery Recycling Drive begins – dead batteries will be collected in designated containers in the Public Affairs Center (PAC) Food Emporium and the lobby of University Hall until 12:00 p.m. on Friday, November 13.

Tuesday, November 10
· City of Springfield Recycling and Landfill tour 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. sponsored by the UIS Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center. Transportation provided. E-mail volunteer@uis.edu by 11/9/09 to participate.
· UIS student Mandy Altman shares her experiences from her summer working with the Foundation for Sustainable Development – Brown Bag – 12:00 p.m. PAC rooms C/D.
· Students Allied for a Greener Earth (SAGE) will be holding a recycled art contest, and judging will take place in the PAC Food Emporium from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
· Battery Recycling Drive continues in PAC cafeteria and UHB lobby
· Kevin Locke’s Native Dance Ensemble Sangamon Auditorium at 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday, November 11
· Green Educational Technology Solutions at UIS with Kara McElwrath PAC F 12:00 p.m.
· SAGE Recycled Art Contest Judging in PAC Food Emporium 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
· Battery Recycling Drive continues in PAC cafeteria and UHB lobby

Thursday, November 12
· SAGE Recycled Art Contest Judging PAC Food Emporium 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
· “Examining Sustainability and Sustainable Development” ECCE Speakers Series with Dr. Stefano Longo, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies PAC F at 6:00 p.m.
· Battery Recycling Drive continues in PAC cafeteria and UHB lobby
· Carolos Robson, Slam Poet, presented by the UIS Student Activities Committee (SAC) Brookens Auditorium 9:30 p.m.

Friday, November 13
· Battery Recycling Drive continues in PAC cafeteria and UHB lobby

Saturday, November 14
· Glass Collection sponsored by the UIS Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center in partnership with the City of Springfield. For more information contact the Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center at 206-7716 or volunteer@uis.edu.

For more information about any of the Sustainability Week events contact Mae Marie Noll, undergraduate academic advisor at 217/206-7473 or mnoll1@uis.edu.

When a Heart Turns Rock Solid: The Lives of Three Puerto Rican Brothers On and Off the Streets

WHAT: The Sociology/Anthropology Department and the UIS Speakers Award Committee invite you to join us for a Public talk by sociologist Timothy Black entitled “When a Heart Turns Rock Solid: The Lives of Three Puerto Rican Brothers On and Off the Streets”.

WHEN: Monday, November 2, 2009 from 2:00 to 3:15 p.m.

WHERE: UIS Founders Residence Hall 153

DETAILS: Timothy Black is an associate professor of Sociology and director of the Center for Social Research at the University of Hartford, Connecticut. He will present results of 18 years of interviews and participant observation of street life in Springfield, Massachusetts. His sociological analysis focuses on the lives of three Puerto Rican brothers. In the book, the brothers speak articulately for themselves. Black combines their own accounts of their lives with his observations of drug trade and drug treatment, education, the legal and correctional systems along with in-depth interviews with many participants in the brothers’ lives, including family, friends, partners in crime, teachers, and case workers. Professor Black applies sociological insights to evaluating and developing public policy, and his research focuses on communities often invisible or feared in American society.

The event is free and open to the public.

For more information contact Lynn Fisher at 217/206-7938 or lfish1@uis.edu.

International Festival brings world to UIS campus

The University of Illinois Springfield hosted the 32nd Annual International Festival on Sunday, October 25, 2009 in the Public Affairs Center.

The festival allowed participants to take a trip around the world in only a matter of minutes. Each PAC conference room was organized to be a different part of the world with Asian, European, American and African culture represented.

Students and community members preformed music and dance from different parts of the world in the Studio Theatre. Springfield restaurants donated native food for visitors to enjoy.

“Having people from different parts of the world interact with each other, learn from each other, appreciate one another is not only educational, but it helps us to get along better with one another,” said Rick Lane, UIS Director of International Student Services.

The International Festival has grown each year and organizers say more than 500 visitors took part in this year’s festival.

The theme for the International Festival was “Dancing Under the Stars” in recognition of the International Year of Astronomy.

Watch a slideshow featuring the International Festival: http://www.uis.edu/sightsandsounds/slideshows/international09/index.html

"Girls under the Hood" teaches car care lessons

Have you ever wondered how to change a flat tire or check your oil or tire pressure? The University of Illinois Springfield Women’s Center hosted a “Girls under the Hood” event on Thursday, October 8 to answer some of those questions.

Guest mechanics from Green Toyota Scion Audi Volkswagen started out by giving the ladies an overview of what to know, what to do, and how to talk to a mechanic. Participants then popped the hood on a Toyota Camry to do some hands on learning.

"Since a lot of the students come in and regularly don't know how to maintain their car because usually their fathers, brothers, uncles or maintenance people take care of it they may not be familiar with how to take care of it during the winter months," said Women's Center Graduate Assistant Lisa Koerkenmeier.

Students who attended the event were entered into a drawing with a chance to win free car detailing or a car maintenance gift basket.

UIS Lincoln Legacy Lecture will examine "Lincoln and the Environment"

The 2009 Lincoln Legacy Lecture presented by the University of Illinois Springfield will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, October 15, in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library at UIS.

This year’s topic is “Lincoln and the Environment”. The lecture and a reception that will immediately follow are free and open to the public.

The Lincoln Legacy Lecture Series brings nationally known scholars to Springfield to discuss issues that, while they are of contemporary interest, also engaged Abraham Lincoln and citizens of his era.

This year’s featured speaker – Dr. Mark Fiege, associate professor of History and the William E. Morgan Chair of Liberal Arts at Colorado State University, Ft. Collins – will focus on Lincoln’s experience of nature. Dr. Michael Burlingame, professor of History and Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies at UIS, will make opening remarks and moderate the discussion.

In his lecture, “Land of Lincoln: Environmental History and the 16th President," Dr. Fiege will examine how Lincoln’s unique political thought, rhetoric and leadership were grounded in his experience of nature – both the natural environment and human nature – while growing up and working in the forests, fields and rivers of pioneer settlements.

Dr. Fiege is the author of a book on the environmental history of the United States that is forthcoming from the University of Washington Press in its Weyerhaeuser Environmental Series. He has been the recipient of best article and book awards from the Idaho Library Association, the Forest History Society and various professional associations. In addition to teaching, he directs the Center for Public History and Archaeology at CSU, whose projects are funded in part by the National Park Service. Dr. Fiege received his Ph.D. from the University of Utah.

Program moderator Michael Burlingame is a preeminent scholar in Lincoln Studies. He taught History at Connecticut College for over 30 years before accepting the appointment at UIS this year. His recent two-volume biography, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008) has been described as the definitive study.

Presented by the UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership, this year’s event is being held in conjunction with the 24th Annual Lincoln Colloquium hosted by the Lincoln Home National Historic Site, Oct. 16-18. Cosponsors of this year's lecture are: Engaged Citizenship Speaker Series, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Public Affairs and Administration, UIS Speakers' Awards Committee, and WUIS Public Radio.

In previous years, lectures have focused on Lincoln and Race (2002), Ethics and Power (2004), Lincoln and Economic Opportunity (2005), Lincoln and America’s Faith (2006), Lincoln and the Law (2007), and Lincoln and Presidential Campaign Politics (2008).

Seating in Brookens Auditorium is limited; however overflow seating will be available in conference room C/D, where the audience can watch a large-screen live video feed. Conference room C/D is located on the lower level of the Public Affairs Center at UIS. Those unable to attend in person can watch a live webcast by going to www.uis.edu/technology/uislive.html at the time of the event.

For more information, contact the Center for State Policy and Leadership at 217/206-7094.

Watch the entire Legacy Lecture in the Video on Demand section

Lunch-time Presentations at UIS

“Central Illinois: Patchwork of Creative Minds”, a thought provoking lunch time educational series examining creative expression that has flourished in the heartland of Illinois, will continue on October 21 at the University of Illinois Springfield with a hot lunch buffet available at 11:30 a.m. and program from 12 noon until 1:30 p.m.

The presentations October 21 will focus on “Springfield Public Garden Design: Historic and Modern”. Terri Cameron, master gardener and historic preservation advocate, will make a presentation entitled “Springfield's Early Park Design and Its Impact” that will examine Springfield’s early parks through archival photos, publications and Springfield Park District minutes. Diane Mathis, Director of Marketing and Development for the Springfield Park District, will speak on “Innovative Park Design”. She will preview Southwind – Springfield’s new universally accessible and environmentally friendly park.

There is a charge for lunch but the presentations are free and open to the public. The luncheon and presentations will be held in the University of Illinois Springfield Public Affairs Center (PAC) Conference Rooms C/D (level below the Sangamon Auditorium lobby). The cost for lunch is $20 and paid reservations are required for the luncheon by October 14, 2009. Pre-registration is also requested from those not purchasing the lunch who wish to attend the presentations.

The series will conclude with a session on Wednesday, November 18 that will focus on “Creative Images: Canvas and Glass”.

Find out how to register and get more information by visiting www.uiaa.org/uis, or contact the Office of UIS Alumni Relations at 217/206-7395 or alumni@uis.edu.

Constitution Day Panel: Lincoln and the Constitution

WHAT: University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series presents Constitution Day Panel: Lincoln and the Constitution featuring Dr. Thomas F. Schwartz, John A. Lupton and Dr. Daniel W. Stowell.

WHEN: Thursday, September 17, 2009 at 12:00 p.m.

WHERE: Brookens Auditorium on the lower level of Brookens Library at UIS

(The event will be available via live webcast and video on demand at http://www.uis.edu/technology/uislive.html)

ADDITIONAL INFO: Dr. Thomas F. Schwartz will present Lincoln, Politics and the Constitution. Dr. Schwartz is the Illinois State Historian and Director of Research at the
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. He recently participated in the Global Lincoln Conference at Oxford University that explored how other nations view Abraham Lincoln. http://www.alplm.org/

John A. Lupton will present Lincoln's War Powers. Mr. Lupton is the Associate Director and Associate Editor of the Papers of Abraham Lincoln. He has spoken widely on Abraham Lincoln and on the law. He received his M.A. at UIS. http://www.papersofabrahamlincoln.org/

Dr. Daniel W. Stowell will present Seceding from the Secessionists: The Constitutional Problem of West Virginia. Dr. Stowell is the director and editor of the Papers of Abraham Lincoln. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Georgia, and his doctorate in American History from the University of Florida.

The event is co-sponsored by the UIS Center for State Policy & Leadership.

For more information and a list of other speakers series events visit http://illinois.edu/goto/speakerseries or contact Kimberly Craig at 217/206-6245 or craig.kimberly@uis.edu.

Ashikaga Institute of Technology President to speak on green energy and wind energy

WHO: Izumi Ushiyma, President of AIT, noted expert on green energy and wind energy technology

WHAT: Public lecture on alternative energy

WHEN: Wednesday, August 19th, at 7pm

WHERE: UIS Public Affairs Center – Conference Room G

ADDITIONAL INFO: This will be the 9th student delegation from the AIT to visit UIS. There is always a need for home stays for the students. The home stays begin on Sunday, August 30th and run through the morning of Wednesday, September 9th. For additional information on the lecture or on the home stays, please contact Jonathan GoldbergBelle, Director of International Programs, at 217-206-8319 or jgold1@uis.edu

Rockefeller fellows to discuss gender and sexual orientation

The University of Illinois at Springfield will host a Diversity Forum titled “The Role of Women in 2009” on Tuesday, March 24, at 12:15 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library on the UIS campus. The forum is free and open to the public. There will also be a live Webcast of the event; go here to access the Webcast on the day of the event.

Leading the forum as panel members will be fellows from the Rockefeller Foundation’s Next Generation Leadership Program. The program was created in 1997 to create a diverse network of leaders. Program fellows learn to work with individuals from different backgrounds, outlooks and political persuasions with the goal of improving democracy.

Panel members will encourage forum participants to think about issues like fair compensation between men and women and the role of women in positions of leadership in businesses and corporations.

