The following story was broadcast by WAND-TV on Sept. 25, 2023.

"Dozens of backpacks hung on display in the quad at the University of Illinois Springfield on Monday.

Each backpack had pieces of paper attached to it, which shared the story of someone's experience with suicide. Some of them were written by family members after they lost a loved one to suicide, others were written by those who attempted to take their own life.

The following story was broadcast by WICS-TV 20 on Sept. 18, 2023.

"The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) has been ranked the top public regional university in Illinois for a fifth consecutive year by U.S. News & World Report in 2024 Best Colleges rankings.

UIS was also ranked the sixth-best public regional university in the Midwest regional category.

The following story was broadcast by WCIA-TV 3 on Sept. 14, 2023.

"When you think of playing sports, you probably think of a basketball court. For some students at the University of Illinois Springfield, it’s a new esports gaming arena.

'It’s been a project, probably about four years in the making,' said Jay Swenson, the school’s assistant director of campus recreations. 'We visited other schools, tried to see what their models were and we kind of took what we liked from all of them.'

The following story was published by The State Journal-Register on Sept. 11, 2023.

"For the second consecutive year, enrollment at the University of Illinois Springfield has gone up, this time a 11% surge, school officials reported Monday.

A total of 4,661 students were enrolled for the fall semester, up from 4,198 students last year.

The campus saw increases this year in the number of freshman and transfer students.

A top administrator is out as HSHS continues to deal with fallout from cyberattack

The following story was broadcast by WAND-TV on Sept. 6, 2023.

"Today the University of Illinois Springfield debuted a cutting edge facility for its esports team. It comes as the National Esports Collegiate Conference is exploding in popularity, now governing 237 American college esports teams.

The following story was published by The State Journal-Register on Sept. 6, 2023.

"Who hasn't looked up at the night sky and pondered a thought or two?

'One of the few things we have in common (as human beings) is an experience with the night sky,' said John Martin, an associate professor of astronomy/physics at the University of Illinois Springfield. 'We experience it differently today than people did 20,000 years ago.

'What are the stages for kids growing up? It's dinosaurs first, then outer space. It's something that captures our imagination, that way."

I am delighted to share the remarkable news that the University of Illinois Springfield's online Master’s in Human Services program has achieved an impressive 4th place in

Balancing Budgets in a Postpandemic World: Insights from 'On the Edge' - A Discussion with Volcker Alliance and UIS Experts

In a recently concluded

The following story was reported by WICS-TV 20 on Aug. 29, 2023.

The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) has launched a new mobile app.

Officials say the app benefits students by making it easier for them to identify their academic advisor, schedule appointments and prepare a tentative drag-and-drop course schedule for an upcoming semester through the Advise U tool.

The following is a guest column written by Robert Kerr, executive director of innovation and opportunity at the University of Illinois Springfield, that was published by the Illinois Times on Aug. 31, 2023.