Champaign attended by 80 students and researchers from around the world.
The geological survey is part of the Prairie Research Institute at the UI.
Tamara Fuller, director of the Children and Family Research Center in the School of Social Work, has worked at the UI for 14 years.
"Since becoming director, she developed a multi-disciplinary team within the (center) from the fields of social work, psychology, sociology and law to collect, analyze, interpret and report child welfare data with an emphasis on making findings much more available and useful to practitioners and policy-makers," said Kathleen A. Kearney, a clinical professor of social work. "Her mantra of 'research with a purpose' has resonated within each CFRC staff member."
Fuller's primary area of research focuses on the safety of children in or at risk of being placed in foster care. She has investigated the impact of the Child Endangerment Risk Assessment Protocol on child safety in Illinois. Her program of research has examined how the use of the CERAP safety assessment tool by Child Protective Services investigators has influenced the number of children who experience repeated abuse or neglect, and which children and families are most at risk.
Fuller is the editor of the annual Conditions of Children in or at Risk of Foster Care in Illinois report, which is submitted to the federal district court. She also served on the planning team to develop a strategy to identify and overcome barriers to attaining permanency for youth who have been in foster care for longer than three years. The CFRC's work resulted in Illinois receiving a federal grant of more than $10 million to implement and test the model.
Wendy Harris has been the director of budget and resource planning in the department of mathematics in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences since 2006. Sheldon Katz, former head of the department of mathematics, praised Harris "for expertly managing business and facility matters while adapting these operations to support the mission of the department."
Her accomplishments include reorganizing the business office around a new service model, consolidating the business offices into one suite. "The result is that the entire operation runs more smoothly," Katz said.
She prepares grant proposal budgets, assists faculty members with grant submissions, researches grant opportunities and offers a departmental grants workshop each year.
Her efforts on the E-Learning committee have led to decreased expenses and increased revenue for NetMath, a successful program of online mathematics courses.
A 17-year UI employee, she has served in campus leadership roles in the Business Managers Group, and served as a consultant when UIC was considering establishing a similar group. She also is involved at the national level through her association with the National Association of College and University Business Officers.
Harris also has taken a leadership role on the feasibility study for the renovation and restoration of Altgeld and Illini halls. "The study lays the groundwork for an ambitious and first-rate renovation that would provide us with one of the best spaces for mathematics in the country," said Thomas Nevins, a professor of mathematics in his letter of support of Harris' nomination. "The trajectory we are on will make a real, vital difference for the department. ... It's hard to imagine how that could have taken shape without Wendy."
Susann Sears, a mobility and medical specialist in the Division of Disability Resources and Educational Services in the College of Applied Health Sciences, helps her students become successful in school as well as in their careers after graduation.
"Susann began serving as the liaison to the Career Center and began building relationships with members of the staff, providing training on disability, serving as a resource, and expanding partnerships so that DRES students with disabilities would feel comfortable seeking out help through the Career Center and the counselors there would feel skilled in helping our students," said Kim Collins, the assistant director of Academic Services for DRES.
A 13-year UI employee, Sears strongly advances the mission of DRES to ensure that qualified individuals with disabilities are afforded an equal opportunity to participate and benefit from all the UI has to offer. Serving as DRES liaison to the Career Center and Study Abroad offices, Sears has developed curriculum and workshops to support the high school to college as well as the college to career transitional needs of students with disabilities.
The most important skill that Sears models for, and helps develop in, her students is that of self-advocacy: for students to understand their disabilities and their disability-related needs and advocate for themselves to get those needs met.