The members of the panel include Sonya Lopez, who works on the recruitment and attrition of first generation college students in her position as the Upward Bound Director at Texas State University; Hilary Morgan, creator and director of Homeward Bound, a transitional housing program for chronic homeless street alcoholics; Arlene Mayzel, vice president and dean of degree programs at Lake Forest Graduate School of Management; and Robert Kallen, founder of RSK Strategies, LLC, which provides expertise and capital to small and growing companies specializing in the food and education sectors.

The event is sponsored by the Barat Education Foundation’s Green Coffey Lecture Series and the UIS Engaged Citizenship Common Experience Speaker Series.

The ECCE Speakers Series at UIS is a campus-sponsored lecture series that aims to exemplify engaged citizenship as part of the university’s effort to foster appreciation for and practice of diversity and the active effort to make a difference in the world.

Upcoming ECCE programs include two showings of the film Milk combined with an “Out in Politics” panel discussion on Friday, March 27, Who Speaks for the Muslim World? with Dalia Mogahed on March 30 and “Lifework of a Bosnian Writer Displaced in Chicago” with Aleksandar Hemon on April 3.

The complete schedule of speakers and topics for the 2009 Spring Semester is available at http://illinois.edu/goto/speakerseries. For information about any ECCE event, contact Kimberly Craig, series coordinator, at 206-6245 or e-mail speakerseries@uis.edu.

Voices in Praise Choir to participate in Old State Capitol event

The Voices In Praise Choir (VIP) from the University of Illinois at Springfield will be one of eight to ten local choirs participating in the “Amazing Grace – A Time of Spirituals” event at the Old State Capitol on Saturday, February 7. The event will run all day with singing from the local choirs and a showing of the movie Amazing Grace, which details the ending of the slave trade in Europe through William Wilberforce.

The day will culminate with all of the choirs joining together at President Abraham Lincoln’s Tomb to sing “Amazing Grace.” The event commemorates Lincoln’s 200th birthday and celebrates the end of slavery.

The Voice in Praise Choir will perform at 11 a.m. at the Old State Capitol and will sing four pieces: “Down by the Riverside,” “Swing Low,” “Wade in the Water” and “Kum Ba Yah.”

The choir will also be performing the same selections at the Faith Temple AME Church during its annual Black History Month Breakfast on February 28 at 10 a.m.

Whitney Young program to showcase student fellows

The Whitney M. Young Graduate Fellowship Program at the University of Illinois at Springfield will host a spring symposium to showcase the work of students who are current Fellows. The symposium will be held on Friday, February 20, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in conference room G in the Public Affairs Center on the UIS campus. The event is free and open to the public.

The fellowship program is open to full-time students who are accepted into a graduate degree program at UIS and is designed to help students pursue and complete their degrees in a timely manner. The program also aims to enhance research and leadership skills through regular seminars and by involving students in public service projects that complement their academic disciplines.

The program is named after the late Whitney M. Young Jr., former Executive Director of the National Urban league, educator, and activist. The program carries on his legacy and is focused on graduate students who are underrepresented at UIS, including ethnic and racial minorities, first generation college students and students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

During the symposium, current Fellows of the program will speak about both academic and public service work they have done this year in the classroom and in the community. Students have been involved with projects this year that include mentoring school-age and college students and working with a variety of community organizations.

Light refreshments will be served at the event. Those interested in becoming part of the fellowship program are also encouraged to attend. For more information about the symposium or the fellowship program, contact Cecilia Cornell, director of the program, at 206-7430.

11th annual Springfield Collegiate Career Fair to be held at UIS

The career planning and placement offices of the University of Illinois at Springfield, Lincoln Land Community College, Robert Morris College and Springfield College in Illinois/Benedictine University will host the 11th annual Springfield Collegiate Career Fair from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, February 19, in the Public Affairs Center on the UIS campus. The primary audience for the free event is current students and alumni of the four participating institutions.

Representatives from approximately 100 area employers are expected to be on hand. A partial list of those already confirmed includes Archer Daniels Midland, Illinois workNet Center, and Scentsy.

Tammy Craig, director of the Career Development Center at UIS, noted, “This is the most high profile event held on campus for students who would like to talk with local and national businesses as well as agencies of the local, state and federal government. The professional atmosphere gives students the chance to make positive first impressions on company representatives.” Craig added that, in addition to searching for a job, students are encouraged to attend the fair for networking and gathering general information.

Beyond information about actual job openings, the fair is designed to provide an open information exchange about different organizations, hiring trends and the best routes to future opportunities. For potential employers, it is a chance to disseminate pertinent information and to develop a pool of candidates interested in future opportunities, internships and summer openings as well as permanent employment.

Information for students, alumni and others: Pre-registration is not required; business-casual attire is required and participants should bring copies of their resumes to the fair. UIS’ Career Development Center is also offering opportunities for advance preparation with several programs. “Career Fair Prep Expo: Making the Most of Career Fairs” will be held in the Public Affairs Center, across from the Food Emporium, on Thursday, February 5, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 4:30 to 6 p.m., and on Friday, February 6, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. “Just In Time Career Fair Prep Workshop” is on Wednesday, February 11, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the Career Development Center, Student Affairs Building 50, and a workshop on “Recession Proof Job Search Techniques,” sponsored by the University of Illinois Alumni Association, is on February 18, from 5 to 6 p.m. in the Career Development Center.

For current UIS students and Career Development Center clients, a “Last Chance Resume Critique” will be held on Friday, February 13, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the Career Development Center.

Information for employers: Advance registration is required. Free booth space will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration is available online at http://www.uis.edu/careerservices. For more information, contact the Career Development Center at 217/206-6508.

UIS’ Career Development Center is located in room 50 of the Student Affairs Building, phone 217/206-6508. An updated list of employers participating in the Career Fair, as well as the web-based programs UIS-SUCCESS and CareerSearch are available on the center’s website at http://www.uis.edu/careerservices.

UIS hosts Carol Moseley Braun for HistoryMakers series

The University of Illinois at Springfield will host United States Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun for The HistoryMakers’ Dr. Frances G. Carroll 2008-2009 Speaker Series on Wednesday, February 4. A reception will be held at 5:30 p.m. before the program begins at 6:30 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium, located in Brookens Library on the UIS campus. The event is free and open to the public.

The event is part of a series titled Agents of Change, and the speaker series is named in honor of University of Illinois Trustee Dr. Frances G. Carroll, who will be present at the program.

The HistoryMakers, a Chicago-based, independent nonprofit, is the nation’s largest African-American video oral history archive. It uses state-of-the-art technology to chronicle the lives of well-known and unsung African-Americans.

The HistoryMakers has partnered with the University of Illinois to offer the Agents of Change series, interactive exhibits on all three campuses and a summer fellowship for University of Illinois students. Through collaborative efforts, the U of I and The HistoryMakers are heightening awareness of African-American achievements. Earlier on Feb. 4, there will be an interactive exhibit featuring material from The HistoryMakers archives from 11:30 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. in conference rooms C/D, located on the lower level of the Public Affairs Center.

The Agents of Change speaker series highlights and honors individuals who have affected great change in society. Carol Moseley Braun, a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago, will be participating in the UIS Agents of Change event.

In 1978, Moseley Braun was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives where she was an advocate for education. After only two terms in the House, she was selected to become the first African-American woman in Illinois history to serve as Assistant Majority Leader.

In 1992, she became the first African-American woman ever to be elected to the United States Senate. In 1999, President Bill Clinton appointed her Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, a role she served in until 2001. She is now the founder and president of Good Food Organics, parent company of Ambassador Brand Organic Products.

Moseley Braun will be talking with students and visiting classes in the morning before the evening program. The event is co-sponsored by the Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speaker Series at UIS.

Overflow seating for the program will be available in conference rooms C/D with a televised viewing of the program, and the program can also be viewed through a live webcast at www.uis.edu/technology/uislive.html. To attend the program, call 217/206-8497 or email ga_aas@uis.edu by January 28 to make a reservation. For more information about The HistoryMakers, go online to http://www.thehistorymakers.com/.

Variety of spring events honor Lincoln Bicentennial

UIS will host a variety of programs during the 2009 spring semester in observance of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial.

Applications are being accepted for the Lincoln Legacy High School Forum -- a statewide contest for high school juniors and seniors co-sponsored by UIS and the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. Three categories of competition are: Historical Essay, Creative Expression in the Written Word, and Performance/Visual Arts; the first prize in each category is a one-year tuition scholarship to UIS. Winners will come to campus to present their work to the public in April. Entries must be postmarked by January 2, 2009. Get complete information

Jay Ungar and Molly Mason will lead a musical "Early Birthday Celebration for A. Lincoln" at 8 p.m. on Saturday, January 31, 2009, in Sangamon Auditorium. Their performance of Ungar's composition "Ashokan Farewell," heard in Ken Burns' The Civil War, earned the couple an Emmy nomination and a Grammy award. Special guests for this program are the 10th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry Regiment Band, directed by Todd Cranson, assistant director of co-curricular music.

In February, WUIS will broadcast a number of special programs focusing on Lincoln. More information about "Lincoln the Poet," "Lincoln the Lawmaker," and "Lincoln and Humor," including broadcast times and dates, will be available from the WUIS website.

On Saturday, February 21, faculty and students will present a readers' theater production of Ronald Gow's one-act play The Lawyer of Springfield beginning at 7 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium. A discussion session with the audience will follow the performance.

At 8 p.m. on Saturday, February 28, Wynton Marsalis will lead the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in a concert at Sangamon Auditorium. This "extraordinarily versatile" orchestra is composed of leading jazz soloists performing a repertoire that ranges from their own compositions to jazz classics.

From April 2 to 17, a juried "Lincoln Legacy" exhibit of selected artwork from the High School Forum will be on display in the VPA Access Gallery.

All three U of I campuses are hosting events in the University's Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration. Get more information.

Also see information about programs and events sponsored by the Illinois Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) training for women

Free 12-hour self-defense course for all UIS women students, staff, and faculty

• Wednesday evenings in February (Feb. 4, 11, 18, & 25)
• 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
• Led by Sgt. Mike Stuart and Ofc. Amanda Baughman of the UIS Police
  

Contact the UIS Women's Center at 6-7173 or womenscenter@uis.edu to enroll.

Learn more about RAD

For more information on acquaintance and stranger rape prevention as well as rape survivor support, information and referrals, contact the Women's Center.

Film screening

Jashn-e-Azadi (How We Celebrate Freedom) presented by the director, Sanjay Kak

1:30 p.m., Sunday, December 7, Brookens Auditorium

Discussion session will follow

The film is a provocative look at democracy in India's 60th year of independence, through Kashmir, India's only Muslim majority state -- a reflection on power, resistance, and freedom.

Sponsor: Illinois Network on Islam and Muslim Societies

New Zealand Ambassador to speak in Springfield

His Excellency Roy Ferguson, ambassador from New Zealand, will be the featured speaker Wednesday, December 3, at a lunch at the Prairie Heart Institute's Dove Conference Center. The event is part of the Ambassador Series co-sponsored by the University of Illinois at Springfield and WSEC-TV. Advance reservations are required.

The program begins at 11:30 a.m., with lunch served at noon.

At the lunch, Ambassador Ferguson will share business, economic, and political insights from his distinguished career in public service, which includes ambassadorships to South Korea and North Korea and other foreign affairs positions. A question-and-answer period will follow his presentation.

This is the second event in the Ambassador Series. Future programs include:
His Excellency Welile Nhlapo, ambassador from South Africa (January 22); His Excellency Oleh Shamshur, ambassador from Ukraine (March 11); and His Excellency Wegger Christian Strommen, ambassador from Norway (date TBD).

Cost for the remaining five events is $720 for a table of eight for the series, and $90 per person for the series.

For more information, contact Stacey Willenborg at 217/206-6058.

Ira Glass coming to Sangamon Auditorium, UIS

Host of NPR's This American Life will present "Radio Stories and Other Stories"

Popular National Public Radio host Ira Glass will visit the University of Illinois at Springfield's Sangamon Auditorium, on Saturday, December 13, at 8 p.m. to present "Radio Stories and Other Stories," based on his award-winning Showtime and public radio shows. The sponsors are ACE Hardware and Public Radio WUIS 91.9.

