PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 24, No. 11, Dec. 2, 2004

brief notes

WILL-TV
Local R&B performance featured on WILL
The spotlight will shine clearly on R & B as Candy Foster and his band The Shades of Blue appear in their first televised special during WILL-TV’s Winterfest with “Candy Foster Live at the Iron Post,” to be broadcast at 8:30 p.m. Dec. 8.

“Candy is the hardest-working rhythm and blues entertainer between Chicago and St. Louis,” says Terry Des Jardins, the band’s rhythm guitar player. “I think he is truly a treasure that we have locally. He has the ability to make every person who comes in feel like he sees them. He has a natural ability to connect with an audience.”

In the local production taped by WILL-TV last spring at the Urbana club, Foster and the band perform “Take Me to the River,” “Licking Stick,” “Here I Am,” “Let’s Stay Together,” “Sweet Home Chicago,” “Brick House” and “Last Two Dollars.”

WILL-TV’s Tim Hartin, who produced the program, said Foster’s personality isn’t lost on tape. “We think he connects with the TV audience just as he does in person,” Hartin says. “He appeals to all age groups, from college kids to retirees.”

Other members of the band are Kevin Flowers, bass; Jeff Helgesen and Nate Hatcher, trumpet; Danny Philips, drums; Peter Roubal, tenor sax; and Ernie Thompson, guitar.

Spurlock Museum
A Latin American celebration
The Spurlock Museum will host a Latin American Celebration from 2 to 4 p.m. Dec. 5. Dance demonstrations by Combo Caliente will be presented at 2:15 and 3:30 p.m.; a tour of the museum with Spanish translation will be given at 2:30 p.m. Refreshments will be provided. The event is free and open to the public.

The event is being held in conjunction with the museum’s Focus Gallery exhibit, “A Celebration of Souls: Day of the Dead in Southern Mexico.” For more information, visit www.spurlock.uiuc.edu.

Conservation publication
Calendar, magazine available as gifts
Subscriptions to UI’s Illinois Steward magazine and the large-format Illinois Steward 2005 calendar are available for holiday gift-giving.

The quarterly full-color magazine features articles by UI faculty and staff members and other conservation professionals. The articles promote respect, preservation and responsible use of the natural world. The magazine is ideal for those who enjoy nature and want to learn about statewide efforts in promoting stewardship.

The 2005 calendar features aquatic habitats of Illinois.

For more information call 333-3650 or e-mail ilsteward@illinois.edu. To purchase online, visit http://ilsteward.nres.uiuc.edu.

Second Sunday concert
Woodwinds, brass featured this month
December’s WILL-FM Second Sunday Concert will feature chamber music for woodwinds and brass performed by clarinetist J. David Harris and friends. The free concert begins at 2 p.m. Dec. 12 at the Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion and will be broadcast live on WILL-FM (90.9/101.1 in Champaign-Urbana) with host Roger Cooper.

Performing with Harris will be Solomon Baer, bass clarinet; Eric Dalheim, piano; John Dee, oboe; Michael Ewald, trumpet; Jonathan Keeble, flute; Kazimierz Machala, horn; and Timothy McGovern, bassoon.

Updated 2003-04 data
Campus Profile available online
The latest version of the Campus Profile is now available online at www.dmi.uiuc.edu/cp.
The profile is a compilation of indicators for every department and administrative unit at the Urbana campus, with totals at the school, college, vice chancellor and campus levels. Ten years of data are displayed for most items. Users can view a standard set of items for one unit, or can select units and items to create a customized report. The output can be viewed with a browser or downloaded into Excel.

This year’s profile has additional detail lines within the expenditure and student-enrollment categories. New items include:

• Institutional expenditures broken out by ICR, royalties and patent income, and educational allowances.
• Grants and contracts expenditures.
• Counts of students in double majors.

Although a few data items will be added as they are received, all of the staffing, budget, expenditure, space, student enrollment, degrees, instructional units, and tuition are complete and accurate.

For questions or assistance in using the data, contact the Division of Management Information, 333-3551.

‘Let’s talk about it’
Book discussions on Jewish literature
A new book discussion series beginning in January hopes to bring together UI experts and interested readers, both Jewish and non-Jewish, for thoughtful talks focused on five works of Jewish literature.
Each book featured in the series, “Let’s Talk About It: Demons, Golems, and Dybbuks: Monsters of the Jewish Imagination,” looks at monstrous extremes of human (or non-human) behavior and how they help define what society calls normal. Michael Shapiro, UI professor emeritus of English and director of the Program for Jewish Culture and Society, will lead the monthly discussions with help from a variety of experts.

The first book, “Satan in Goray,” by Isaac Bashevis Singer, will be discussed Jan. 11. This Nobel laureate’s first novel, set in 17th century Poland, was published in 1935 and expresses the anxieties of that era. Bruce Rosenstock, professor of religious studies, will help lead the discussion.
Discussions will be from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Champaign Public Library, 505 S. Randolph St.
The books will be available for loan at the library. Advance registration is not required. For more information, call 403-2070.

For subsequent dates and books, see the Champaign Public Library’s Web site, www.champaign.org/whatshappening/adult_programs.html.

Partners in the project are the Champaign-Urbana Jewish Federation and the UI Program in Jewish Culture and Society. “Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature” is presented by Nextbook and the American Library Association. Additional support is also provided by the Friends of the Library and The News-Gazette.

