Proposal: Add on to the current AI server shared resource to continue to meet faculty and student needs. For students, the AI cluster provides hands-on experience with cutting-edge AI tools, preparing them for the rapidly evolving workforce. For faculty, it enhances teaching by enabling the integration of advanced AI models into coursework and classroom activities. For researchers, it supports computationally intensive projects in artificial intelligence, data science, and beyond, fostering collaboration across departments.

Amount funded: $5,000

Proposal: Develop a structured student creator program that empowers students to pitch, produce and share content that authentically represents student life. Through training, incentives and access to portable “creation kits,” this initiative will strengthen campus storytelling while giving students tangible benefits, including content for professional portfolios and career-ready skills in digital media.

Amount funded: $2,390

Proposal: Offer a two-day workshop to prepare undergraduate students for the modern, data-driven workforce. Through applied, tool-based learning, they will build competence in tracking and analyzing SEO performance, social media engagement, and customer behavior—skills that are increasingly in demand across industries. The workshop will foster a mindset of data-driven thinking, enabling students to translate analytical insights into actionable marketing strategies. Most importantly, it will enhance their career readiness and employability by aligning their capabilities with the current expectations of employers in digital marketing, analytics, and related fields.

Amount funded: $2,500

Proposal: Add service and community-based learning components to the UIS public health program by developing opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students to participate in and lead hands-on public health-oriented activities on campus and in the community.

Amount funded: $5,000

Proposal: Collaborate on celebrations and activities to bring staff together on our campus and provide a morale boost for everyone, while sharing our Prairie Pride.

Amount funded: $2,000

Proposal: Support UIS student participation in the 2026 National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), which will: Provide students with professional experience in presenting their work to diverse academic audiences; foster interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration; expose students to graduate school pathways and professional networks; highlight the innovative research occurring at UIS, thereby reinforcing the institution’s commitment to cultivating the next generation of scholars; elevate UIS visibility and further echo UIS is the top public regional university in the Midwest.

Amount funded: $5,000

Proposal: Offer a professional development conference in the spring of 2026 for local/regional mental health practitioners as well as the campus community similar to last year’s event.

Amount funded $2,000

Proposal: Take a small delegation to GVSU to explore operations and arrange meetings with our counterparts at the Knowledge Market, to get their thoughts as we finalize operational strategy and start to design training and focus on implementation of the Knowledge Market Model for the Library Commons.

Amount funded: $1,143

Proposal: Support student participation in the SCALE Conference (Student Creatives and Artists Leading Entrepreneurship), a two-day regional gathering dedicated to helping student artists develop the skills, tools, and networks needed to build sustainable creative careers.

Funded: $3,500

Proposal: Foster a strong sense of community among academic advisors on campus, which is crucial for creating a positive and collaborative work environment. Encourage employee engagement by providing activities that celebrate and recognize the valuable contributions of our academic advisors.

Amount funded: $1,000

Proposal: Build a community showing and discussion event grounded in the showing of the "What's Left Behind" documentary will allow hard conversations to occur on campus and in the community. The documentary demonstrates empathy clearly as a connector to those who do not have lived experiences. Furthermore, the documentary explores factors contributing to gun violence applicable to other forms of violence and transferrable to varied population sizes.

Amount funded: $1,000

Proposal: Create a cohort of ‘competencies ambassadors’ among teaching faculty to build on existing university initiatives, and embed NACE career readiness competencies and skills into assignments. The project will culminate in two showcases for faculty participants and students to share experiences and insights with the broader university community.

Amount funded: $1,000

Proposal: Expand on CHST’s successful STEM outreach in AY24–25 through new partnerships with KidZeum, the Illinois State Museum, the Illinois Department of Innovation and Technology (IL DoIT), and other community organizations. Building on our strong record at regional STEM fairs, we will create additional opportunities for K–12 students, families, and teachers to explore STEM pathways at UIS.

Amount funded: $5,000

Proposal: Create a community-centered, student-led initiative that confronts the problem that practices of democracy, particularly thoughtful deliberation and the ability to engage across differences, are decaying in 21st century America. The DCI will work across the diverse community in Sangamon County, Illinois to bring together local high school students, UIS undergraduates, and community organizations in a series of events designed to foster civic engagement and thoughtful deliberation.

Amount funded: $1,500 

Proposal: Design learning experiences that enhance UIS students' AI literacy through hands-on activities and teamwork under faculty guidance, while fostering meaningful community engagement and promoting the responsible and ethnical applications of AI knowledge. This will also serve as a strategic tool for outreach and recruitment of prospective students
who are eager to engage with emerging techs and real-world challenges.

Amount funded: $3,000

Proposal: Expand the summer life science research program at UIS for students enrolled at Lincoln Land Community College (LLCC), with an overall goal of recruiting talented
community college students from LLCC in the life science and in the long-term, to increase investment in research at UIS.

Amount funded: $5,000