Glass is the affable host and producer of the quirky hit show This American Life, now heard by millions each week and recently adapted for television by Showtime. He travels the country meeting everyday people from all walks of life telling "unexpected stories that happen to be true." Glass will share some of his favorite yarns and answer questions from the audience when he visits Sangamon Auditorium, UIS.

Glass began his career in 1978, when he was 19, as an intern at National Public Radio's network headquarters in Washington, DC. Over the years, he worked on nearly every NPR network news program and held virtually every production job in NPR's Washington headquarters. He has been a tape cutter, newscast writer, desk assistant, editor, producer, and has filled in as host of Talk of the Nation and Weekend All Things Considered. He moved to Chicago in 1989 and put This American Life on the air in November 1995. Under Glass's editorial direction, the program has won the highest honors for broadcasting and journalistic excellence, including the Peabody and DuPont-Columbia awards, as well as the Edward R. Murrow and the Overseas Press Club awards.

Tickets for this event are $42 or $37 and are on sale now. To order tickets visit www.SangamonAuditorium.org or call the Sangamon Auditorium Ticket Office at (217) 206-6160 or toll free at 800-207-6960. Tickets can also be purchased in-person at the Ticket Office, which is open Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Individual tickets to all Visiting Artist Series and Family Events are on sale now, and tickets to Broadway shows go on sale approximately six weeks prior to each event. Patrons can receive a discount through the Create Your Own Series option by simply choosing at least five events from the Visiting Artists Series, Broadway Series, and Family Events at UIS. Please call the Ticket Office for more information.

About Sangamon Auditorium, UIS
Sangamon Auditorium, located on the campus of the University of Illinois at Springfield, hosts more than 120 performances annually. Also home to the Illinois Symphony Orchestra and Springfield Ballet Company, it is the only auditorium of its kind and size in the Springfield area, with a seating capacity of 2,018. Sangamon Auditorium continues to fulfill its mission of presenting and supporting varied cultural and educational professional arts activities to audiences in Springfield, Sangamon County, and the surrounding areas. The auditorium administrative offices can be reached at (217) 206-6150 or by email at onstage@uis.edu.

World AIDS Day

The campus will host a number of activities in observance of World AIDS Day, Monday, December 1

11:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m., PAC F

• Free AIDS testing

2:30 - 7:30 p.m., PAC C/D

• Movie and dialog
• Second Life (UIS virtual reality) - Scavenger hunt and dance
• Suffice, the Center for First-Year Students - chorus, writers, & poets speak out against AIDS
  

6 p.m.

• Special guest speaker: Nigerian artist Ibiyinka Alao, first-place winner of the 2001 UN International Art Competition

Co-sponsors: BASUAH (Brothers and Sisters United Against HIV/AIDS); Illinois Department of Public Health, Office of Minority Services; and UIS African-Caribbean Student Organization, African Student Association, Center for First-Year Students, Counseling Center, Diversity Center, Health Services, Office of Student Life, Office of Technology Enhanced Learning, and Public Health program

Brookens to host "An Evening with Ray Bradbury"

Brookens Library will host an evening with legendary author Ray Bradbury, via a live satellite interview, beginning at 7 p.m. Wednesday, November 19, in Brookens Auditorium. The program and a reception in the PAC restaurant immediately following are free and open to the public.

Bradbury is the author of such classics as Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. From his home in Los Angeles, he will discuss his life and work in a conversation with Dr. Loren Logsdon, professor emeritus of English and Western Civilization & Culture at Eureka College. Logsdon, a friend of Bradbury and an expert on his writing, will open the evening with a short address.

Bradbury is a native of Waukegan, Illinois, and one of 35 Illinois authors whose names are engraved on the fourth floor frieze of the Illinois State Library. Fahrenheit 451 is a cautionary tale about a media-obsessed society where citizens have stopped reading. Some of its themes are censorship, freedom of expression, and the effects of television and technology on society.

The program is part of The Big Read in West Central Illinois. For more information about the program at UIS, contact the office of the dean of Library Instructional Services at 6-6597.

UIS to host program in "Central Illinois Patchwork of People" series

The University of Illinois at Springfield is holding a program in its "Central Illinois Patchwork of People" series on Tuesday, November 18, in Conference Room C/D in the Public Affairs Center lower level on the UIS campus. A luncheon buffet begins at 11:30 a.m. and the presentation will take place at noon. Tickets for the luncheon are no longer available, but the presentation is free and open to members of the public who make reservations.

The presentation is part of a series that is examining the people and cultures that have influenced life in Central Illinois and will feature the topic "What They Built." John Hallwas, professor emeritus of English at Western Illinois University and Illinois Humanities Council Road Scholar, will discuss "Small Town Heritage: Illinois Townscapes 1870-1920." Richard Hart, president of the Elijah Iles House Foundation, will present "Prairie Acropolis: Greek Revival Influences on the Architecture of Central Illinois."

This series is being co-sponsored by the UIS Alumni SAGE Society and the Illinois State Historical Society. Reservations to attend the presentation should be made by Monday, November 17. For more information or to make a reservation, contact the UIS Office of Alumni Relations at alumni@uis.edu or 217/206-7395.

UIS Emiquon Field Station to host lecture on "Deep Views of the Past"

The University of Illinois at Springfield's Emiquon Field Station will host a public lecture titled "The Emiquon Archaeo-Geological Project: Deep Views of the Past" at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 18, at the Field Station, which is at The Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Preserve, located between Havana and Lewistown. The program is free and open to the public; reservations are not required.

The featured speaker will be Alan Harn, assistant curator of anthropology at Dickson Mounds Museum.

In 2004, before water returned to the historic floodplain, the Ameren Corporation worked to anchor a gas pipeline that stretches across parts of the Emiquon Preserve. The excavations that resulted provided an opportunity for Harn and Sally McClure of The Nature Conservancy to gain new insights into paleo climates, bottomland geomorphology, and their relationships to past human civilizations at the site.

In this talk, Mr. Harn will describe the excavations and interpret the complex array of subsurface information that was revealed. Deep sediment profiles indicated that today's Thomson Lake is only the most recent in a series of Illinois river paleochannels to have occupied the bottomland. Archaeological remains distributed along these water courses allowed researchers to determine when the paleochannels and their associated landforms developed and died away. Uniquely preserved deposits of paleo vegetation on the lake beds also provided botanists with new information about climate more than 10,000 years ago.

Entrance to the field station is on Prairie Road, located off Illinois Rts. 97/78, approximately one-and-a-half miles north of the Dickson Mounds turnoff. A sign will be posted at the turnoff. See a map.

For more information, contact Mike Lemke, Emiquon Field Station director, at lemke.michael@uis.edu or 217/ 206-7339.

Sustainability brown bag

"Save Time, Save Money, Save Trees: Conserve Your Limited Resources through Office Sustainability"

noon to 1 p.m., Thursday, December 4, PAC F

Speaker: Rose Schweikhart Cranson, dean's assistant, College of Public Affairs & Administration

Next program: February 4. Jamie McGill, campus recycling coordinator, will talk about Recycling at UIS.

Paralympic athlete Jean Driscoll to speak at UIS

Paralympic athlete Jean Driscoll (left) will be presenting "Dream Big and Work Hard" on Thursday, November 6, from 5 to 6 p.m. at the University of Illinois at Springfield. The program, part of the Girl 2 Girl DreamSpeakers series, will be held in the Student Life Building gym on the east side of the UIS campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Driscoll, a 1991 graduate of the University of Illinois, is recognized by Sports Illustrated for Women as one of the top 25 female athletes of the twentieth century. She won silver medals in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympic Games and served as a Presidential delegation member to the 2008 Olympics. She holds the world record in the 10,000 meter track event and marathon road racing distances and is the only person ever to win the Boston Marathon eight times.

The presentation is sponsored by the UIS Volunteer & Civic Engagement Center, Athletics, and Office of Disability Services.

Girl 2 Girl DreamSpeakers is a mentoring program for girls in grades 8, 9, and 10 in Springfield School District 186 and is made possible through a grant from the Sangamon County Community Foundation and its Women for Women Fund.

For more information, call 217/206-7716, e-mail volunteer@uis.edu or go online to www.jeandriscoll.com.

UIS political art series to screen "American Blackout"

The University of Illinois at Springfield series Political Art and the Public Sphere will conclude for the fall semester with a screening of the film "American Blackout" at 6 p.m. Monday, November 10, in Brookens Auditorium, lower level of Brookens Library on the UIS campus. Both the film and the discussion session that follows are free and open to the public.

While much has been said about alleged voting irregularities during the presidential elections of 2000 and 2004, these incidents are nevertheless often dismissed as rumors or unintentional mishaps resulting from an overburdened election system.

Filmmaker Ian Inaba's "furious documentary" chronicles recurring patterns of voter disenfranchisement from Florida 2000 to Ohio 2004 and follows the story of Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who not only took an active role in investigating these election debacles, but found herself in the center of another controversy after publicly questioning the Bush Administration about the 9/11 attacks. New York Times movie critic Jeannette Catsoulis concluded: "'American Blackout' isn't a conspiracy rant. It's a methodical compilation of questions and irregularities that deserves a wider audience."

This fall the PAPS series focused on questions of race and class in modern American politics. Series facilitator Richard Gilman-Opalsky, assistant professor of political philosophy at UIS, said, "This is a provocative film and it should lead us into an open discussion about the disenfranchisement of African American voters one week after the 2008 presidential election, where tales of long lines, voter suppression, and vote counting questions littered the news in the preceding weeks."

Gilman-Opalsky explained that the basic idea of PAPS is to consider how "art" can raise important social and political questions. "Public spheres are the places where people come together to communicate, to evaluate, and to circulate ideas and arguments," he added. "In the public sphere, people form a collective political opinion and will. Ultimately and ideally, the public sphere brings the interests and demands of the public to bear on those who hold power."

For more information about this program or the PAPS series, contact Gilman-Opalsky by phone at 206-8328 or by e-mail at rgilm3@uis.edu.

UIS program will examine the crisis in Sudan

The University of Illinois at Springfield will present documentary photographer Ryan Spencer Reed speaking on "Sudan: The Cost of Silence" at 7 p.m. Wednesday, November 12, in Brookens Auditorium. Reed's presentation and a book-signing session that follows are free and open to the public.

Brookens Auditorium is located on the lower level of Brookens Library on the UIS campus.

Abandoning his medical studies in 2002, Reed moved to Africa and eventually found himself in a camp in northwestern Kenya where most of the more than 90,000 refugees were Sudanese. The harsh conditions these people faced affected Reed so deeply that he has since focused his work exclusively on Sudan. He has traveled to that country, especially Darfur, several times to document the conflict there, and his program at UIS will examine the political, historical, and social issues at work.

UIS sponsors of the event are the Social Work Club and the Office of International Programs, with support from the UIS Speakers Series and Diversity Task Force, and the Riis-Parks Project.

See more information about Reed's work The Sudan Project

For more information about the UIS event, contact Larry Livingston, UIS assistant professor of Social Work, at 206-7527

31st annual International Festival will focus on "Harvest Celebrations around the World"

The University of Illinois at Springfield will host its 31st Annual International Festival, this year focusing on "Harvest Celebrations around the World," from 4 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, November 16. The event is free and open to the public.

The festival will feature cultural performances and exhibits, plus a variety of ethnic foods from local restaurants. All activities will take place in the lower-levels of the Public Affairs Center and Library on the UIS campus.

This year, in "theme park" fashion, each room will represent a different part of the world with continual performances, food, and exhibits presented together. Programs will be available to help participants visit the celebrations of their choice. The theme of "celebrating the harvest" is intended to illustrate how people in other countries observe their equivalent of America's Thanksgiving holiday.

For more information, contact the UIS Office of International Student Services at 217/206-6678 or send an e-mail to iss@uis.edu.

WUIS marks War of the Worlds 70th anniversary

In observance of the 70th anniversary of Orson Welles' infamous radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds, WUIS, in association with Gordon Productions, will present a re-creation of the original program at 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 30, at the Hoogland Center for the Arts in downtown Springfield.