Women’s Club
Holiday tea ready to be served
The Women’s Club at the UI will host a Holiday Tea from 4-6 p.m. Dec. 6 at the First Presbyterian Church in Urbana. Entertainment will be provided by the a capella singing group The Girls Next Door. Reservations are required and may be made at http://wc-uiuc.prairienet.org. There is no admission charge for Women’s Club members; guests are $5.

I space exhibition
Chicago architectural firm to be featured
The work of Chicago architectural firm Brininstool + Lynch will be featured in a new exhibition at I space, the Chicago gallery of the UI’s Urbana-Champaign campus.

On view at the gallery Dec. 10 through Jan. 29, “Brininstool + Lynch: Process” includes drawings, models, photography and installations of building details from the firm’s current and recently completed projects.

The 10-person architectural practice – formed in 1989 by David Brininstool and Bradley Lynch – has been described by Reed Kroloff, the dean of the School of Architecture at Tulane University, as “perhaps the most ‘Chicago’ of a clutch of interesting young firms in the city.”

I space is located at 230 W. Superior St., Chicago. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Japanese students to study at UI
Host families needed next spring
A dozen undergraduate students from Senshu University in Tokyo will be arriving at the UI early next spring to spend a month improving their English-speaking skills.

The Japanese students – seven women and five men ages 19 to 21 – will receive instruction from Feb. 19 to March 19, in a new spring program at Illinois’ Intensive English Institute (IEI). The program was designed so that the students would stay in private homes, rather than in residence halls, which is why IEI is looking for families who can provide a home stay for the students for the entire four weeks they are in Champaign-Urbana.

Families also are encouraged to involve their international students in typical family activities and outings, such as shopping, sports and movies. A stipend is provided to help compensate for the cost of room and board for home stays. Reference and background checks are required of selected home-stay host families.

The term “family” is defined fairly broadly, said Anna Kasten, a lecturer in IEI. “Individuals, families and couples, including ‘empty-nesters,’ are welcome to apply as hosts.”

An application is available online at www.iei.uiuc.edu/host/. The site has a link to frequently asked questions. For more information, call 333-6598.

‘Doug’s Rooms’
IUB hosts ‘Trading Spaces’ star
“Trading Spaces” designer Doug Wilson will sign copies of his book at 1 p.m. Dec. 4 in the Authors Corner of the Illini Union Bookstore. “Doug’s Rooms: Transforming Your Space One Room at a Time” offers insider secrets, tips and pointers for creating high-impact interiors. The book also includes step-by-step instructions for duplicating many of Wilson’s projects and effects seen on “Trading Spaces.”

Wilson, a Central Illinois native, was raised on the family farm located just outside Broadlands, and studied voice and theater at the UI.

Dec. 30 is campus holiday
Holidays just got a bit longer
Dec. 30 has been added to the previously announced holiday schedule thanks to a gift half-day each from UI President James J. Stukel and Interim Chancellor Richard Herman. Herman made the announcement in a massmail to faculty and staff members.

In addition, Tuesday, Dec. 28, and Wednesday, Dec. 29, will be designated as reduced-services days. The university will not be officially closed and essential services will be provided. However, offices will not be open for business and there will be no academic or student events.

The two reduced-service days are not holidays, and employees are asked to use accrued vacation or floating holidays to cover these two days. Academic or civil service staff members who wish to work during the reduced-service days should discuss suitable arrangements with a supervisor. Hourly (nonexempt civil service) employees not using vacation or floating holidays to cover this period may take time without pay or use accrued compensatory time. Nonexempt civil service employees who are required to work or who choose to work the reduced service days or the gift half-days will receive their regular hourly rate of pay.

Dec. 29 is a payday for civil service employees. Those who receive paper checks will be able to pick them up at a central location that day. Information will be disseminated to employees as soon as it becomes available.

The holiday period calendar can be viewed at www.oc.uiuc.edu/holiday_2004.

Civil service staff members who have questions concerning the reduced-services period should contact Corbin Smith, Personnel Services Office, at 333-3105 or cjsmith1@uillinois.edu. Academic staff members should contact Debi Stone, Academic Human Resources Office, at 333-6747 or debstone@illinois.edu.

Nessie knows it
Leave balances online
Vacation and sick leave balances will appear on employees’ December earnings statements, which will be accessible in NESSIE on Dec. 10.

When reviewing leave balances, note that the way this information is recorded and displayed has changed with the Banner system; however, university policy concerning leave has not changed. The policy as stated in the “General Rules Concerning University Organization and Procedure” may be reviewed at www.uillinois.edu/about/rules.html#sec41.

As a reminder, leave accruals and balances are shown in hours (not days). For further assistance in understanding the leave-balance information that appears on your earnings statement, refer to NESSIE at https://nessie.uihr.uillinois.edu/cf/announce/index.cfm?Item_id=797.

To view your online earnings statement, access the “Compensation” section of NESSIE at https://nessie.uihr.uillinois.edu/cf/comp/index.cfm and select the Earnings Statement link. For security purposes, you will need your university NetID and password as well as your NESSIE PIN to access your earnings statement.

The last appointment year was a transition year for leave reporting so review your leave balances carefully. If you have questions, see your unit/department HR contact.

Back to Index