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  U. of I. named to Green College Honor Roll

  The U. of I. has been named to The Princeton Review’s 2014 Green College Honor Roll. It marks Illinois’ first appearance on the list, which includes 22 schools that attained a perfect score of 99.
  
  The Princeton Review ranked the sustainability of 832 schools. The project, now in its sixth year, evaluates schools on specific criteria, including student groups, the source of dining hall food, modes of transportation, committees, academics and waste practices. Details on the scoring are available online.
  
  In addition to newer buildings, such as the LEED-certified Business Instructional Facility, improvements have been made to many campus buildings to increase energy efficiency. Many water fountains across campus also include a water spout that makes it easy to refill water bottles, cutting down on waste from plastic bottles. Faculty members also have modified many courses to incorporate sustainability principles.
  
  In 2008, Illinois pledged to achieve a 20 percent energy reduction by 2015. Since 2008, the campus has cut its energy usage by 25 percent. Illinois also set a goal to reduce water consumption by 20 percent by 2015, and it has already been cut by 19 percent.

  

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  Assembly Hall renamed State Farm Center

  Representatives from the U. of I. and State Farm announced April 29 that Assembly Hall would be renamed State Farm Center in accordance with a 30-year $60 million agreement. The iconic campus building is set to undergo major renovations with completion of the project scheduled for fall 2016.
  
  The longtime relationship between State Farm and the U. of I. – which includes the State Farm Research and Development Center – along with the fact that the corporate headquarters are just 50 miles from campus, made for a natural partnership on the project.
  
  While the center was arguably the most famous architectural icon on campus, naming it before it was constructed in 1963 wasn’t an easy task. A campus committee in 1959 suggested a total of nine names. The committee noted, since the new venue was being built using student fees, that it not be named to memorialize anyone specifically. After much debate, city officials recommended, and the U. of I. Board of Trustees concurred, that “Assembly Hall” – the final name on the list – was the best fit.
  
  The committee fully expected the meeting hall’s name to change in subsequent years.
  
  The other eight names: “pavilion; exposition palace (center); coliseum; Illidisc; Ken Baily Arena (bowl); Illiniceum; Illini Colosseum; Zuppke Amphitheater (arena, bowl or center).”

  

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  U. of I. graduates to be together in outdoor ceremony on Saturday in May 2014

  For the first time in decades, the campuswide commencement ceremony for all colleges will be held outdoors at Memorial Stadium from 9:30 a.m. to noon May 17, a Saturday.
  
  The change from two ceremonies to one and from a Sunday to a Saturday is required because of extensive renovation work being done at State Farm Center (formerly Assembly Hall), which is across the street from the stadium in Champaign.
  
  “They will be in full construction mode at commencement time, so we didn’t have any other choice but to find a new venue,” said Laura Wilhelm-Barr, the U. of I. director of special events. “Instead of it being the last event of the weekend, commencement will be more of a kickoff point. Several other, smaller-scale graduation-related events, such as unit convocations, also will have to be moved to allow for the construction work.
  
  Graduates and ceremony participants will be seated on a stage and on the field, while spectators will sit in the west-side bleachers.
  
  Rain is a concern, Wilhelm-Barr said, but commencement will be held outdoors regardless of weather, unless it becomes dangerous. She said it’s likely the renovation project also will affect the 2015 graduation and commencement activities.
  
  Details are available at commencement.illinois.edu.

  

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  Street crimes unit provides another tool in fighting crime

  The U. of I. Police Department has created a versatile street crimes unit it hopes will stop crimes in progress or – with investigative pluck and a little luck – before they occur. The idea behind the special two-officer unit is to allow the department to more directly target enforcement efforts to whatever the daily need is. The officers normally will work overnight hours, but will have the flexibility to work anytime depending on need. The officers will work both plain clothes and uniform details.
  
  The street crimes unit gives the department the flexibility to better police large events, assist the narcotics unit in interdicting campus-based drug traffic or work on criminal investigations that may take months to complete.
  
  “We are able to react faster to any crime trend that’s occurring and we can respond to a variety of circumstances,” said Lt. Steven Trame, who leads the unit. “We’re not tied to shift-related activities.”
  
  He said drug enforcement will be a major focus because of the tendril-like nature of drug-related crime.
  
  “Sometimes these crimes go hand in hand,” he said. “A lot of the people involved in drugs are committing other crimes as well. The unit will be going to where the people are and will be out looking for suspicious behavior.”

  

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  Alma Mater sculpture restoration more extensive than originally thought

  Because deterioration to the Alma Mater sculpture is more extensive than an initial inspection of the exterior indicated, the restoration of the 5-ton bronze statue is going to cost more and take longer.
  
  The 83-year-old campus landmark, which had been at the southeast corner of Green and Wright streets in Urbana, was removed Aug. 7, 2012, and taken to the Conservation of Sculpture and Objects Studio in Forest Park, Ill., to repair years of water damage and corrosion that affected the appearance and structural integrity of the sculpture.

