Illinois Springfield in the News

Editorial: New chancellor deal must reflect times

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:11:00 +0000

The following is a portion of a State Journal-Register editorial published on March 12, 2010.

THE DUST-UP over University of Illinois Springfield Chancellor Richard Ringeisen’s retirement deal in the past week has been a vivid reminder of how starkly different economic times are now compared to a decade ago.

Ringeisen deserves credit for his request Wednesday that the U of I board of trustees revert to the terms of his original contract from 2001, scrapping the sweetened retirement package that would have paid Ringeisen more post-retirement salary and provided reimbursement for travel expenses.

IT'S UNFORTUNATE that public reaction to the retirement package — which would have paid Ringeisen his full current salary for 14 months, totaling about $319,000, plus reimbursement of travel between Springfield and his new home in South Carolina during his successor’s transition — became the main focus of Ringeisen’s retirement announcement. After all, it was under Ringeisen’s leadership that UIS became the institution it is today: a respected four-year university with a campus worthy of its U of I affiliation.

Download a PDF of the editorial:
20100312-Our-Opinion-New-chancellor.pdf

Star Parties at UIS to begin at end of March

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 16:01:00 +0000

The University of Illinois Springfield’s Friday night Star Parties will begin Friday, March 26, and continue through April 30 (excluding April 9), weather permitting.

Star Parties are held from 8 to 10 p.m. in the UIS observatory.

Conducted by UIS assistant professor of astronomy and physics John Martin, the Star Parties will use three telescopes to view a number of celestial objects, including the planets Mars and Saturn, the Orion Nebula, and the moon, when visible. Other double stars and star clusters will also be viewed.

Star Parties were featured in a March 12, 2010, article in the State Journal-Register.

Download a PDF of this article:
20100312-SJR-Star-Parties-at-UIS.pdf

UIS students to spend spring break helping Hurricane Ike victims

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:39:00 +0000

A record number of students from the University of Illinois Springfield will spend their spring break volunteering in Galveston, Texas helping with recovery efforts following Hurricane Ike.

The 45 students and 3 advisers will leave Springfield on Friday, March 12 and return to campus on Sunday, March 20. The group will stay at a local elementary school in Galveston with other students from across the country, volunteering for eight and a half hours each day. The students will be primarily helping with rebuilding and refurbishing homes that were damaged by the storm. Volunteers will also be doing community outreach, visiting home-bound residents, helping to feed the homeless and assisting in other community-related activities.

University of Illinois Springfield student volunteer Jaleesa Earthly says that a program like this is valuable not only for the students involved, but for the university as well.

Click here for audio

The UIS students are taking on the project as part of the One Mission Initiative, a faith-based organization. The group’s mission is to bring volunteers to Galveston to not only provide much needed help, labor, and support to the community here, but to also provide love, hope and encouragement.

Earthly adds that a program like this will also benefit the citizens of Galveston as well.

Click here for audio

The UIS Alternative Spring Break student organization was formed last year, when students took their first trip to Mandeville, Louisiana to help build homes for Habitat for Humanity following Hurricane Katrina.

This report on Alternative Spring Break was filed by WTIM Radio in Taylorville published online on March 10, 2010.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100310-TDN-UIS-Alt-Spring-Break.pdf

UIS' Ringeisen to get original retirement deal

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:35:00 +0000

After a week of controversy that he said had “just gotten crazy,” University of Illinois Springfield chancellor Richard Ringeisen will take his original retirement deal.

Ringeisen’s resignation from UIS will take effect Oct. 31. He will receive a year’s administrative leave at his current salary of $273,500, instead of taking a consultant job that would have lasted 14 months and would have added about $45,500 to his post-resignation income.

The agreement, approved Wednesday by the University of Illinois board, is the arrangement described in then-President James Stukel’s January 2001 letter offering the UIS position to Ringeisen.

The decision was featured in a March 11, 2010, article in the State Journal-Register.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100311-SJR-U-of-I-trustees-approv.pdf

U of I trustees vote to pay outgoing chancellor $273K

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:34:00 +0000

The University of Illinois board of trustees voted Wednesday to give Richard Ringeisen, the retiring chancellor of the Springfield campus, a one-year paid administrative leave after he steps down Oct. 31.

The arrangement, in which Ringeisen will be paid $273,500 but not have any job responsibilities, is a change to what was proposed last week. Under the former deal, Ringeisen would have kept his salary for 14 months while serving as a consultant to the president.

Ringeisen, 65, asked for the change, said spokesman Tom Hardy.

The agreement was featured in a March 10, 2010, Chicago Tribune Breaking News article.