WUIS will broadcast the performance on Halloween night at 9 p.m.

With a nod to the night that the Mercury Theatre radio group panicked America, the live show at the Hoogland Center will be presented as if it were an actual 1930s radio show. The actors will be dressed in period costumes, reading from scripts, while sound men provide all of the appropriate sound effects.

Cast members are Kevin Purcell (reading the Orson Welles role), Don Schneider, Pat Foster, Dennis Rendleman, Flynn Hanners, Brett Rutherford, and Steve Krampitz, along with local broadcasters Dave Leonatti (WUIS), Bob Murray (WTAX), Jim Leach (WMAY), Johnny Molson (ALICE 97.7/WMAY), and Joe Crain (NewsChannel 20).

Tickets for the stage performance are $12, and can be picked up at the Hoogland box office, by calling 523-2787, or online.

For information about the broadcast on Halloween night, call WUIS at 217/206-6516.

See an article about the performance from the October 30 State Journal-Register.

UIS Diversity Center to host traveling exhibit "Summer of Hate"

The Diversity Center at the University of Illinois at Springfield will host the traveling exhibit "Summer of Hate: A Modern Perspective on the Springfield Race Riot of 1908," from November 3 through 21 in the Center, room 22 of the Student Life Building on the east side of the UIS campus.

Ken Page, president of the Springfield branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), will unveil the exhibit during an opening reception at 5:30 p.m. on November 3 in the Center. Both the exhibit and opening reception are free and open to the public.

Commemorating the centennial anniversary of the Springfield Race Riot of 1908, the 14-panel exhibit includes photographs, maps, and historical accounts of the violence that resulted in the deaths of six people and the destruction of dozens of homes and businesses and led to the founding of the NAACP.

Area high school students researched and created the exhibit with assistance from staff members at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. After researching the riot using historical materials in the Presidential Library, the students toured Springfield to pinpoint key riot locations, gather modern and historical images, and create maps.

"It is my hope that events such as this exhibit will translate into positive action that will last one hundred years," Page said.

For more information, contact the UIS Diversity Center at 217/206-6333 or e-mail diversitycenter@uis.edu.

UIS among host sites for international programming contest

The University of Illinois at Springfield will host a round of competition in an international programming contest on Saturday, November 1. Spectators are welcome.

Sponsored by IBM and the Association for Computing Machinery, the 33rd annual ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest – also known as the Global "Battle of the Brains" Software Competition – sets three-member teams of university students against each other in a competition to solve real-world problems.

The event has become the largest and most prestigious competition of its kind, each year attracting thousands of students – including some of the world's finest students in computing sciences and engineering – from universities around the world. Ninety winning teams from regional contests, held from September to December, will advance to the World Finals, which for 2009 will be hosted by KTH – Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.

At UIS, 18 teams from eight colleges and universities will compete. Teams will meet for registration and welcome from 9 to 10 a.m. in Brookens Auditorium, lower level of Brookens Library on the UIS campus. Team members, special guests, and a representative from IBM will be introduced and the competition will begin at 12:30 p.m. An awards ceremony beginning at 6 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium will present ribbons to the top four teams and prizes to the top three teams. The UIS Computer Science Club will host the event, which is sponsored locally by UIS, Novanis, and Capitol Strategies.

Last year, five teams from the UIS competition site placed among the top 10 in the Midwest Regionals and two teams from the UIS competition attended the World Finals.

For more information about the UIS competition, contact Laszlo Acs, past-president of the UIS Computer Science Club, at 622-5398.

Sustainability Brown Bag Series

A new monthly event sponsored by the Senate Committee on Sustainability

• "Sustainability Initiatives at Food Service" - noon to 1 p.m., Wednesday, November 5, PAC G

Speakers: Alan Barnhart, food service Administrator, and Howard Seidel, executive chef. Presentation will also discuss the Local Food Initiative.

• "Save Time, Save Money, Save Trees: Conserve Your Limited Resources through Office Sustainability" – time and place tba, Wednesday, December 4

Speaker: Rose Schweikhart Cranson, dean's assistant, College of Public Affairs and Administration

For more information, contact Tih-Fen Ting, SCS chair, at 6-7876 or TTing1@uis.edu.

The China Experience

A brown bag presentation by Kathy Petitte Jamison, assistant professor of Communication and 2008 UIS China Faculty Exchange Scholar

Noon-12:45 p.m., Wednesday, October 29, PAC 3B

Bring your lunch and learn about China and the exchange program.

UIS speaker to discuss "Queer Love in the Time of War and Shopping"

"Queer Love in the Time of War and Shopping," a presentation by Dr. Martin Manalansan (shown at left), will be held beginning at 3 p.m., Wednesday, October 29, in Brookens Auditorium, lower level of Brookens Library at the University of Illinois at Springfield. The program and discussion session that follows are free and open to the public.

Dr. Manalansan is interim director of Asian American Studies and an associate professor of Anthropology at the U of I Urbana-Champaign campus. "Queer Love…" reflects his interdisciplinary research into socio-cultural anthropology, gay and lesbian studies, sexuality and gender, and race and ethnicity. It is also the title of the chapter he contributed to The LGBT Studies Reader (currently under review). Manalansan's other research interests include immigration and globalization, cities and modernity, food and culture, public health, the Filipino diaspora, Asian Americans, and the Philippines.

His address is presented as part of the ECCE Speakers Series at UIS -- events that aim to exemplify engaged citizenship as part of the university's effort to foster appreciation for and practice of diversity and the active effort to make a difference in the world.

The next ECCE program will be "Indians from India" and "Bollywood Satirized," an art exhibit and discussion on November 6. See the complete schedule of speakers and topics for the 2008 Fall Semester.

For more information about Dr. Manalansan's presentation, contact Lan Dong, assistant professor of English, at 206-8334.

For information about any ECCE event, contact Kimberly Craig, series coordinator, at 206-6245 or send an e-mail to speakerseries@uis.edu.

UIS to host Sunday Star Party for people with disabilities

The University of Illinois at Springfield will host a special Sunday Night Star Party for people with disabilities on Sunday, November 9, weather permitting, in the UIS observatory. The party is free, but reservations are required.

Featured objects for viewing will be Jupiter, the largest planet, and the moon.

Conducted by Charles Schweighauser and John Martin, UIS professors of astronomy and physics, Sunday Star Parties use a telescope specially designed to give people with disabilities access to the sky. This is the first telescope in the world designed for, and dedicated to, people with disabilities.

The modified eight-inch Schmidt Cassegrain telescope employs a traditional optical design but with a fixed eyepiece that brings the image to the viewer. This eyepiece can be moved backward and forward in its tube as much as seven inches without refocusing, and can accommodate anyone from a large person in a high wheelchair to a child in the lowest, smallest wheelchair. A laptop computer runs the telescope, eliminating the need for a large keyboard and monitor that can emit too much distracting light on the dark observation deck.

To make a reservation, or for more information, contact Schweighauser at 206-6721 no later than Friday, October 31, for the November 9 Star Party.

UIS Emiquon Field Station will host lecture on "Migratory Waterfowl and the Illinois River"

The University of Illinois at Springfield's Emiquon Field Station will host a free public lecture on "Migratory Waterfowl and the Illinois River," at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 28. The Field Station is at The Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Preserve, located between Havana and Lewistown.

The speaker will be Dr. Josh Stafford, waterfowl ecologist with the Illinois Natural History Survey and director of the Forbes Biological Station in Havana, Illinois. Dr. Stafford will cover a variety of topics, including a brief history of Illinois River wetlands and waterfowl research in the region, trends in migratory duck populations, chronology of migration, and results of recent waterfowl studies at the Emiquon Preserve.

Entrance to the Emiquon Field Station is on Prairie Road, located off Illinois Rts. 97/78, approximately one-and-a-half miles north of the Dickson Mounds turnoff. A sign will be posted at the turnoff. See a map

For more information, contact Mike Lemke, Emiquon Field Station director, at lemke.michael@uis.edu or (217) 206-7339.

UIS to present survey of 1908 riot by noted historian and author

"Centennial of Fire," an address by noted historian and author Dr. Roberta Senechal (at left), will be presented beginning at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, October 23, in the lobby of the Public Affairs Center at the University of Illinois at Springfield. The program is free and open to the public.

In this lecture, Senechal surveys the course of Springfield's 1908 race riot, and the reaction of the press and public, weighing the known facts in light of her later work on collective violence, in the United States and elsewhere.

Senechal's published works include the award-winning In Lincoln's Shadow, the only book-length study of the Springfield riot. Originally published in 1990 by the University of Illinois Press as The Sociogenesis of a Race Riot: Springfield, Illinois, in 1908, a reprint of the book under its new title is forthcoming from Southern Illinois University Press. She is currently an associate professor of History at Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, where she specializes in American social and urban history, the history of crime and violence, women's history in the United States, and African-American history.

Senechal's presentation is one of the keynote addresses for the 30th Annual Conference of the Association for Integrative Studies, hosted by UIS and held October 23-26 at the President Abraham Lincoln Hotel. It is also a program in the ECCE Speakers Series at UIS -- events that aim to exemplify engaged citizenship as part of the university’s effort to foster appreciation for and practice of diversity and the active effort to make a difference in the world.

Upcoming ECCE programs include "Queer Love in the Time of War and Shopping" with Martin Manalansan on October 29; and "Indians from India" and "Bollywood Satirized," an art exhibit and discussion, on November 6. See the schedule of speakers and topics for the 2008 Fall Semester.

The Association for Integrative Studies is an interdisciplinary professional organization founded in 1979 and charged with promoting the interchange of ideas about integration and interdisciplinarity, in all of the arts and sciences, among scholars and administrators around the world.

For more information about Dr. Senechal's presentation, contact Karen Moranski, associate vice chancellor for undergraduate education at UIS and associate professor of English, at 206-7440.

For information about any ECCE event, contact Kimberly Craig, series coordinator, at 206-6245 or send an e-mail to speakerseries@uis.edu.

UIS to host array of Lincoln Bicentennial events

The University of Illinois at Springfield will host a variety of programs in observance of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial, ranging from lectures to musical events to a contest for high school students across the state.

On Wednesday, October 15, UIS' annual Lincoln Legacy Lecture Series will present "Lincoln and Presidential Campaign Politics." Speakers will be Dr. Jennifer Weber from the University of Kansas, who will examine "How Lincoln Handled the Antiwar Movement," and Dr. Silvana Siddali, from St. Louis University, who will discuss "Lincoln and the Constitution in Civil War Era Presidential Campaigns." Illinois State Historian Dr. Thomas Schwartz will moderate the discussion. The program begins at 7 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium on the UIS campus. Admission is free.

Composer/folklorist duo Jay Ungar and Molly Mason will lead a musical Early Birthday Celebration for A. Lincoln at 8 p.m. on Saturday, January 31, 2009, in UIS' Sangamon Auditorium. Their performance of Ungar's composition "Ashokan Farewell," heard in Ken Burns' The Civil War, earned the couple an Emmy nomination and a Grammy award. Special guests for this program are the 10th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry Regiment Band, directed by R. Todd Cranson, assistant director of co-curricular music at UIS. Ticket information is available from the Auditorium Ticket Office at 206-6160 or 800-207-6960.

In February, public radio WUIS 91.9 will broadcast a number of special programs focusing on Lincoln. More information about "Lincoln the Poet," "Lincoln the Lawmaker," and "Lincoln and Humor," including broadcast times and dates, will be available from the WUIS website.

On Saturday, February 21, UIS faculty and students will present a readers' theater production of Ronald Gow's one-act play The Lawyer of Springfield beginning at 7 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium. A discussion session with the audience will follow the performance.

At 8 p.m. on Saturday, February 28, acclaimed performer/composer Wynton Marsalis will lead the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in a concert at Sangamon Auditorium. This "extraordinarily versatile" orchestra, which Marsalis serves as musical director, is composed of leading jazz soloists who perform an extensive repertoire that ranges from their own compositions to jazz classics. Ticket information is available from the Auditorium Ticket Office at 206-6160 or 800-207-6960.