  

  Once experts were able to closely inspect the interior of the 13-foot tall artwork by U. of I. alumnus and artist Lorado Taft, they determined the 30 sections that make up the sculpture had oxidized and corroded. The interior of each piece will be cleaned, repaired, and treated in the same way as the exterior. Lasers are being used to remove the oxidation, returning the sculpture to its original bronze color, and then the metal will be sealed with a wax compound, which will be reapplied periodically.


  
  The original cost of the project was $99,962. The new work is expected to bring the total cost to no more than $360,000. The project is being paid for with gifts from alumni and friends to the Chancellor’s Fund.


  
  Originally scheduled to be returned to campus by May, the sculpture now is slated to be back in place on campus for the 2014 commencement.

  

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  Alma Mater alive during commencement

  And though her absence was felt most acutely as graduation neared, you couldn’t swing a sheepskin without hitting some likeness of the Alma Mater sculpture in May 2013.
  
  On campus, she was everywhere: an augmented reality Alma Mater floating realistically before anyone with the free Alma Mater AR app on their smartphone; green-screen technology inserted the missing Alma beside them in a photo in the Illini Union; Art and Design students created three-dimensional replicas of Alma that were set up at several campus locations; and student ambassadors dressed as Alma, Learning and Labor – in the familiar flowing robes – wandered around campus for impromptu photo-ops.

  

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  New master's program at Illinois will train translator and interpreters

  The demand for translators and interpreters is projected to increase by at least 20 percent by the year 2020; a new program at the U. of I. will offer a master’s degree to equip graduates to fill those jobs.
  
  The growing demand for translators (who convert text) and interpreters (who convert oral communication) is due in part to laws requiring all agencies that receive federal funding to make their services accessible to non-English speakers. But nongovernmental agencies, security firms and the health care, software and publishing industries also are experiencing an increased need for translators and interpreters. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicted that career opportunities in this field would grow by about 20 percent between 2010 and 2020; the Illinois Department of Employment Security projects an increase of 37 percent during the same period.


  
  The Center for Translation Studies, one of five comprehensive programs in the U.S., provides instruction in 37 languages.

  

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  Campus to participate in pilot program to enhance safety

  The U. of I. is one of nine Illinois universities and colleges chosen to participate in a pilot program to enhance campus safety. The Illinois Emergency Management Agency announced on April 22 the participants for the pilot program of Ready to Respond Campus, with a full rollout of the program expected in January 2014.
  
  “The Ready to Respond Campus program will recognize those institutions that meet rigorous standards for ensuring the safety of their students, staff and visitors,” said Jonathon Monken, the director of IEMA. “The Ready to Respond Campus designation will let current and prospective students and their parents know that safety is a top priority on the campus.”
  
  To attain the Ready to Respond Campus designation, colleges must demonstrate compliance with standards for hazard identification, operational and violence prevention planning, incident management, training, exercises and crisis communications/public education. Templates are available if needed to help schools document compliance with the standards.
  
  The other Illinois schools in the program: Augustana College, Rock Island; Columbia College, Chicago; Heartland Community College, Normal; Moraine Valley Community College, Palos Hills; Parkland College, Champaign; Richland Community College, Decatur; Southeastern Illinois College, Harrisburg; and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

  

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  Campus book-making machine has short press runs covered

  The era of judging a book by its cover won’t end anytime soon thanks to a new high-tech book-making machine being used at the Illini Union Bookstore. Last year, employees started using the Espresso Book Machine on site to format, print and bind textbooks, original academic and literary works, as well as some of the 5 million public domain or commercially licensed titles available online.
  
  The machine, the only one like it in Illinois, is just one of 30 in use in the United States. The entire internal binding process can be seen through clear plastic walls and takes less than 10 minutes.
  
  “As they need it, we can print it,” said Sue Steinfeldt, the bookstore’s assistant director of course technology. “We’re not a publishing house, but it’s another example of how the textbook landscape is changing.”
  
  Bookstore managers say they hope the book-making machine will catch on with faculty members and students looking to print their own original works, including campus-based textbooks, theses and dissertations.
  
  At 9 cents a page (plus any licensing fees for a specific title), the service is a bargain over print shop or publisher prices, say store managers. It also saves the bookstore money because of the potential for reducing unsold inventory.

  

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  U. of I. gives Penn State settlement money to local child welfare groups

  The U. of I. has shared the money it received from a legal settlement between the Big Ten and Pennsylvania State University. The money has gone to local child abuse prevention programs.

  
  The U. of I.’s share of the settlement, reached following the conviction of former assistant PSU football coach Jerry Sandusky for sexually abusing children, was $188,000.

  
  The U. of I. selected the United Way of Champaign County to assist with the distribution of these funds. The United Way, in turn, distributed it to four organizations, each of which received $44,586: the Child Advocacy Center of Champaign County, the Court Appointed Special Advocate program, Crisis Nursery, and the Rape Advocacy Counseling and Education program.


  
  United Way recommended that $10,000 of the funding be set aside for the four entities to work together with United Way to provide a program for the community focusing on education and awareness. 


  
  “The settlement is the result of a tragedy, but the hope is these gifts will serve a positive purpose and change people’s lives,” said Chancellor Phyllis M. Wise.

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