Download a PDF of the article:

20100310-Trib-u-of-i-trustees-vote.pdf

UIS notebook: Class 2A boys supersectional draws largest TRAC crowd yet

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:17:00 +0000

The Class 2A boys basketball supersectional between Robinson and Decatur St. Teresa high schools Tuesday brought the largest crowd ever to The Recreation and Athletic Center on the University of Illinois Springfield campus.

A throng of 2,600 spectators, according to UIS athletic director Rodger Jehlicka, packed the stands of the four-year-old facility that holds nearly 3,000. Those in attendance saw Robinson and University of Illinois recruit Meyers Leonard win 81-60. That’s the fullest Jehlicka has ever seen TRAC.

About 1,100 spectators saw Springfield High edge Belleville Althoff 60-59 in overtime in a Class 3A girls basketball supersectional game March 1 at TRAC. The NCAA Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference held its men’s and women’s basketball championships there last weekend.

The TRAC numbers were featured in a March 11, 2010, article in the State Journal-Register.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100311-SJR-UIS-notebook-Class-2A-boy.pdf

Tourist town: Springfield hopes to increase tourism

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:42:00 +0000

The Capital Area Sports Commission recently partnered for the first time with the University of Illinois Springfield to host the Great Lakes Valley Conference men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. The National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II conference brought more than 300 players, coaches and staff and at least $100,000 to Springfield last weekend. In addition to pre-conference preparations, the sports commission provided beverages for the teams and recruited volunteers to take tickets at the door.

“We’re hopeful that we’ll see other tournaments,” says Amy Beadle, SCVB sales manager. “We want to put our best foot forward, make the city look good, make UIS look good, and hopefully bring other sporting events.”

The partnership was featured in a March 11, 2010, article in the Illinois Times.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100311-ILTimes-Tourist-town.pdf

UIS alumnus running as democratic state senate candidate

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:41:00 +0000

Josh Weger, a regional manager for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, announced his candidacy for state senate Tuesday.

He is running for the 55th Senate District seat currently held by Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon.

Weger is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Springfield, where he received a bachelor’s in economics and a master’s in political science. Weger was a legislative aide to former Illinois Agriculture Director and State Rep. Chuck Hartke of Effingham.

Weger was featured in a March 9, 2010, article in the Mattoon Journal-Gazette and Charleston Times-Courier.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100309-JGTC-Democratic-senate-candidate.pdf

Starry stroll at Lincoln Memorial Garden

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:40:00 +0000

Star gazers and animal enthusiasts get two for the price of free at Lincoln Memorial Garden March 12. Trek the trails with two UIS science professors and learn about the night sky and night animals. Dr. John Martin from the astronomy/physics program will have telescopes and teach about the nighttime sky. Biology department vertebrate biologist Dr. Matt Evans leads an owl-calling night hike and a presentation on nocturnal animals.

Star and Night Hike
Friday, Mar. 12, 7-9pm
Lincoln Memorial Garden
2301 East Lake Drive
529-1111
Free

The event was featured in a March 11, 2010, article in the Illinois Times.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100311-ILTimes-Starry-stroll.pdf

Illinois recruit delivers thrills to 2,600 at UIS

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:19:00 +0000

Being the 7-foot center of attention has meant a lot of pushing, shoving and occasional verbal challenges for University of Illinois-bound Meyers Leonard this basketball season.

Tuesday night’s Class 2A supersectional at the University of Illinois Springfield was no exception, but the Robinson High School senior kept his cool for the most part.

But as the Robinson Maroons were pulling away from the Decatur St. Teresa Bulldogs for an eventual 81-60 victory, Leonard saw a chance to make a statement for the near-capacity crowd estimated at 2,600 at The Recreation and Athletic Center.

The event was featured in a March 10, 2010, article in the State Journal-Register.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100310-SJR-Illinois-recruit-thrills-at-UIS.pdf

Hasara: U of I board may scrutinize future work contracts

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:14:00 +0000

A University of Illinois trustee hinted Tuesday that the board in the future might scrutinize more closely employment agreements such as the one that called for University of Illinois Springfield Chancellor Richard Ringeisen to receive a year of paid leave after his retirement as chancellor.

“Given our financial situation, a lot of things will be done differently at the university,” said trustee Karen Hasara of Springfield. “That could be one of them.”

Ringeisen’s hiring deal in 2001 called for him to receive a year of paid administrative leave -- at his current salary of $273,500 -- when he left the chancellor’s office.

Hasara's comments were featured in a March 10, 2010, article in the State Journal-Register.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100310-SJR-Hasara-U-of-I-board-might.pdf

IHSA 2A Boys Basketball sectional held at UIS

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 14:46:00 +0000

Meyers Leonard, a 7-foot University of Illinois basketball recruit, will be the featured attraction tonight when the University of Illinois Springfield serves as host for a Class 2A boys supersectional at The Recreation and Athletic Center.