Applications are now being accepted for the Lincoln Legacy High School Forum -- a statewide contest for high school juniors and seniors co-sponsored by UIS and the Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. The three categories of competition are: Historical Essay, Creative Expression in the Written Word, and Performance/Visual Arts. The first prize in each category is a one-year tuition scholarship to the University of Illinois at Springfield; winners will be invited to UIS to present their work to the public on Saturday, April 4. Entries must be postmarked by January 2, 2009. Get complete information.

From April 2 to 17, a juried "Lincoln Legacy" exhibit, presenting selected artwork from the High School Forum, will be on display in the Access Gallery, located in the lobby of the Visual and Performing Arts Building on the east side of the UIS campus.

For more information about any event in UIS' series of Lincoln Bicentennial events, contact the Office of the Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, at 217/206-6512.

All three campuses in the U of I system are hosting events in the University's Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration. Get more information.

See information about programs and events sponsored by the Illinois Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

UIS political art series to present a look at the Black Panther Party

The next program in the Political Art and the Public Sphere series at the University of Illinois at Springfield will be a screening of excerpts from "What We Want, What We Believe," a documentary about the Black Panther Party, at 6 p.m. Monday, October 13, in Brookens Auditorium, lower level of Brookens Library on the UIS campus. Both the film and the discussion session that follows are free and open to the public.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Black Panthers were considered one of the most dangerous militant groups in America. Newsreel Films was the unofficial documenter of the Panthers, and "What We Want, What We Believe" -- not a documentary so much as living history preserved on film -- has been described as "a fantastic journey back to a time when equal rights were the name of the game, and the price to pay for them was very high."

Footage includes interviews with founding members Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale, and Huey P. Newton; a look at some of the group's activities, such as demonstrations, speaking appearances, and the Breakfast Program for neighborhood children; and interviews with FBI agents and film of police raids on party offices.

Each month Political Art and the Public Sphere features a showing or performance of some kind of "political art," followed by a group discussion of the issues it raises. "The basic idea is to consider how 'art' raises provocative social and political questions," said series facilitator Richard Gilman-Opalsky, UIS assistant professor of political philosophy.

This fall, the series focuses on questions of race and class in 20th century American politics with topics ranging from the Springfield race riot of 1908 to the disenfranchisement of black voters in the 2004 elections.

"Public spheres are the places where people come together to communicate, to evaluate, and to circulate ideas and arguments," said Gilman-Opalsky. "In the public sphere, people form a collective political opinion and will. Ultimately and ideally, the public sphere brings the interests and demands of the public to bear on those who hold power."

The presentation of "What We Want, What We Believe" is also co-sponsored by the ECCE Speakers Series at UIS – events that aim to exemplify engaged citizenship as part of the university’s effort to foster appreciation for and practice of diversity and the active effort to make a difference in the world.

The next PAPS event will be a showing of the film "American Blackout" at 6 p.m. on Monday, November 10, in Brookens Auditorium. For more information about the PAPS series, contact Gilman-Opalsky by phone at 206-8328 or by e-mail at rgilm3@uis.edu.

Upcoming ECCE programs include a screening and discussion of the film "10 Questions for the Dalai Lama" on October 17. For more information about any ECCE event, contact Kimberly Craig, series coordinator, at 206-6245 or send an e-mail to speakerseries@uis.edu.

Reception honoring Caryl Moy

The Friends of Brookens Library will host a reception with Dr. Caryl Towsley Moy, SSU Professor Emerita of Child, Family, and Community Services

7 to 8:30 p.m., Tuesday, October 28, in the PAC Restaurant

to celebrate the publication of her new book, Naperville's Genevieve: A Daughter's Memoir.

For more information, contact the Development Office at 6-6058.

Depression screening day

Thursday, October 9

The Counseling Center and Campus Health Service will offer free depression screenings in HRB 64 (noon to 4 p.m.) and the LRH conference room (noon to 3 p.m.).

• Written self-tests
• Confidential screening interviews
• Videos
• Brochures
  

Symptoms of depression include: loss of interest in favorite activities; feeling sad, helpless, or worthless; changes in sleeping and eating habits; an inability to concentrate; fatigue and loss of energy; feeling irritable, tense, anxious, and restless; suffering unexplained aches and pains; and thoughts of death or suicide

For more information, call the Counseling Center at 6-7122

Dedication ceremony

The campus community is invited to the dedication of a scholar tree and bench in memory of beloved UIS professor Lee Frost-Kumpf (at left), who served UIS from 1996 to 2003.

5 p.m., Monday, October 20, PAC lobby

See more remembrances of Lee, share your own memories, or contribute to the scholarship fund in his name.

UIS and WSEC Ambassador Series

The UIS and WSEC Ambassador Series presents a luncheon with Swiss Amabassador, His Excellency Urs Ziswiler

11:30 a.m., Wednesday, October 8, at the Prairie Heart Institute's Dove Conference Center, downtown Springfield

Upcoming programs are:

• December 3 - His Excellency Roy Ferguson, ambassador from New Zealand
• January 22 - His Excellency Welile Nhlapo, ambassador from South Africa
• March 11 - His Excellency Oleh Shamshur, ambassador from Ukraine
• Date TBD - His Excellency Wegger Christian Strommen, ambassador from Norway
  

The ambassadors will share business, economic, and political insights. A question-and-answer period will follow each presentation.

Cost: $860 for the series for a table of 8; $108 for the series, per person

For more information, contact Stacey Willenborg at 6-6058.

UIS to host Campus Preview Day

The University of Illinois at Springfield will host a Campus Preview Day for prospective students and their families from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 18. The program will include an academic fair, campus tours, lunch, and greetings from Chancellor Richard Ringeisen and Provost Harry Berman.

For reservations or additional information, contact the UIS Office of Admissions -- phone (217) 206-4847 (toll-free 1-888-977-4847), e-mail admissions@uis.edu. For those unable to attend the regular session, individual visits can be arranged by contacting the Admissions Office.

The next Preview Day is scheduled for Saturday, November 8.

UIS to host address by expert in Constitutional and national security law

Was part of successful challenge to administration's use of military tribunals

"Lawyers, 'Lawfare,' the War on Terrorism, and the Rule of Law" is the topic of a program beginning at 7 p.m., Thursday, October 9, in Brookens Auditorium, lower level of Brookens Library at the University of Illinois at Springfield. The program and discussion session, as well as an informal reception immediately following, are free and open to the public.

The featured speaker will be attorney/professor Steve Vladeck (left), who was part of the legal team that successfully challenged the Bush administration's use of military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay. Vladeck will discuss what the rule of law should mean in the context of the war on terror, not just for lawyers on both sides of the issues, but for society as a whole.

Vladeck has also been a consultant and co-author for amicus briefs in a host of other cases arising out of the war on terror, and he is the author of reports on related topics for various organizations, including the ABA Standing Committee on National Security. He is currently an associate professor at Washington College of Law, American University, where his teaching focuses on Constitutional law, the federal courts, and national security law.

Vladeck's address is presented as part of the ECCE Speakers Series at UIS -- events that aim to exemplify engaged citizenship as part of the university's effort to foster appreciation for and practice of diversity and the active effort to make a difference in the world.

Upcoming ECCE programs for October include a screening and discussion of the documentary "What We Want, What We Believe" on October 13; the film "10 Questions for the Dalai Lama" on October 17; and a presentation by author/historian Roberta Senechal on October 23.

See the complete schedule of speakers and topics for the 2008 Fall Semester.

For more information about Vladeck's presentation or about any ECCE event, contact Kimberly Craig, series coordinator, at 206-6245 or send an e-mail to speakerseries@uis.edu.

Flu shots scheduled

When and Where

• Thursday, October 2, PAC C/D, 8:30 a.m. - 7 p.m.
• Tuesday, October 7, PAC G, 8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.
• Wednesday, October 22, in PAC C/D, 1 - 7 p.m.
• Thursday October 23, PAC C/D, 3 - 7 p.m.
  

Cost

• Students: $16
• Significant others of students: $20
• Employees without State of Illinois Insurance and their spouses, significant others, and their family members living in the home; who are 17 years of age or older: $20
• State Employees and retirees who provide proof of State of Illinois Health Care Insurance: Free
  

For more information, call Campus Health Services at 6-6676

UIS Lincoln Legacy Lecture Series will examine "Lincoln and Presidential Campaign Politics"

The 2008 Lincoln Legacy Lecture Series presented by the University of Illinois at Springfield will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, October 15, in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library at UIS.

This year's topic is "Lincoln and Presidential Campaign Politics." The lectures and a reception and book signing that will immediately follow are free and open to the public.

Lincoln Legacy Lectures bring nationally known scholars and policy experts to Springfield to discuss issues that, while they are of contemporary interest, also engaged Abraham Lincoln and citizens of his era. Speakers focus on the topic's modern form as well as how Lincoln addressed it.

This year's featured speakers -- Dr. Jennifer Weber, assistant professor of History at the University of Kansas, and Dr. Silvana Siddali, associate professor of History at St. Louis University -- will draw parallels between the presidential campaigns of 1860 and 1864 and the campaign currently underway. The discussion will be moderated by Illinois State Historian Dr. Thomas Schwartz.

Dr. Weber (left) will speak on "How Lincoln Handled the Antiwar Movement." Lincoln faced harsh criticism from the outset of the Civil War. Antiwar Democrats objected to encroachments on civil liberties and to Lincoln's claims to expanded presidential powers. His strategy for dealing with Democratic critics was, for the most part, to ignore them -- an approach that very nearly failed. Weber will discuss how Lincoln's now-highly-regarded leadership might be considered today if the 1864 election had been held three months earlier, before the Northern armies started winning.

Dr. Weber is the author of Copperheads: The Rise and Fall of Lincoln’s Opponents in the North (Oxford University Press, 2006). Her works-in-progress include a collection of essays in honor of Pulitzer Prize-winning Civil War historian James M. McPherson, with whom she studied as a doctoral student at Princeton University. She was an invited scholar at the conference marking the opening of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in 2005, and she currently serves on the advisory panel for the Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

Dr. Siddali (right) will speak on "Lincoln and the Constitution in Civil War Era Presidential Campaigns," will examine how the presidential campaigns of the time caused American voters to consider a number of crucial issues, including the perpetuity of Union and the right to extend or prohibit slavery in new territories. Both parties framed the contest as a vote on the Constitution, yet neither side foresaw the sweeping constitutional changes that would result.

Siddali is the author of From Property to Person: Slavery and the Confiscation Acts, 1861-1862 (Louisiana State University Press, 2005) and the forthcoming Missouri's War: The Civil War in Documents (Ohio University Press, 2008). She has been the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, including grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and was also an invited presenter at the opening ceremonies for the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Dr. Siddali received her Ph.D. in History from Harvard University.

Program moderator Thomas F. Schwartz (left) is chief historian for exhibits and content in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and director of Research and the Lincoln Collection in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library.

An acknowledged authority on Lincoln and his times, Dr. Schwartz is a widely published author. He serves as senior editor of the Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association and as historical advisor for the Journal of Illinois History. He is also a member of the advisory board for the state and federal Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial commissions.

Presented by the UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership, this year's Lincoln Legacy Lectures Series is also a University of Illinois Lincoln Bicentennial event. Cosponsors of this year's lectures are: UIS Speakers' Awards Committee, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Public Affairs and Administration, and Office of Undergraduate Education. The lectures are also made possible this year by a gift from Bill and Nancy Simpson of Springfield.

In previous years, lectures have focused on Lincoln and Race (2002), Ethics and Power (2004), Lincoln and Economic Opportunity (2005), Lincoln and America's Faith (2006), and Lincoln and the Law (2007).

Seating in Brookens Auditorium is limited; however overflow seating will be available in conference room C/D, where the audience can watch a large-screen live video feed. Conference room C/D is located on the lower level of the Public Affairs Center at UIS. Those unable to attend in person can watch a live webcast by going to www.uis.edu/technology/uislive.html at the time of the event.

For more information, contact the Center for State Policy and Leadership at 217/206-6576.

Buffet supper will precede Capitol Steps performance at UIS

The UIS Alumni SAGE Society will sponsor a pre-election dinner party on Friday, October 31, prior to the performance of The Capitol Steps comedy group later that evening in Sangamon Auditorium at the University of Illinois at Springfield. A cash bar reception beginning at 5:30 p.m. and a buffet dinner at 6 p.m. will be held in the Public Affairs Center Restaurant at UIS. The Capitol Steps' performance begins at 8 p.m. in the Auditorium.

The restaurant will be decorated for the event with election memorabilia, and participants are encouraged to wear red, white, and blue clothing and sport old campaign buttons.

The menu will include such dishes as Senate Bean Soup; Victory Garden Salad; Pork Barrel Loin; Chicken in Every Pot Pie; Depression Lasagna (meatless); WPA (White Potato Au Gratin) Spuds; Greenback Beans; Farm Subsidy Corn Soufflé; All-American Apple Pie Ala Mode; Red, White, and Blueberry Cheesecake; and the Midwest Bread Basket.

The Capitol Steps began as a group of Senate staffers who set out to satirize the very people and places that employed them. The group has recorded 28 albums, including their latest, Campaign and Suffering. They’ve appeared on all the major television networks and their Politics Takes a Holiday specials can be heard four times a year on National Public Radio.

Cost of the dinner is $28 per person; ticket prices for the Capitol Steps vary. To make reservations for both the dinner and Capitol Steps performance, please call the Sangamon Auditorium ticket office at 217/206-6160. Space for the dinner is limited and dinner reservations should be made no later than October 24.

UIS to present address on "Japan and a Changing Asia"

"Japan and a Changing Asia" is the subject of a presentation beginning at 7:30 p.m., Monday, October 6, in Brookens Auditorium, lower level of Brookens Library at the University of Illinois at Springfield. The program is free and open to the public.

The featured speaker will R. Michael Schiffer (left), program officer in Policy Analysis and Dialogue at the Stanley Foundation, where he is responsible for the Foundation's Asia programs as well as a range of other national and global security issues. Schiffer previously served as a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow at the National Institute of Defense Studies in Japan and, from 1995 to 2004, he was senior national security adviser and legislative director on the staff of U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). Schiffer is widely published on a range of international security, political, and media issues.

The Stanley Foundation -- a nonprofit, nonpartisan, private operating foundation -- works to promote public understanding, constructive dialogue, and cooperative action on critical international issues. The Foundation's efforts recognize the essential roles of both the policy community and the broader public in building sustainable peace.

This event is sponsored by the World Affairs Council of Central Illinois and the Sister Cities Association of Springfield and is also presented as part of the ECCE Speakers Series at UIS -- events that aim to exemplify engaged citizenship as part of the university’s effort to foster appreciation for and practice of diversity and the active effort to make a difference in the world.

Upcoming ECCE programs for October include "Lawyers, 'Lawfare,' the War on Terrorism, and the Rule of Law," with law professor Steve Vladeck, on October 9; a screening and discussion of the documentary "What We Want, What We Believe" on October 13; the film "10 Questions for the Dalai Lama" on October 17; and a presentation by author Roberta Senechal on October 23.

See the complete schedule of speakers and topics for the 2008 Fall Semester.

For more information about Schiffer's presentation, contact Steve Schwark, UIS professor of Political Science, at 206-6650.

For information about any ECCE event, contact Kimberly Craig, series coordinator, at 206-6245 or send an e-mail to speakerseries@uis.edu.

Campus invited to investiture ceremony

Dr. Karl McDermott will be invested as UIS Ameren Distinguished Professor of Business and Government

5 p.m. Thursday, September 25, in Brookens Auditorium

The campus community is invited to attend the ceremony, which will celebrate both Dr. McDermott and Ameren.

Bookstore moving to Founders Hall

The UIS Bookstore in the PAC will be closed September 26, 27, 28, and will reopen in Founders Hall on September 29.

Friends of Brookens Library Book Sale

9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday, October 3, in front of the library

Friends members preview sale - 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, in the Bibliographic Services area

Presented in conjunction with Homecoming Week

For details, contact Marci Rossi at 6-6597.

AAUW book sale benefits scholarships

American Association of University Women annual used book sale

8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, September 27, Westminster Presbyterian Church, 533 S. Walnut in Springfield

Pre-sale for early shoppers - 3 to 5 p.m. Friday, September 26

$5 entrance fee will be charged on Friday; Saturday admission is free

Thousands of good-quality hardcover and paperback books, LPs, CDs, videos, and DVDs will be available.

All proceeds benefit the AAUW local scholarship fund that for over 35 years has provided support for women returning to school at UIS and St. John's College. Endowed and annual scholarships at UIS support four women annually, and one nursing scholarship is awarded at St. John's.

Event also supported by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.

For information or to donate items, contact Amy Green, AAUW educational foundation co-chair, at 546-3271 or e-mail booksale@juno.com.

UIS Emiquon Field Station to host "Stalking the Wild Mushroom"

"Stalking the Wild Mushroom," a public lecture and nature walk, will be presented at the University of Illinois at Springfield's Emiquon Field Station beginning at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, September 30, at the Field Station. The program is free and open to the public; reservations are not required.

The program will be led by Dr. James Veselenak, UIS associate professor of Clinical Laboratory Science and Public Health.

The Emiquon Field Station is at The Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Preserve, located between Havana and Lewistown. Entrance to the field station is on Prairie Road, located off Illinois Rts. 97/78, approximately one-and-a-half miles north of the Dickson Mounds turnoff. A sign will be posted.

See a map to Emiquon.

The program will start with a short discussion and slide show and then proceed to a mushroom hunt in the nearby woods. "Fall is the best time to hunt and photograph the elusive mushroom," said Veselenak. "There are more varieties in autumn than any other time of the year. Plus, the recent rain and moderate temperatures should provide ideal growing conditions for mushrooms."

Everyone entering the property will be asked to sign a liability waiver. Participants younger than 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult and must have their waiver signed by a parent or legal guardian.

In case of rain, the program will be rescheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 7.

For more information, contact Mike Lemke, Emiquon Field Station Director, at lemke.michael@uis.edu or 217/206-7339.

Emiquon Field Station Picnic & Open House

11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m., Sunday, October 5

Activities include lunch, tour of the Field Station, various family activities, canoe trips, and tour of the Dickson Mounds Museum

Transportation available -- leaving from the PAC teardrop entrance at 10 a.m. and returning after the event

The Emiquon Field Station is located on route 78/97, just north of Havana.

See a map to Emiquon and get updated information about the event.

To RSVP for transportation and/or attendance, contact Mike Lemke at 6-7339 or lemke.michael@uis.edu.

UIS presentation will examine sustainable agriculture

"Rethinking the Economics of Energy, Climate, and Food," an examination of sustainable agriculture, will be presented beginning at 7 p.m., Monday, September 29, in conference room C/D, lower level of the Public Affairs Center at the University of Illinois at Springfield. The program is free and open to the public.

The featured speaker will be Dr. John Ikerd (above left), emeritus professor of agricultural economics at the University of Missouri-Columbia and a recognized expert on issues related to sustainable agriculture.

Ikerd's major research and educational efforts have included evaluations of the impact of sustainable agriculture on the quality of life for farm families and others in rural communities. He has also served as the head of a three-state, five-year program funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation that linked sustainable agriculture and sustainable community development. As Missouri's co-coordinator of extension programs in sustainable agriculture, Ikerd initiated a national professional development program for those whose jobs involved providing the public with information on the subject. He is the author of numerous books, including Sustainable Capitalism (Kumerian Press, 2005), A Return to Common Sense (R.T. Edwards Inc., 2007), and Small Farms are Real Farms (Acres USA).

Dr. Ikerd's address is presented as part of the ECCE Speakers Series at UIS -- events that aim to exemplify engaged citizenship as part of the university's effort to foster appreciation for and practice of diversity and the active effort to make a difference in the world.

Upcoming ECCE programs include "99 Questions You've always Wanted to Ask an African American," with actor/playwright Mark Cryer, on October 1; "Japan and a Changing Asia," with international security expert R. Michael Schiffer, on October 6; and "Lawyers, 'Lawfare,' the War on Terrorism, and the Rule of Law," with law professor Steve Vladeck, on October 9. The complete schedule of speakers and topics for the 2008 Fall Semester is available at www.uis.edu/generaleducation/about/index.html.

For more information about Dr. Ikerd's presentation, contact Denise Keele, UIS assistant professor of Environmental Studies, at 206-7895.

For information about any ECCE event, contact Kimberly Craig, series coordinator, at 206-6245 or send an e-mail to speakerseries@uis.edu.

UIS holding auditions for two pep bands

Community members are invited to audition for the Basketball Pep Band and the Basketball Jazz Combo – two athletic pep bands at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Auditions will be held Monday and Tuesday, September 15 and 16, beginning at 6 p.m. in room 33 of the Visual and Performing Arts Building on the UIS campus. Audition sessions are by appointment only.

Detailed information – including audition materials and requirements and a complete performance calendar – is available at www.uis.edu/music. Interested musicians should download and review the auditions materials before calling the UIS Music Program at 217/206-8405 to schedule an appointment.

The Pep Band is traditional collegiate pep band of 20 or more members who play wind, brass, percussion, and electronic instruments. Twenty paid positions ($20/game) are available in this band.

The Basketball Jazz Combo is a six-member group comprising three horns of any type and a three-member rhythm section. Members of the Jazz Combo are paid $75 per game.

First performances for both bands will be Monday, September 29, at the UIS Homecoming Bonfire and Thursday, October 2, at the Student/Faculty Basketball Game.

For more information, contact Todd Cranson, UIS assistant director of co-curricular music, at rcran2@uis.edu.

UIS panel will discuss freedom of the press

As part of its observance of Constitution Day, the University of Illinois at Springfield will present a panel discussion of "Freedom of the Press in 2008" beginning at noon on Wednesday, September 17, in the lobby of the Public Affairs Center on the UIS campus. The presentation is free and open to the public.

Constitution Day was created by law in 2004 to honor the signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787.

Panelists Bill Wheelhouse, general manager of public radio station WUIS; Dana Heupel, executive editor of Illinois Issues magazine; and Don Craven, attorney for the Illinois Press Association, will examine issues surrounding the First Amendment. Those unable to attend in person can watch a live webcast by going to www.uis.edu/technology/uislive.html at the time of the event.

The discussion is co-sponsored by UIS' Center for State Policy and Leadership, the campus' policy center, and is also part of the ECCE Speakers Series at UIS – events that aim to exemplify engaged citizenship as part of the university's effort to foster appreciation for and practice of diversity and the active effort to make a difference in the world.

Upcoming ECCE programs include the documentary "Rethinking the Economics of Energy, Climate, and Food" with Dr. John Ickerd on September 29 and "99 Questions You’ve Always Wanted to Ask an African American" with actor/playwright Mark Cryer on October 1.

See the complete schedule of speakers and topics for the 2008 Fall Semester.

For more information about the panel discussion, contact Anthony Halter at 206-6576 or Dana Heupel at 206-6084.

For information about any ECCE event, contact Kimberly Craig, series coordinator, at 206-6245 or send an e-mail to speakerseries@uis.edu.

Energy Report open forums

1-2 p.m., Tuesday, September 9, PAC G

11 a.m.-noon, Wednesday, September 10, PAC G

Those who are unable to attend in person are invited to provide feedback via e-mail to any member of the energy task force: Al Barnhart, Dave Barrows, Joan Buckles, Joe Eck, Wes King, Marc Klingshirn, John Ringle, Tim Ritzo, and Tih-Fen Ting (chair).

UIS speaker series hosts multiple events commemorating riot centennial

Five sessions in the ECCE Speakers Series at the University of Illinois at Springfield this fall will commemorate the centennial observance of the city's 1908 race riot.

Programs in the ECCE series are campus-sponsored lectures or other events exemplifying engaged citizenship. The series is also part of the Engaged Citizenship Common Experience, a set of courses taken by undergraduates at UIS to foster appreciation for and practice of diversity and the active effort to make a difference in the world.

