Excitement is growing at the University of Illinois Springfield as construction is underway on the new Library Commons building. The publicly funded project was made possible by a $42.5 million investment from the State of Illinois.

Jacob Friefeld, director of the Center for Lincoln Studies at the University of Illinois Springfield, has received the Caroline Bancroft History Prize from the Denver Public Library for “The First Migrants,” a book he co-authored with Richard Edwards. Published by Bison Books, the book examines the migration of Black homesteaders to the Great Plains from 1877 to 1920.

As the Fall semester concludes and the holidays are soon upon us, there is no better time than now to reach out to students, faculty, staff, alumni, community members, stakeholders and our Public Affairs Community to wish you all a most sincere “Season’s Greetings” from the Office of the Dean.