The winner of the UIS Supersectional winner will play the winner of the Joliet Supersectional in the second game of the 2A state tournament at 8:15 p.m. Friday in Peoria.

Shuttle service

UIS will have overflow parking for tonight’s game and a shuttle from Lot B, which is located on the northeast corner of campus off University Drive. Shuttle service begins at 6 p.m. and continues after the game.

The game was featured in a March 9, 2010, report in the State Journal-Register.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100309-SJR-Leonard-to-play-at-UIS-tonight.pdf

Commish comes home: GLVC's Naumovich has come long way

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:15:00 +0000

Jim Naumovich, a Springfield native is now the face of the GLVC and has served as commissioner since 2000. He is back in his hometown this weekend for the GLVC basketball championships at the University of Illinois Springfield. The title games of the men’s and women’s conference tournament are today at The Recreation and Athletic Center.

Naumovich, the longest serving commissioner in conference history, oversees a 32-year-old league made up of 15 schools (soon to be 16 with the addition of William Jewell later this year) located in Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Wisconsin and Illinois. The league sponsors 17 sports.

Naumovich was featured in a March 7, 2010, article in State Journal-Register.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100307-SJR-Commish-comes-home-GLVC.pdf

Science meeting tracks Emiquon progress

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:14:00 +0000

The notion that all science is “cold and hard” was debunked nicely at the Emiquon Science Meeting Thursday.

Doyn Kellerhals, a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Springfield, presented her research on the bacteria that decompose leaves of silver maple trees. Bacteria are very difficult to tell apart until they are examined at a DNA level.

She is learning that bacterial communities change as leaves break down. And different bacteria are at work in different habitats.

Kellerhals reminded the audience that the small things really do matter.

“I really like talking about the fish and the ducks, but this is where it all starts.”

Kellerhals was featured in a March 5, 2010, article in the State Journal-Register.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100305-SJR-Emiquon-progress.pdf

In Illinois, Race Is Set for Governor

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:13:00 +0000

A full month after votes were cast in a primary, the race for governor was at last set in Illinois Friday. The campaign will pit a conservative downstate Republican lawmaker against the sitting Democratic governor, who must overcome a dire state budget gap as well as memories of the ousted Democratic governor Rod R. Blagojevich.

“This may have been the more desirable outcome for Pat Quinn,” said Kent Redfield, a political scientist from the University of Illinois, Springfield.

Redfield's comments were featured in a March 5, 2010, article in the New York Times.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100305-NYT-In-Illinois-Race-Governor.pdf

Leave with pay was part of Ringeisen's hiring deal

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:00:00 +0000

Richard Ringeisen’s contract when he was appointed chancellor of the University of Illinois Springfield in 2001 guaranteed him a year of paid administrative leave when he eventually left the chancellor’s office.

A letter sent in 2001 by then-U of I President James Stukel also envisioned that Ringeisen, who announced earlier this week he would retire as UIS chancellor on Oct. 31, could return to the ranks of tenured faculty members after that leave of absence.

When Ringeisen announced his retirement earlier this week, however, Ringeisen and U of I interim president Stanley Ikenberry agreed that, instead of a year’s paid leave, Ringeisen would serve as consultant for long-range planning and special assistant to the president for 14 months following his retirement.

Ringeisen was featured in a March 5, 2010, article in the State Journal-Register.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100305-SJR-Leave-with-pay-Ringeisen.pdf

UI-Springfield chancellor to spend next year as consultant

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:59:00 +0000

The chancellor of the University of Illinois-Springfield, who announced his resignation this week, will stay on an additional year as a special assistant, with his full chancellor’s salary.

Richard Ringeisen will resign as chancellor effective Oct. 31.

In a proposal to be discussed by the board of trustees next week, interim President Stanley Ikenberry will recommend that Ringeisen be appointed as chancellor emeritus.

Ringeisen was featured in a March 4, 2010, article in the Champaign News-Gazette.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100304-CNG-UI-Springfield-chancellor.pdf

UIS wins national award for community service

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:41:00 +0000

The University of Illinois Springfield has been named to the 2009 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning and civic engagement.

The Corporation for National and Community Service, which administers the annual Honor Roll award, recognized more than 700 colleges and universities for their impact on issues from poverty and homelessness to environmental justice.

According to the UIS Volunteer Center director Kelly Thompson, receiving this award shows how involved the university is involved with the community.

The award was featured in a report by WTIM radio in Taylorville on March 5, 2010.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100305-WTIM-Presidents-Honor-Roll.pdf

Editorial: U of I board should rethink Ringeisen deal

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:40:00 +0000

The following is a portion of an editorial published in the March 5, 2010, edition of the State Journal-Register.