All events in the speakers series are free and open to the public.

On Thursday, September 11, James Loewen, author, professor, and expert in race relations, will speak on "Lincoln's Unfinished Legacy" beginning at 7 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library on the UIS campus.

A native of Decatur, Dr. Loewen taught race relations for 20 years at the University of Vermont and was also on the faculty at Tougaloo College in Mississippi. He has been an expert witness in more than 50 civil rights, voting rights, and employment cases. His book Sundown Towns was chosen as a Distinguished Book of 2005 by the Gustavus Myers Foundation and he is the recipient of an Oliver Cromwell Cox Award for Distinguished Anti-Racist Scholarship.

On Monday, September 15, the documentary "Springfield Had No Shame" will be shown at 6 p.m., also in Brookens Auditorium.

Written and produced by David Antoine, staff member in UIS' Office of Electronic Media, this film examines the riot through historical photographs, dramatic readings, and re-enactments of original newspaper accounts. Commentary from historians and eyewitnesses is also included.

This event is presented in conjunction with UIS Political Art and the Public Sphere series, monthly programs that consider how 'art' raises provocative social and political questions.

On Wednesday, October 1, "99 Questions You’ve Always Wanted to Ask an African American but Were Too Afraid for Fear They'd Break Their Foot Off in Your A**" -- a multi-media play by Mark Cryer that addresses stereotypes commonly held about African Americans -- will be presented beginning at 7 p.m., in the Studio Theatre, lower level of UIS’ Public Affairs Center.

On Monday, October 13, "What We Want, What We Believe," a documentary about the Black Panther Party, will be shown at 6 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium. In the 1960s and '70s Newsreel Films served as the unofficial recorder of much of the group's activities, and the film has been called "not a documentary so much as living history preserved on film." This program is also part of the PAPS series.

On Thursday, October 23, noted historian and author Dr. Roberta Senechal will speak on "Centennial of Fire" beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the lobby of the Public Affairs Center. Her book The Sociogenesis of a Race Riot: Springfield, Illinois, in 1908 (University of Illinois Press, 1990) received the Illinois State Historical Society Superior Achievement Award in 1991 and the Gustavus Myers Center Award for the Study of Human Rights in the United States in 1992.

See the complete schedule of speakers and topics for the 2008 fall ECCE Speakers Series, or contact series coordinator Kimberly Craig at 206-6245 or speakerseries@uis.edu.

A variety of other events related to the riot centennial, ranging from an art installation to special podcasts, is planned at UIS throughout the fall semester.

Dark-skies star party planned at UIS Emiquon Field Station

The University of Illinois at Springfield and the Sangamon Astronomical Society will host a dark-skies star party at the Emiquon Field Station on Saturday, September 6, at The Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Preserve, located between Havana and Lewistown. The program is free and open to the public; reservations are not required.

Co-sponsors are UIS' Emiquon Field Station and The Nature Conservancy.

The event will begin at 8 p.m. in the Field Station with a short lecture on the night sky, presented by Dr. John Martin, UIS assistant professor of Astronomy/Physics. Star gazing will be from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m.

Many nebula, galaxies, and star clusters are too faint to be seen from urban and light-polluted areas and this event presents an opportunity to enjoy the stars under one of the darkest skies remaining in Illinois.

Members of the Sangamon Astronomical Society will be on hand with several telescopes to share their knowledge and views of the sky. Participants are also welcome to bring their own binoculars and telescopes.

Entrance to the field station is on Prairie Road, located off Illinois Rts. 97/78, approximately one-and-a-half miles north of the Dickson Mounds turnoff. A sign will be posted at the turnoff. A map is also available online at www.uis.edu/emiquon/about/images/mapToTNCEmiquon.jpg.

Everyone entering the property will be asked to sign a liability waiver. Participants younger than 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult and must have their waiver signed by a parent or legal guardian.

If the skies are overcast on September 6, the event will be cancelled. To determine if the weather is suitable for viewing, call David Hedrick at The Nature Conservancy office at 309/547-2730 after 7 p.m. that evening.

For further information, contact Hedrick or send an e-mail to dhedrick@tnc.org.

"Talking about History and Truth: An Informal Gathering with James Loewen"

10 to 11:15 a.m., Friday, September 12, UHB 2021

Dr. Loewen is a nationally known expert on race relations and the author of Lies My Teacher Told Me, a critique of high school history textbooks.

Sponsors: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Associate Vice-Chancellor for Undergraduate Education, and History Department

For more information, contact Deborah McGregor, professor of History and Women & Gender Studies, at 6-7439 or mcgregor.deborah@uis.edu.

Director of Harvard University Press to speak

Dr. William P. Sisler (at left), director of Harvard University Press, will present a guest lecture titled "The End of Reading, the Future of Scholarly Publishing" at 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 9, in Brookens Auditorium at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Brookens Auditorium is located on the lower level of Brookens Library at UIS. The event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Sisler will address themes raised in the National Endowment for the Arts' 2004 report "Reading at Risk" as well as in Ray Bradbury's classic novel Fahrenheit 451.

Sisler's lecture is part of the University of Illinois Press’ 90th anniversary celebration and The Big Read Campaign, an NEA initiative designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. A reception hosted by event co-sponsor The Friends of Brookens Library will immediately follow in UIS' Public Affairs Center Restaurant.

More information

Expert on race relations to speak at UIS

Dr. James Loewen (left), author, professor, and expert in race relations, will be the special guest at the University of Illinois at Springfield on Thursday, September 11, when he will speak on "Lincoln's Unfinished Legacy: What It Means for Springfield." The presentation will begin at 7 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library, and is free and open to the public.

Dr. Loewen will discuss race relations in the region following the Lincoln era, including the city’s 1908 race riot. A native of Decatur, he is the author of Lies My Teacher Told Me, an acclaimed critical review of high-school history texts, as well as the book Sundown Towns, which studied the thousands of towns in America that required minorities to leave the city limits before dark. Sundown Towns was named a Distinguished Book of 2005 by the Gustavus Myers Foundation.

Loewen taught race relations for 20 years at the University of Vermont and was also on the faculty at predominantly black Tougaloo College in Mississippi. He has been an expert witness in more than 50 civil rights, voting rights, and employment cases, and he is the recipient of an Oliver Cromwell Cox Award for Distinguished Anti-Racist Scholarship.

His address is presented as part of the ECCE Speakers Series at UIS -- campus-sponsored lectures by speakers who exemplify engaged citizenship. The series is also a course in the Engaged Citizenship Common Experience, the distinctive set of courses taken by undergraduates at UIS to foster appreciation for and practice of diversity and the active effort to make a difference in the world.

Upcoming ECCE programs for September include the documentary "Springfield Had No Shame," written and produced by UIS staff member Dave Antoine, on September 15; a Constitution Day panel presentation on "Freedom of the Press in 2008" on September 17; and "Rethinking the Economics of Energy, Climate, and Food," with Dr. John Ickerd, on September 29. The complete schedule of speakers and topics for the 2008 Fall Semester is available at www.uis.edu/generaleducation/about/index.html, or contact series coordinator Kimberly Craig at 206-6245 or speakerseries@uis.edu.

UIS alumni society co-sponsors lunch and learn series

"Central Illinois: Patchwork of People" – a six-part Lunch and Learn Series examining the people and cultures that have influenced life in central Illinois – will begin in September at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Sponsors are the UIS Alumni SAGE Society and the Illinois State Historical Society. Programs are open to the public, however reservations are required.

Each session will meet from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in conference room C/D, lower level of the Public Affairs Center on the UIS campus.

Three sessions will be held in fall 2008 and three in spring 2009. Each will feature a buffet lunch and presentations by two experts on the day's topic. William Furry, director of the Illinois State Historical Society and a UIS alumnus, will moderate the series.

The series will begin on Tuesday, September 16, with "Why They Came." Featured speakers will be Heather Bailey, UIS associate professor of History, who will discuss "Blessings from the Motherland: Early Russian Immigration in Downstate Illinois," and Michael Wiant, director of the Dickson Mounds Museum, whose topic will be "Under Emiquon: What We Know about the First Illinoisans from Recent Archaeology in the Illinois River Valley."

The session on Tuesday, October 21, will focus on "How They Organized Their Communities." Speakers will be Christopher Fennell, assistant professor of Anthropology at the U of I at Urbana-Champaign, who will speak on "Footprint of Freedom: What Archaeology Tells Us about the New Philadelphia Community," and Eileen McMahon, assistant professor of History, Culture, and Civilization at Lewis University, who will speak on "Erin on the Prairie: A Brief History of Irish Settlements along the Illinois and Michigan Canal."

The topic for Tuesday, November 18, will be "What They Built." Speakers will be John Hallwas, professor emeritus of English at Western Illinois University, who will examine "Small Town Heritage: Illinois Townscapes 1870-1920," and Richard Hart, president of the Elijah Iles Foundation, who will talk about "Prairie Acropolis: Greek Revival Influences on the Architecture of Central Illinois."

Cost for each session is $20 per person; or $45 for the three-session fall series for reservations received by September 2. To register or for more information, go to www.uiaa.org/uis, or contact the Office of UIS Alumni Relations at 217/206-7395 or alumni@uis.edu.

UIS speaker series will begin with a look at modern Iran

Dr. Ali Ansari (left), professor of Iranian History and director of the Institute for Iranian Studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, will speak on "Iran under Ahmadinejad: Populism and its Malcontents" beginning at 7 p.m., Monday, September 8, in Brookens Auditorium on campus at the University of Illinois at Springfield. The presentation is free and open to the public. Brookens Auditorium is located on the lower level of Brookens Library at UIS.

Dr. Ansari's talk will explore developments in domestic politics in Iran, especially since the ascendancy of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and will discuss the role, influence, and consequences of the resurgence in charismatic autocracy, particularly its domestic and international repercussions.

In addition to his duties at St. Andrews, Dr. Ansari is an associate fellow of the Middle East Programme, Royal Institute for International Affairs (Chatham House); a member of the Council, British Institute of Persian Studies; and program manager of the Institute's Modern Iran Project. His teaching and research interests include development of the state in the modern Middle East; social and intellectual history; and Islam and the West. At St. Andrews, his undergraduate teaching includes the honors course Jihad, Community, and Identity: Islamic Political Thought Past and Present.

Dr. Ansari's books include Iran under Ahmadinejad (Adelphi Papers, Routledge, 2008) and Confronting Iran: The Failure of American Foreign Policy and the Roots of Mistrust (C Hurst and Co., 2006). More information about Dr. Ansari is available at www.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/staff/aliansari.html.

His address is presented as part of the ECCE Speakers Series at UIS -- campus-sponsored lectures by speakers who exemplify engaged citizenship. The series is also a course in the Engaged Citizenship Common Experience, the distinctive set of courses taken by undergraduates at UIS to foster appreciation for and practice of diversity and the active effort to make a difference in the world.

Upcoming programs for September include an examination of the 1908 Springfield race riot, presented by Dr. James Loewen, on September 11; the documentary "Springfield Had No Shame," written and produced by UIS staff member Dave Antoine, on September 15; a Constitution Day panel presentation on "Freedom of the Press in 2008" on September 17; and "Rethinking the Economics of Energy, Climate, and Food," with Dr. John Ickerd, on September 29. The complete schedule of speakers and topics for the 2008 Fall Semester is available at www.uis.edu/generaleducation/about/index.html.

For more information about the ECCE series, contact Kimberly Craig, series coordinator, at 206-6245 or send an e-mail to speakerseries@uis.edu.

Download a pdf file of an article titled "Iran under Ahmadinejad" by Dr. Ansari

IranunderAhmadinejad.pdf

UIS to host foreign and independent film series

The Division of Student Affairs at the University of Illinois at Springfield is sponsoring an Independent and Foreign Film Series on Friday nights this fall. All films will begin at 7 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium, located on level one of Brookens Library on the UIS campus. Admission is free and the public is welcome to attend.

