Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Illinois recognized as a HEARTSafe campus

Illini Emergency Medical Services, a student program under the Illinois Fire Service Institute, received national recognition recently when the U. of I. was awarded the designation of a HEARTSafe Campus. IEMS accepted the award Feb. 24 at the National Collegiate Emergency Medical Services Foundation Awards Reception in Philadelphia. 

The award acknowledges the significant contributions IEMS made to the automated external defibrillator program on the Urbana-Champaign campus. These efforts included CPR training for more than 2,600 members of the campus community in the past year. 

The Urbana campus is the first in Illinois to receive the distinction, the only Big Ten university with the distinction and one of only 32 schools nationwide to be awarded the honor. In the five-year history of the HEARTSafe Campus award program, the U. of I. is the largest institution to receive the recognition. 

“I am very proud of the IEMS Program and what it has and will continue to do for the U of I.,” said Royal P. Mortenson, the director of the Illinois Fire Service Institute. “Since officially becoming a part of IFSI in 2016, the program has directly improved the overall safety of the U. of I. campus in a number of ways. This award is but one part of that effort.” 

“In early 2016, IEMS identified that we needed more AEDs on our campus and that they had the capability to train more members of the campus community in CPR,” said Brian R. Brauer, the associate director of IFSI and the IEMS advisor. “Becoming a HEARTSafe Campus was a two-year journey that allowed the student leaders within IEMS to use the national criteria as a goal to work toward. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign leadership has strongly supported this effort, and our campus is better prepared to deal with a sudden cardiac arrest as a result of their diligent efforts.” 

Read Next

Life sciences Portrait of the research team posing together.

Minecraft players can now explore whole cells and their contents

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Scientists have translated nanoscale experimental and computational data into precise 3D representations of bacteria, yeast and human epithelial, breast and breast cancer cells in Minecraft, a video game that allows players to explore, build and manipulate structures in three dimensions. The innovation will allow researchers and students of all ages to navigate […]

Arts Photo of seven dancers onstage wearing blue tops and orange or yellow flowing skirts. The backdrop is a Persian design.

February Dance includes works experimenting with live music, technology and a ‘sneaker ballet’

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The dance department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will present February Dance 2025: Fast Forward this week at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. February Dance will be one of the first performances in the newly renovated Colwell Playhouse Theatre since its reopening. The performances are Jan. 30-Feb. 1. Dance professor […]

Honors portraits of four Illinois researchers

Four Illinois researchers receive Presidential Early Career Award

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Four researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign were named recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers. The winners this year are health and kinesiology professor Marni Boppart, physics professor Barry Bradlyn, chemical and biomolecular engineering professor Ying […]

Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

507 E. Green St
MC-426
Champaign, IL 61820

Email: stratcom@illinois.edu

Phone (217) 333-5010