From Provost Schwab

Colleagues,

As we come to the end of an eventful and sometimes challenging academic year, I simply want to express my appreciation for the faculty, staff, and students who make UIS the great place it is to learn, work, and play. This week’s faculty honors reception and commencement ceremonies are opportunities to celebrate, and I hope you are able to participate in some way. There is much more work ahead of us, and I hope you have a wonderful summer whether you are on campus, nearby, or far away.

Thanks for all you do for UIS.

Brandon

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Connect with the Provost

Invite the Provost

Inviting the Provost to your event just got easier! Use the "Invite the Provost: Event Participation Request" form to provide all necessary details in one place. This helps us let you know about his availability and ensures he has everything he needs to prepare for your event.

Important Initiatives

Academic Portfolio Review Update

Much appreciation is shared to those involved in curating and submitting the most recent data request for the review. Later this month, UEOs will be given an opportunity to review and validate the gathered metric data for their program(s).

HLC Quality Initiative Update

Thank you to everyone who provided feedback on our HLC Quality Initiative proposal. Your comments and suggestions will be carefully considered as the draft is prepared for submission to HLC. Updates on the proposal can be found on the Quality Initiative page of the OIRE website.

Opportunities to Make a Difference

Critical Thinking Star Faculty Fellow - Apply through May 14

The Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness (OIRE) and the General Education Council (GECO) encourage faculty to apply to be a Star Faculty Fellow for critical thinking assessment. This is an exciting opportunity for faculty to contribute to assessment of general education at UIS. Over a two-year term, Fellows are provided a small stipend to identify signature assignments to be used for assessment, assess student work, and provide recommendations to GECO and the Provost’s Office for how to improve learning outcomes and assessment within general education courses. Applications will be accepted through the OIRE website through May 14, 2025.

Making a Difference in Health and Society

Fifteen UIS faculty participated in the March 15 Research Partnerships: Health and Societyevent organized by the Office of Research and Innovation. Faculty from diverse disciplines and university units came together for meaningful conversations, idea exchange, and the exploration of collaborative research opportunities. We look forward to seeing the exciting research projects and meaningful collaborations that will emerge from these partnerships.

News Worth Celebrating

Faculty Mentor Awards Presented

Congratulations to four UIS faculty who were nominated by their students and selected to receive Faculty Mentor Awards at STARS in business and natural sciences:

1. Business area: Dr. Md Rasel Al Mamun, Assistant Professor, Management Information Systems
2. Business area: Dr. Rishikesh Sahay, Assistant Professor, Management Information Systems
3. Natural Sciences area: Dr. Brian Chen, Associate Professor, School of Integrated Sciences, Sustainability and Public Health
4. Natural Sciences area: Dr. Sunshin Lee, Computer Science Department

STARS Awards - Student Presentations and Creative Works

Congratulations to student award recipients for their presentations and creative works in six different categories at the April 10-11 Student Technology, Arts, and Research Symposium (STARS). 

• Amy Sherwin (student) with Shane Harris (mentor). Life Forms From Another Dimension (Arts)
• Manjusha Sumasadan (student) with Rishikesh Sahay (mentor). Enhancing Threat Hunting with Splunk and Generative AI: Leveraging Large Language Models for Automated Security (Business)
• Tori Kolanowski (student) with Peter Shapinsky (mentor). Panel: “Material Culture of Everyday Life in Early Modern and Modern Japan: Artifacts from the Illinois State Museum.” Tori Kolanowski presents Paper 1: Shrines, Travel, and Connection: Material Culture in Tokugawa Japan, c. 1700-1800. (Humanities)
• Micah Baptiste (student) with Noah Reynolds (mentor). Construction of a library of random mutations in the yeast tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase. (Natural Sciences)  
• C. J. Campbell (student) with Lan Dong (mentor). Utilizing Infographics to Educate Asian Communities about Fatty Liver Disease. (Social Sciences)
• Kwabena Opoku Frempong-Kore (student) with Rishikesh Sahay (mentor). Enhancing Malware Detection with Windows Internals and SIEM Integration. (Technology)

Meet Matt Suda

UIS' Director of Institutional Research since February 2025, Matt Suda talks a bit about his background and the significance of institutional research data to the university's mission. (Thanks to COLRS Multimedia Specialist Scott Moomaw for the video work!).

Resource Refresh

UAFR Tips: Year-End Labor Redistribution Deadlines

With year-end quickly approaching, UAFR has shared a few updates and reminders regarding labor redistributions and important year-end deadlines. View the UAFR announcement.

Newsletter Notes

Subscriptions and suggestions

Suggestions for future content: We are interested in hearing from you about topics you would like to see covered in the Provost’s Office monthly newsletter. Send content suggestions

Newsletter opt-in: The Academic Affairs newsletter is sent to employees in the Division of Academic Affairs monthly during the academic year. If the newsletter was forwarded to you or you found it on Campus Announcements, and you would like to be added to the distribution list, please contact Monica Kroft. We would be glad to send to you directly.

Important Dates

• Tuesday, May 6, 2:30 pm - Faculty Honors Celebration
• Friday, May 9, 7 pm - Commencement - College of Health, Science and Technology
• Saturday, May 10, 10 am - Commencement, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, College of Public Affairs and Education
• Saturday, May 10, 3 pm - Commencement, College of Business and Management

Find details about Commencement-related celebrations on the UIS Commencement web page.

Office of the VCAA/Provost
Contact: Monica Kroft