Dear faculty,

The 55th annual UIS Commencement ceremonies will be held at the Bank of Springfield Center in downtown Springfield on Saturday, May 9, 2026.  There will be two ceremonies as follows:

Don’t forget to submit your February entry for the UIS Library Reading Challenge! If you enter one submission per month (February, March, and April), you will get a custom reading challenge t-shirt at the end of the challenge. Additionally, you will be entered into the February gift card drawing. The winner will be drawn next week!

We're thanking all UIS employees with an exclusive, sitewide sale at Sideline. Score 25% off Prairie Stars gear with code HOORAY25. Hurry! This one-day sale ends on Friday, February 27 at midnight PST.

Spring Break Hours for Dining Services

Starbucks

• Closed March 7-15.
• Open regular hours beginning March 16.

Food Studio

• Closed March 7 and 8.
• Open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., March 9-13.
• Closed March 14.
• Open 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., March 15.

The Prepare for Illinois’ Future program powered by Kaplan’s All Access License will continue, ensuring ongoing support for students across Illinois!

Our partners with Kaplan are thrilled that UIS students have continued access to industry-leading courses. Encourage students to not miss out on this opportunity! They can enroll in one of the 40+ courses that will help secure their path to success in graduate school and beyond UIS.

Join us for the next installment of the Chancellor’s Thinkers Series as we continue a year of dialogue, reflection, and discovery.

The Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries of Illinois (CARLI) is pleased to announce the availability of its application for the CARLI Member OER Initiative. This OER Initiative will provide financial support to CARLI member libraries to increase the awareness and use of Open Educational Resources (OER) at their institutions. Each CARLI member library may submit one proposal.  

As part of our All Access partnership with Kaplan, we are hosting a series of exclusive professional development sessions specifically for faculty and staff this semester. These opportunities are designed to provide you with the opportunity to learn more about specific topics close to the work you are already doing and how Kaplan All Access can help you reach your goals for your students intentionally as well.

Please see the schedule below and join us for the sessions that align with your department’s/team. Please click on the title to register to attend.

Phone Service Outage: Receiving Calls from Outside UIS

We are currently experiencing a hardware failure that is affecting campus phone service. At this time, outgoing calls and internal office‑to‑office calls are functioning normally. However, we are unable to receive incoming calls from outside UIS.

Replacement hardware is scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning. We will send a follow‑up email once full phone service has been restored.

The Chancellor's Awards

It's time to nominate a deserving colleague (or colleagues!) for the following awards: