PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 28, No. 16, March 19, 2009

Email to a friend

Brief Notes

School of Music

UI performances now accessible through comprehensive Web center

Attention fans of UI music makers. Did you miss the “Beyond Cool” performance of Miles Davis’ “Bobplicity” at last year’s Allerton Music Barn Festival? What about the Opera Program’s production of “Cosi fan tutte” last spring at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts? Wishing you could hear – and see – highlights of the Jerry Hadley Memorial Concert one more time?

Those performances – and many more by faculty members, students and guest artists of the UI School of Music – now are accessible online through the school’s new Media Center. A virtual trove of archival performances – some audio-only, some video – recently went live on the school’s Web site.

“This is a concerted effort – no pun intended – to have all of our flagship ensembles and faculty recitals accessible to the world,” said Karl Kramer, the school’s director.

In addition to past performances by faculty and guests artists, the site features concerts by university bands, orchestras and choirs, as well as opera productions. Also featured are selections from programs of annual events, including the Allerton Music Barn and Summer Jazz festivals.

Kramer said the site’s intended audience is broad and diverse.

“There’s a huge audience – from current university students, faculty and staff members to alumni, researchers, prospective faculty and the community.”

Kramer said he expects scholars may be drawn to the site “because as a school, we premiere new works and perform and archive more obscure pieces that are harder to track down.”

The site also includes a niche for showcasing faculty recordings. Kramer said visitors to the site eventually will be able to click on the recordings to sample titles.

Another “coming soon” feature will be a section where visitors will be able to access publications by musicology, music education and theory professors.

Kramer said that while other music schools archive certain elements of audio and/or video, most have “somewhat intermittent,” less comprehensive content online.

“The feedback we’ve been getting from peers at Yale, Eastman and USC is phenomenal,” he said. Kramer added that when he presented the site to deans of some of the nation’s premier music schools at a recent meeting of The Seven Springs Group, “their jaws hit the floor.”

Office of the Provost

Web site offers budget news, sharing of ideas

A new Web site created by the Office of the Provost offers the latest news about the UI’s budget and provides opportunities for members of the campus community to share their ideas, suggestions and possible solutions for helping the campus address its financial and educational challenges during the months ahead.

The Stewarding Our Resources Web site is intended to be a reference and a venue for input and collaboration, Chancellor Richard Herman and Provost Linda Katehi wrote in their welcome letter posted on the site. “No matter where you are within the organization, you can participate in the decision-making process,” they wrote. “We must bring together our collective knowledge of the campus so that we can find ways to move forward in these difficult times and become stronger and more productive as a result.”

The site includes a virtual suggestion box called “Illinois Ideas.” Members of the campus community are encouraged to share their views and their ideas for helping the campus use all its resources in the most economical and efficient ways. Suggestions will be addressed in the Frequently Asked Questions segment of the site, which will be updated regularly. The FAQ section addresses many of the suggestions and concerns that people have raised through the virtual suggestion box and at the Jan. 22 town hall meeting at Foellinger Auditorium, such as reporting waste, potential personnel actions such as layoffs and furloughs, flexible and four-day work schedules, and why the university can’t simply reallocate its funds.

Since the Web was activated, people have submitted 150 suggestions through the Illinois Ideas suggestion box.

The site also contains information about four key initiatives – IT@Illinois, service centers, process improvement and energy conservation – that are under way and are aimed at better stewardship of resources.

Planet U

Climate change conference is April 8-10

A conference at the UI will bring together scholars from various disciplines and the news media to stimulate dialogue and share research on climate change and on humans’ ever-changing relation to climate. Current reporting on climate change is overwhelmingly driven by scientific projections and policy debates over industry regulation.

“Planet U: The Human Story of Climate Change,” to take place April 8-10, is expected to attract speakers from the sciences, humanities and the news media to encourage more effective communication among the academy, the media and the general public. The conference will emphasize the human story of climate change, from the volcanic catastrophes of pre-history, to the rise and decline of civilizations, to our own intensifying sense of vulnerability on a warming planet.

Among the speakers will be Brian Fagan, a professor emeritus of anthropology at the University of California at Santa Barbara, the author of four books on ancient climate change and human society; Michael Hawthorne, environment reporter for the Chicago Tribune; Lisa J. Lucero, a professor of anthropology at the UI whose research focuses on the emergence and demise of political power, water management, climate change and civilization; Andrew C. Revkin, the author of The New York Times blog “Dot Earth”; Michael E. Schlesinger, a professor of atmospheric sciences at the UI; and Dan Vergano, a science writer for USA Today.

“Studying the rise and fall of classic Maya kings and the critical role climate change played in their demise made me appreciate how similar stories are occurring today,” said Lucero, who has conducted research on the ancient Maya in Belize for 20 years. “I came away wondering what lessons we can learn from the past.”

More information about the conference, including a complete list of speakers and their research interests, is online.

College of Veterinary Medicine

Curriculum, primary care service debut at open house

From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on April 4, more than 300 veterinary students at the UI College of Veterinary Medicine will host the annual open house, a behind-the-scenes look at the state’s only veterinary college.

The event is free and open to the public. Registration is not required. Free parking will be provided at the college.

Highlights:

•  A New Approach to Veterinary Education: Attend sessions with an admissions counselor to find out how to become a veterinarian. Participants learn about the “Illinois Integrated Veterinary Professional Curriculum,” a radically revised approach to veterinary education that the UI is implementing to emphasize clinical knowledge and skills throughout the four-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree program.

•  New Primary Care Service at Veterinary Hospital: Meet Dr. Kandi Norrell, who will be a neighborhood veterinarian located in a world-class veterinary hospital. Beginning in May, Norrell will provide “primary care” – similar to a family general practitioner – for area dogs and cats, allowing pet owners to develop an ongoing partnership for their companion animal’s year-round care at the UI Veterinary Teaching Hospital.

• Hands-on Exhibits and Learning: Visit more than 50 fun and educational exhibits and demonstrations for all ages. The focus is on the art and science of veterinary medicine and animal-related areas, including demonstrations of dogs on the rehab program’s underwater treadmill; obedience and police dog demonstrations; Wildlife Medical Clinic birds of prey; and exhibits from area breed rescue clubs. A list of exhibits is online.

While most people associate veterinary medicine with routine health care for dogs and cats, the profession offers many career options. Activities of the veterinary medical profession benefit every person in the state, either directly – by providing care to companion animals and livestock – or indirectly – through work in medical research, public health, food safety, disease surveillance, environmental health promotion and many other areas.

Vintage Vinyl Sale

Donate used records, CDs and more

Through April 10, the Vintage Vinyl used record sale will accept donations of LPs, CDs and audio equipment at Busey Bank offices in Champaign, Urbana and Savoy. Donations need to be brought in sturdy containers or boxes.

Beginning April 14, donations can be brought to the sale site at the former Baskin’s at Lincoln Square Village in Urbana from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Any items deemed not sellable or unsuitable may be refused.

The sale is May 16. An entrance fee of $5 will be charged from 8-11 a.m. Admission is free from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. After the sale closes for an hour of reorganizing, all items will be half price from 4-6 p.m.

The sale benefits WILL’s Illinois Radio Reader, a service that provides news and information to blind and print-handicapped audiences in East Central Illinois.

For more information, contact Deane Geiken, 333-6503.

Illinois Domain Project

Update e-mail return-address settings

It has been eight months since the illinois.edu e-mail domain was enabled. As of March 12, about 47 percent of all e-mail received on campus was sent to an illinois.edu e-mail address, while nearly 91 percent of all e-mail sent was from an illinois.edu e-mail address. These figures reflect unique recipients and sends and do not include e-mail that goes through departmental mail servers and bypasses the CITES e-mail relays. Out of all messages that go through the main relays, 26 percent is sent to an illinois.edu e-mail address and 81 percent is sent from an illinois.edu address.

If you have not already done so, update your e-mail settings to show that your e-mail is sent from an illinois.edu e-mail address. If you’re not sure how to do this, please contact your department’s IT person, the CITES Help Desk (244-7000 or consult@illinois.edu), or follow instructions online at https://wiki.cites.uiuc.edu/wiki/x/OoV6AQ.

Questions about the Illinois Domain Project can be directed to illinoisdomainproject@illinois.edu.

‘Prairie Fire’

First African-American town featured

The 2009 season premiere of WILL-TV’s “Prairie Fire,” to be broadcast at 7:30 p.m. March 26, tells the story of New Philadelphia, Ill., the first U.S. town founded by a free African American. The show features UI archaeologists, who are unearthing the remains of this once racially integrated town 85 miles northwest of St. Louis, and looks at its founder, “Free” Frank McWorter.

Although the site was designated a National Historic Landmark in January, it’s still largely unknown to the public. “Prairie Fire.”

Series producer Steve Drake interviews two descendants of McWorter, siblings Gerald and Sandra McWorter, who talk about New Philadelphia’s role in the Underground Railroad and their pride in their great-great-grandfather. He also talks to UI archaeologist Christopher Fennell, who is principal investigator at the dig near Barry, Ill.

In other stories in the first episode, viewers meet a photographer who is traveling across America documenting the many sculptures, monuments and other public artworks dedicated to Abraham Lincoln, including those located on the UI campus. The program also examines Lincoln’s evolving thoughts on slavery and colonization and how race played an increasingly important part in his political development.

In celebration of the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, every episode in the 2009 “Prairie Fire” season will include a feature story devoted to Lincoln’s life in Central Illinois. This companion series to WILL-TV’s documentary, “Lincoln: Prelude to the Presidency,” will explore Lincoln’s formative years riding the Eighth Judicial Circuit as a lawyer and how they shaped the man who became the 16th president. The Lincoln episodes were produced by Alison Davis Wood, who returns as “Prairie Fire” host this season.

For more about the 2009 season, go to will.illinois.edu.

University Library

Edible Book Festival will be March 31

Bibliophiles, book artists and food lovers will gather March 31 to celebrate the book arts and the (literal) ingestion of culture at the Fourth Annual Edible Book Festival.

The campus and local community are invited to experience this unique intersection of the book arts and cuisine, where participants create edible books that are exhibited, documented and then consumed. The public viewing begins at 11:30 a.m. at the University YMCA. An introduction and judges’ commentary follows at 12:15 p.m., with the eating of books scheduled for 12:45 p.m.

Edible art entries must have a connection to books as shapes or content. Prizes will be awarded on the basis of culinary merit. Last year’s entries included “The Pelican Beef,” “Lard of the Rings,” “Robinson Mouss-o,” “Peter Pan(cakes) With Berries,” and “To Kill a (Tequila) Mockingbird.”

For more information and to enter, visit www.library.illinois.edu/ediblebooks. This year’s festival is hosted by the University YMCA and the University Library.

College of Engineering

NAE regional meeting is April 2

“Engineering for Sustainable Global Water Resources” is the theme of the National Academy of Engineering regional meeting, hosted by the College of Engineering on April 2. The half-day event will be at the Beckman Institute.

The theme of the meeting reflects a key element of the academy’s “Grand Challenges for Engineering,” which is to provide perspectives on the looming global crisis of the 21st century: the availability, distribution and quality of water. Engineering at Illinois is home to several highly ranked departments and laboratories actively researching water-quality and infrastructure issues, and serves as the headquarters of the Center of Advanced Materials for the Purification of Water With Systems, a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center.

The event is free and open to the public; registration is required. For further information and registration, visit http://engineering.illinois.edu/nae.

‘Michael Ewald: A Remembrance’

Memorial concert is March 20

School of Music faculty members and students will celebrate the life of the late trumpet professor Michael Ewald at a memorial concert beginning at 7:30 p.m. March 20 at Foellinger Great Hall at the Krannert Center for Performing Arts. Ewald died Sept. 12.

“Michael Ewald: A Remembrance” will feature the music of Bach, Bernstein and Verdi performed by the UI Trumpet Ensemble, conducted by Jake Walburn; the Illinois Brass Quintet; David Harris, clarinet, and Jennifer Garrett, piano; and the UI Brass Choir with guest conductor Pete Griffin.

Ewald performed as principal trumpet in the Sinfonia da Camera and the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra and recorded with both groups. For eight years he was principal trumpet with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra.

The concert is free, although tickets are required. Tickets are available through krannertcenter.com.

‘The Global Consumer in a Postmodern World’

Consumer behavior is panel focus

Consumer behavior in an increasingly buyer-oriented world is the focus of a three-day conference that will bring an international panel of experts to the UI next month.

“The Global Consumer in a Postmodern World” will examine the growing importance of consumption in people’s lives, and how the rise of consumer entitlement is influencing the global marketplace.

“We’re looking at the lows and highs of consumption around the world, from poverty to luxury goods,” said UI marketing professor Cele Otnes, who organized the conference. “How do consumers cope with different socioeconomic and cultural conditions and how does that affect they way they participate in the marketplace?”

The conference will take place April 23-25 at the UI Business Instructional Facility. Registration is available online at www.business.uiuc.edu/globalconsumer.

Sponsors are the Office of International Programs and Studies, Center for International Business Education & Research, department of business administration, Stellner Research Fund and the Academy for Entrepreneurial Research. The conference is funded through a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Consumer behavior experts scheduled to speak at the conference:

• Eric J. Arnould, an anthropologist and professor of sustainable business practices at the University of Wyoming who studies consumer culture theory.

• Soren Askegaard, co-author of Europe’s leading consumer behavior textbook and a professor of marketing and management at the University of South Denmark.

• Eileen Fischer, a marketing professor at York University in Canada who has written extensively for entrepreneurship and consumer research journals.

• Annamma Joy, a marketing professor at the University of British Columbia whose research includes ethnicity and marketing, and gender and consumption.

• Pauline Maclaran, a University of London marketing professor whose research includes cultural aspects of contemporary consumption.

• Laura Oswald, a UI professor of advertising whose studies include the effect of cultural contexts on consumers’ interpretations of advertisements.

• Madhu Viswanthan, a marketing professor at the UI whose research includes literacy, poverty and marketplace behaviors.

Otnes says the conference targets students in marketing, as well as anthropology, advertising, psychology, sociology and other disciplines.

“This conference will create an awareness of the breadth of global issues that pertain to consumer research, with real-life applications that range from sociology to communications and urban planning,” Otnes said.

University Ethics Office

Economic Interest Forms due April 22

The Office of the Secretary of State recently sent notification letters and forms to UI employees required to file a Statement of Economic Interests under the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act. 

All completed forms must be submitted to the UI Ethics Office by April 22 for review.  The ethics officer will review and forward all completed forms to the Office of the Secretary of State.

Send forms through U.S. mail to University Ethics Office, Human Resources Building, Room 20, One University Plaza, HRB 20, Springfield, IL 62703-5407. Forms should not be sent through campus mail.

Employees with questions about the criteria for filing may call the Ethics Help Line at 866-758-2146 or visit the University Office of Human Resources Web site at  http://illinois.edu/goto/sei or the University Ethics Office Web site at www.ethics.uillinois.edu/statements/. Questions about the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act should be directed to the Office of the Secretary of State at 217-782-7017.

University Library

VuFind offers alternate way to search

The University Library is asking for users’ feedback in testing a new interface to the Library catalog called VuFind that enables users to search and find library resources. VuFind is an optional, accessible alternative to WebVoyage, the library’s current Web-based public catalog.

VuFind is a simple search box similar in appearance to Google that allows users to search by author, subject, or title  and to limit  searches by language, format, genre and more. It allows users to request and renew items from the UI Library and any I-Share library. Users can focus on their home library catalog or expand their search to all I-Share libraries simultaneously to obtain up-to-the-minute item status and location information. The interface links to electronic full text when that feature is available and provides one-click links to book previews in Google Book Search for some titles.

“We are hoping that lots of people will try it, then click on the ‘tell us what you think of VuFind’ link and let us know what was successful, what could have been better, what additional functionality they would like to see,” said Peggy Steele, library information technology help desk manager. “The input we get from users will help us advise staff at CARLI on how the product can be further developed and made even more useful.”

To try VuFind in the Library catalog, visithttp://vufind.carli.illinois.edu/vf-uiu/.

To request an item, you must create a user account. Click on the “request item” tab or on the “login” button at the top of the screen. Then click on “create new account.” Supply the information requested. In the future, all you’ll need to do is sign on with your VuFind username and password; you won’t need to remember your borrower ID to request materials with VuFind.

Software vendor Ex Libris and CARLI anticipate supporting WebVoyage for years to come, Steele said.

Back to Index