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Taste of UIS lunchtime lecture series returns

August 16, 2005

SPRINGFIELD – The University of Illinois Alumni Association at UIS will sponsor A Taste of UIS: Distinguished Faculty/Alumni Lunchtime Lectures -- a series of three monthly presentations featuring distinguished UIS faculty and alumni -- to be held at Maldaner’s Upstairs, 222 South Sixth St., Springfield. The programs are open to the public; however, reservations are required.

The program for Wednesday, September 14, will feature Sharon Graf, UIS assistant professor of Ethnomusicology, speaking on “Incorporating Fiddle and Folk Music into the 21st Century Classroom: Why It Matters!” Winner of the 2004 Illinois State Old-Time Fiddle Championship and a participant in the National Old Time Fiddlers’ contest, Graf discusses how fiddle music has played a vital role in American life since Colonial times. (Lewis and Clark hired not one but two fiddlers to accompany their westward expedition.) Participants will enjoy a demonstration; learn more about folk music as a way to engage students in discussion of larger issues such as race, class, gender, and community aesthetics; and appreciate music in our everyday lives in a new light. 

On Wednesday, October 19, Tim Townsend, UIS alumnus and a historian at the Lincoln Home historic site, will present “Here I Have Lived:  The History of the Lincoln Home and Neighborhood.” Townsend will discuss the Lincoln Home and neighborhood from the time of the family’s residence through the National Park Service’s current restoration efforts, including a look at various proposals in the 140-year-effort to honor Lincoln’s memory by preserving his home.

The series concludes on Thursday, November 17, with a presentation by B. Joseph White, who became 16th president of the University of Illinois in February 2005.  Dr. White’s topic will be “Integrity in Leadership.” A former dean of the Business School and interim president at the University of Michigan, White has also been an executive in the private sector and a corporate board member, experiences that give perspective to his current role.  He will share personal insights and beliefs on the role integrity plays in academic leadership, as well as in society today.