Hometown: Decatur, Illinois (currently live in Springfield)Major: Social WorkFuture Plans: Earn a master’s degree in social work

The University of Illinois Springfield Visual Arts Gallery is pleased to present “AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A BROWN BUFFALO II,” an exhibition by St. Louis-based artist José Guadalupe Garza. This exhibition will open on Thursday, Sept. 23, and will run through Thursday, Oct. 14. A reception will be held from 5:30 – 8 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 30 in the gallery.

After the first 10 days of classes, University of Illinois Springfield Fall 2021 census numbers show the total number of students enrolled in classes stands at 3,944 compared to 4,146 students in fall 2020.  

The number of students living on campus increased this semester. A total of 839 students are living on campus, up from 817 students in fall 2020.

The University of Illinois Springfield’s popular Friday Night Star Parties will be held in a virtual format this fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Participants can watch the virtual star parties on Zoom from 8-9 p.m. on Sept. 10, 17, and 24 and Oct. 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29. The Zoom link will be posted at uis.edu/astronomy/about/starparties/.

There's something strange growing at the University of Illinois Springfield Visual Arts Gallery. Fittingly, the gallery is attached to the Health and Sciences Building, because the current exhibit looks as though some wild experiments made their way into the art space. Only, these plants dance and sing. They are robotic. In fact, one resembles some sort of animal, with a little tail that wags if you touch it just so.