"IT'S A SWEET DEAL, no doubt, for a university president signing off from a lengthy career in higher education.

University of Illinois Springfield Chancellor Richard Ringeisen gets $273,000 after he retires to serve as an adviser to the president of the University of Illinois. He won’t have to live in Illinois to do the job, and he’ll even get reimbursed for flying back and forth between his new home in the Carolinas and the Land of Lincoln."

Download a PDF of the full editorial:
20100305-SJR-Our-Opinion-U-of-I-board.pdf

U. of I. Springfield chancellor to get salary for 14 months after leaving post

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:06:00 +0000

The retiring chancellor of University of Illinois' campus in Springfield will retain his $273,500 salary for 14 months after he leaves the post this fall, according to a retirement agreement released Wednesday.

Richard Ringeisen, 65, the UIS chancellor since 2001, is expected to step down Oct. 31. He would then serve as special assistant to the president and consultant for long-range planning through Dec. 31, 2011, before retiring from the university.

During nearly a decade as chancellor, Ringeisen is credited with significantly boosting the Springfield campus' profile and transforming it into a more traditional university.

Ringeisen was featured in a March 3, 2010, Chicago Tribune report.

Download a PDF of this article:
20100303-TRIB-UofI-Springfield-chancellor.pdf

Ringeisen might retain salary after retiring

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:05:00 +0000

University of Illinois Springfield Chancellor Richard Ringeisen would make $273,500 annually as an adviser to the U of I president after his retirement this fall, under a proposal to be considered next week by the university board.

Under the agreement, Ringeisen would serve as consultant for long-range planning and special assistant to the president from Nov. 1 through 2011. His pay would be equal to his current salary as chancellor.

Ringeisen was featured in a March 4, 2010, report in the State Journal-Register.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100304-SJR-Ringeisen-might-retain.pdf

NCAA basketball comes to Springfield

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:47:00 +0000

This weekend, as Jim Naumovich returns to his hometown, he’ll bring the Great Lakes Valley Conference men’s and women’s basketball tournaments along with him.

Springfield native Naumovich is the commissioner of the GLVC, one of the country’s largest National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II conferences with 16 members in five Midwest states. The University of Illinois Springfield, which last fall joined teams like Saint Joseph’s College and Quincy University in the conference, will host the final four games of the two tournaments at The Recreation and Athletic Center on March 6 and 7.

Since the UIS Prairie Stars aren’t eligible to play in the GLVC tournament during their first year in the conference, the three-year-old TRAC will serve as a neutral location for advancing teams.

The tournament was featured in a March 4, 2010, article in the Illinois Times.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100304-ILTimes-NCAA-basketball-Springfield.pdf

Democrats taking applications for Ill. lt. gov.

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:11:00 +0000

Illinois' Democratic voters picked a pawnbroker as their candidate for lieutenant governor, and that didn't exactly end well.

The Democrats' approach to the candidate selection process is unprecedented in Illinois, according to political analysts. The closest the state has come in recent history is in 2004, when Republican Senate candidate Jack Ryan left the race and the party's central committee replaced him with Alan Keyes, a conservative who didn't live in Illinois at the time, said Kent Redfield, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Keyes went on to lose to President Barack Obama.

Redfield's comments were featured in a March 3, 2010, Associated Press article published in the Belleville News Democrat.

Download the article as a PDF:
20100303-BND-dems-start-taking.pdf

Local residents trying to reach relatives in Chile

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:01:00 +0000

Veronica Espina, a professor at UIS who grew up in Chile, also has ties to Santiago.

“I would say 90 percent of my family lives in Santiago. If it wasn’t for Facebook, I would be panicking,” Espina said. “I’ve heard from sisters, cousins and aunties, my family is well.”

Espina also has a few family members in Concepcion.

“I was really worried about them, but then I remembered that in February, people leave the city to vacation. They were someplace else, so they are OK,” Espina said.

Espina was featured in a March 2, 2010, article in the State Journal-Register.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100302-Central-Illinoisans-Chile.pdf

Ringeisen retiring as chancellor of University of Illinois Springfield

bwood8@uis.edu (Blake Wood) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 15:28:00 +0000

People take it for granted now that Springfield has a four-year university, University of Illinois Springfield chancellor Richard Ringeisen said Monday.

Ringeisen said that’s the proudest achievement he’ll take away when he steps down as UIS chancellor in October.

At times battling tears, Ringeisen, 65, on Monday announced his retirement after more than nine years at UIS.

“It sounds like a cliche, I guess, but I just feel it’s the right time,” Ringeisen said.

Ringeisen's retirement was featured in a March 2, 2010, article in the State Journal-Register.

Download a PDF of the article:
20100302-Ringeisen-retiring-as-chancellor.pdf