Films include:

September 12 – Saint of 9/11 (USA 2006) An iconic image from September 11 shows a team of rescue workers carrying a priest's body from the rubble of the World Trade Center. The priest was Father Mychal Judge, beloved chaplain with the New York City Fire Department. A compassionate champion of the needy and forgotten, Father Judge wrestled with his own private demons while touching others in "powerful and miraculous ways." This film is not rated.

September 19 – Persepolis (France 2007, animated) This story of a childhood coinciding with regime change and war is based on the bestselling graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi. Growing up in Iran, young Marjane was a tomboy, but when she was 10 years old her world changed overnight. Girls could no longer go to school with boys, and in public they had to cover themselves in long dark robes. Then a relative is killed in the Iran/Iraq war and Marjane's parents send her to school in Austria. Though she is safe there, she never quite fits in. Rated PG 13.

September 26 – Ten Canoes (Australia 2007, in Aboriginal English) The film interweaves two stories set in Australia's distant past. In the first story, a group of men, led by a tribal elder, head into the forest to gather bark for canoes. Because the elder knows that one of the young men has taken a fancy to one of the elder's wives, he tells the group a story about the old laws, and a young man who had no wife. This film is not rated.

October 3 – Arctic Tale (USA 2007) A "heartbreaking" documentary of life on the arctic tundra that puts a face on the effects of global warming, this film is essentially aimed at children, but the message is sobering. Rated G.

October 10 – Kinky Boots (UK 2006) Charlie Price has inherited his father's failing shoe factory, and with it the realization that soon he will have to lay off many of its loyal employees. Enter Lola, a female impersonator in teetering high heels, and everything changes as the two men set out to conquer the "brave new world of sexy, cross-dressing footwear." Rated PG 13.

October 17 – 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama (USA 2006) Filmmaker/explorer Rick Ray spoke at length with the Dalai Lama during a private visit to his monastery in Dharamsala, India. Some of the questions Ray asked were: How do you reconcile a commitment to non-violence when faced with violence? Why do the poor often seem happier than the rich? Must a society lose its traditions in order to move into the future? The result has been described as "part biography, part philosophy, part adventure, and part politics." This film is not rated.

October 24 – I'm Not There (USA 2007) This experimental take on the life of Bob Dylan features six actors – including Christian Bale, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Cate Blanchett -- portraying different aspects the legendary musician's life and work. Rated R.

October 31 – Dr. Strangelove (USA 1964) Stanley Kubrick's comic masterpiece starring Peter Sellers (in three roles) has been called "the funniest, most poignant black comedy ever made, a vicious satire on the farcical aspects of the military and the cold war." Rated PG.

November 7 – Taxi to the Dark Side (USA 2007) An in-depth look at the Bush administration's use of torture in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay. The title is taken from the true story of an Afghani taxi driver, mistaken for a terrorist and killed during a torture session conducted by American troops. Rated R.

November 14 – 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (Romania 2007) Winner of the Palme d'Or at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, this "excruciatingly intense" drama is set in Communist Romania in the 1980s. Abortion and contraception are illegal, but a pregnant college student and her roommate turn to a black-market abortionist for help. The film realistically portrays the rough and gritty situations in which two young women must make decisions and deal with their consequences. This film is not rated.

November 21 – The Birds (USA 1963) Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller, loosely based on a story by Daphne du Maurier, begins as a light comedy, then slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all kinds suddenly begin to attack people with increasing viciousness. Rated PG 13.

For more information about any of these films, contact the UIS Office of Student Life at 206-6665.

UIS schedules Sunday Star Parties for people with disabilities

This fall, the University of Illinois at Springfield will once again hold special Sunday Night Star Parties for people with disabilities. Three Sunday evening sessions are planned – September 7, October 5, and November 9 – weather permitting. All sessions will be held in the UIS observatory. The parties are free, but reservations are required.

Featured objects for viewing will be Jupiter, the largest planet, and the moon.

Conducted by Charles Schweighauser and John Martin, UIS professors of astronomy and physics, the Sunday Parties use a telescope specially designed to give people with disabilities access to the sky. This is the first telescope in the world designed for, and dedicated to, people with disabilities.

The modified eight-inch Schmidt Cassegrain telescope employs a traditional optical design but with a fixed eyepiece that brings the image to the viewer. This eyepiece can be moved backward and forward in its tube as much as seven inches without refocusing, and can accommodate anyone from a large person in a high wheelchair to a child in the lowest, smallest wheelchair. A laptop computer runs the telescope, eliminating the need for a large keyboard and monitor that can emit too much distracting light on the dark observation deck.

To make a reservation for a Sunday Night Star Party, or for more information, contact Schweighauser at 206-6721 no later than Friday, August 29, for the September 7 Star Party.

"Foot in the Door" Fair for UIS students

The Career Development Center at the University of Illinois at Springfield will sponsor the 2008 "Foot in the Door" Fair for UIS students interested in part-time job, internship, and volunteer opportunities – both on- and off-campus – from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Thursday, August 28, in the lower level concourse area of the Public Affairs Center on the UIS campus. The event is free to all UIS students.

Students are not required to register in advance, however they will be asked to stop by a registration table at the event. At that time, programs will be available with detailed information about the employers and organizations present. Participants should bring copies of their resume and be prepared to briefly outline their education, goals, experience, and transferable skills. A business casual dress code will be observed.

UIS students who would like help preparing for the event can contact the Career Development Center, located in room 50 of the Student Affairs Building, telephone 206-6508 or e-mail careerservices@uis.edu.

During the 2007 Part-Time Job Fair, representatives from more than 20 off-campus organizations and a dozen on-campus departments participated, along with approximately 250 students.

This year, UIS on-campus offices represented will include Recreational Sports; English as a Second Language; Experiential and Service Learning Programs; Graduate Public Service Internship Program; Institute for Legal, Legislative, and Policy Studies; Illinois Legislative Staff Intern Program; Disability Services; Multicultural Student Affairs/Diversity Center; Student Life; and Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center.

Some 30 off-campus employers and organizations are also currently expected to attend, including Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum; Aflac; Buckle, Inc.; Capitol Radio Group; Family Service Center; Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach; Illini Bank; Memorial Health System; Mini O'Beirne Crisis Nursery; Planned Parenthood; Sangamon County Child Advocacy Center; Springfield Public School District 186; Springfield YMCA; State of Illinois-Central Management Services; Target; and Youth Service Bureau.

Information for recruiters interested in participating

Updated information for students

Recruiters and participants who would like to request disability accommodations should also contact the Career Development Center.

UIS Emiquon Field Station to host early morning event

"Asteroids and Thompson Lake," an early morning star-gazing event, will be held beginning at 3:30 a.m. on Wednesday, August 13, on recently restored Thompson Lake at The Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Preserve between Havana and Lewistown.

This program is free and open to the public and is presented by the University of Illinois at Springfield's Emiquon Field Station in cooperation with the Nature Conservancy.

The event will take advantage of the peak display of the Perseids Meteor Shower, the annual mid-August display of "falling stars." Then, as morning light washes out the meteor shower, participants can experience the awakening of the marsh as a wide variety of wetland plants and animals begin their day.

John Martin, UIS assistant professor of Astronomy/Physics, will help guide sky-watchers as they view the meteor shower. Michael Lemke, associate professor of Biology and director of UIS' Emiquon Field Station, will be available to share information regarding the station and associated wetland ecological research. Nature Conservancy staff will be on hand to discuss the Emiquon project, which is transforming more than 7,000 acres along the Illinois River from farmland to its natural floodplain state.

Participants should gather at 3:30 a.m. at the lakeside entrance to Thompson Lake, located directly off Illinois Rts. 97/78, approximately one-half mile north of the Dickson Mounds turnoff. A sign will be posted at the entrance.

Everyone entering the property will be asked to sign a liability waiver. Participants younger than 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult and must have their waiver signed by a parent or legal guardian.

Visitors who plan to witness the event from shore are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets. Experienced boaters may bring canoes, kayaks, or row boats to watch from the water; however motor boats are prohibited.

If the sky is overcast on August 13, the alternate date will be Saturday, August 16.

For further information, call The Nature Conservancy office at 309/547-2730 or send an e-mail to dhedrick@tnc.org.

WUIS to air special centennial coverage of the Springfield race riot

Public radio station WUIS will present special, original programming in observance of the 1908 Springfield race riot over three days – Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, August 6, 7, and 8.

This special coverage for the centennial of “The Riot” was produced by WUIS reporter Jenna Dooley. Segments will air each day on Morning Edition at 8:20 a.m. and All Things Considered at 4:50 p.m.

Illinois Edition will also present programming observing the centennial at 6:30 p.m. Friday, August 8, and at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 9.

While Springfield is known as the home of Abraham Lincoln, the city was also the site of a darker chapter in the history of American race relations. One hundred years ago this August, racial tensions erupted into three days of rioting that left two black men dead and many black-owned businesses burned to the ground. Several others, black and white, were injured in the mob violence.

These special programs will present a history and timeline of those bloody three days, including archived audio clips from first-person accounts. Listeners will also hear an interview with the oral historian who, some years later, collected interviews from members of the black community who had lived through the riot. Finally, a look at the status of race relations in Springfield today will include conversations with community members who are taking a leadership role in preserving the history of the past.

WUIS-WIPA is a listener-supported public radio service of the Center for State Policy and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Springfield. WUIS' mission is to satisfy a curious, societally engaged audience through programming and community outreach.

For more information or for the program schedule, visit www.wuis.org.

UIS to co-sponsor workshops on nonprofit fundraising

Two workshops designed to help nonprofit organizations focus on giving trends within Illinois and more effectively raise money in difficult economic times will be presented from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday, July 31, at the Wedeberg conference facility, Memorial Medical Center, in Springfield. The program is open to the public, however advance reservations are required.

Sikich and the Donors Forum are sponsoring the event in conjunction with the Central Illinois Nonprofit Resource Center at the University of Illinois at Springfield, Sangamon County Community Foundation, and United Way of Central Illinois.

The session "Understanding and Getting Your Slice of the Pie" will include a presentation of the Donors Forum publication Individual Giving in Illinois. Participants will also see how charitable giving in the state compares nationally and will learn what characteristics define donors locally.

"Foolproof Funding for Hard Times: What Works Now?" will examine where to find local sources of unrestricted funding and will share techniques for raising money during an economic downturn.

Cost to attend the event is $35 per person, which includes lunch.

Sikich is a leading provider of professional services in the Midwest. The Chicago-based Donors Forum serves as a resource for networking, education, information, and leadership on behalf of philanthropy in Illinois.

The Central Illinois Nonprofit Resource Center, housed in Brookens Library at UIS, is a cooperating collection of the Foundation Center, a national authority on philanthropy dedicated to serving grant seekers, grant makers, researchers, policymakers, the media, and the general public. As a member of their nationwide network of libraries, community foundations, and other nonprofit agencies, the CINRC provides free public access to various materials and databases.

The Sangamon County Community Foundation acts as a vehicle to link donors at all levels with appropriate agencies. Funds raised during annual United Way campaigns are invested in local programs to create lasting changes in individual lives and in the community.

For more information or to register, call the Donors Forum at 888-578-0090 or contact Pamela Salela, coordinator of the Central Illinois Nonprofit Resource Center at UIS, at 217-206-6633.

The Power of Photography in Social Movements

A presentation in the ECCE Speakers Series

Noon on Wednesday, July 16, in Brookens Auditorium

Larry Livingston, assistant professor of Social Work, will speak about the power that photographs can have to spur people to action on social issues.

Examples will be drawn from the works of Ansel Adams (environmentalism), Lewis Hine (child labor), Dorethea Lange (poverty), Gordon Parks (civil rights), and Jacob Riis (housing standards).

Participants will be challenged to think about the causes that concern them, as well as what images might convey that concern to others.

This event is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Kimberly Craig at 6-6245.

Funding for international research

An informal question-and-answer session with Cindy Smith, chief of the International Center at the National Institute of Justice

10:30 a.m. to noon, Friday, June 27, PAC 5A

Open to all faculty, staff, and students

Ask questions about the latest trends in proposal writing and international research funding.