News Bureau

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -Among the UI campus's largest non-white ethnicities, Korean American students arrive at college hoping to realize the liberal ideals of the modern American university, in which individuals can exit their comfort zones to realize their full potential regardless of race, nation or religion. In her new book "The Intimate University: Korean American Students and the Problems of Segregation" (Duke University Press, 2009), Nancy Abelmann, a professor of anthropology and of East Asian languages and cultures, explores the tensions between these liberal ideals and the particularities of race, family and community in the contemporary university.

Juggling the demands of being a faculty member, as well as trying to find time for yourself and family and friends can seem overwhelming. "The Joyful Professor" (Henschel Haus, 2010), by Barbara Minsker, a professor of environmental and water resources systems engineering, provides tips for balancing the many roles of researcher, teacher, coach and mentor, while maintaining a healthy personal life.

CHAMPAIGN,Ill. - Maryann Romski, an expert in language disorders in children, will give the annual Goldstick Family Lecture in the Study of Communication Disorders at the University of Illinois on Thursday (Oct. 28).

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A researcher at the University of Illinois is counting on a unique computer program to make it easier and more enjoyable for elementary school students who are at risk of academic failure to learn basic addition and subtraction facts.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - With employers increasingly reluctant to supply references for former employees in order to avoid legal liability, the creation of a centralized reference pool for workers may make labor markets in the U.S. more efficient, a University of Illinois expert in labor and employment law says.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A new study by researchers at the University of Illinois indicates that children who spend in excess of 30 hours per week in non-relative care through the age of 4 1/2 may be exposed to a social environment that popularizes aggression, leading some children to become more physically aggressive than peers who spend less time in nonmaternal care.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - African American college students who have internalized a positive racial identity - yet feel connected to other social groups - report higher levels of psychological well-being than peers who have externalized or conflicted racial identities and spurn cultural inclusivity, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois.

A Minute With™... Jennifer Delaney, a professor of educational organization and leadership

CHAMPAIGN,Ill. - Parents of preschoolers who want to explore and ask questions about the opportunities available at the new Booker T. Washington Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics magnet elementary school in Champaign are invited to a panel discussion Feb. 16 (Wednesday) on the University of Illinois campus.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - President Barack Obama, in his 2011 State of the Union address, said that postsecondary education is critical to the U.S. economic recovery, and reiterated his goal that 55 percent of 25-34 year-old Americans hold associate degrees or higher degrees by 2025.

CHAMPAIGN,Ill. - The College of Education at the University of Illinois recently announced a restructuring that is expected to better support collaborative research and teaching by merging three departments. The merger also is expected to help the college maximize resources, be more competitive in obtaining external funding and address high-impact research and policy initiatives on the state and national levels. The restructuring, which took effect Jan. 1, created a department - called Education Policy, Organization and Leadership - from the former departments of educational policy studies, educational organization and leadership, and human resource education.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A new study by researchers at the University of Illinois indicates that mothers with chronic substance abuse problems are more likely to make progress in recovering from addiction - and to reunite with their children in state custody - if they receive residential treatment plus community-based transitional services.

CHAMPAIGN,Ill. - Charter schools as agents of change in American education will be the focus of a March 15 symposium at the Illini Center in Chicago that will feature scholars who have varying perspectives on the issue.

CHAMPAIGN,Ill. - New teacher induction and mentoring will be the focus of the Illinois New Teacher Collaborative's sixth annual conference.

A Minute With™... sociologist Asef Bayat and education professor Linda Herrera

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - While social media such as Facebook and Twitter have transformed the way people communicate, educational practices haven't kept pace, relying on outdated, limited tools such as standardized tests that don't reflect the profound changes precipitated by the Web. An interdisciplinary team of experts at the University of Illinois is developing software that they believe will transform the practice of writing assessment - and potentially eliminate cumbersome proficiency testing such as that mandated by state and federal agencies as a result of the No Child Left Behind Act.

A Minute With™... educational psychology professor Philip Rodkin

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - One of the tests used in diagnosing prostate cancer is so stigmatized within Latino culture that men may be risking their lives to avoid it, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois. Complex cultural and gender beliefs about manliness and sexuality that discourage Latino men from seeking health care - and stigmatize the digital rectal exam as emasculating - could explain why some men don't seek care until the cancer has progressed, diminishing their chances for recovery.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A gap in reading and math scores still exists in lower grades, with boys continuing to outpace girls in math, and girls ahead of boys in reading, two University of Illinois education professors say.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois leads other states in the U.S. in ensuring that at-risk young children are provided with early childhood education, according to a new study by a researcher in the School of Social Work at the University of Illinois.

A Minute With™... Chris Roegge, the executive director of the Council on Teacher Education

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - For the U.S. to achieve President Barack Obama's goal of having the largest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020, educators, policymakers and families will need to address the barriers that discourage minorities from pursuing higher education. A new study by Lorenzo DuBois Baber, a professor of higher education at the University of Illinois, sheds light on the unique challenges facing African American and Latino males.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Kindergartners who listen to stories about their similarities with children who have disabilities and engage in activities with peers who have special needs are more socially accepting, develop better communication skills and are less likely to engage in bullying behaviors, according to a new study by two special education professors.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Reality television series such as "Intervention" that claim to provide unflinching portraits of addiction and treatment don't accurately depict either one, and, at worst, the shows' focus on the most extreme cases may deter some viewers from seeking help, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A new study by a scholar at the University of Illinois suggests that the U.S. may not be falling as far behind its industrialized peers in educating future generations of scientists as previously thought. Significantly more female and minority college students are majoring in and obtaining degrees in science, technology, engineering and math fields than reports have indicated if these disciplines, known by the acronym STEM, are viewed broadly.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Children who bully others are more likely to perpetrate sexual violence when they enter adolescence, according to a new study led by bullying expert Dorothy Espelage at the University of Illinois.

A Minute With™... Chris Lubienski, a professor of education policy, organization and leadership

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Policymakers may want to rethink how they determine when children with limited English skills are fluent enough to learn in English-only classrooms, says a new study by an education professor at the University of Illinois.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - African American children who have mainly African American friends may be viewed as "cool" and more popular by their classmates - but white students who affiliate mostly with other white students may be perceived less positively, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois.

A Minute With™... Evangeline (Vanna) Pianfetti, a faculty member in the department of educational psychology

CHAMPAIGN,Ill. - John Q. Easton will discuss his most recent book, "Organizing Schools for Improvement: Lessons From Chicago," in two lectures at the University of Illinois next week.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Policymakers may want to rethink how they determine when children with limited English skills are fluent enough to learn in English-only classrooms, says a new study by an education professor at the University of Illinois.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth are at greater risk of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts, bullying by their peers and truancy, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - With an increasing number of children "wired" from an early age, adept at playing computer games and surfing the Web by elementary school, future teachers need to know how to integrate educational games into their teaching practice, according to Wen-Hao (David) Huang, a professor in the department of education policy, organization and leadership in the College of Education at the University of Illinois. Huang wants to "game-ify" the classroom by teaching future educators how to develop engaging interactive games that they can use as effective instructional tools.

A Minute With™... Katherine Ryan, a professor of education

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A new study of more than 346 middle-school children indicates that boys are less likely than girls to intervene to protect a bullying victim, especially if the boy is a member of a peer group in which bullying is the norm. The study also suggests that anti-bullying programs that focus on bystander intervention and empathy training aren't likely to have much impact unless attention is given to reducing bullying perpetration within children's peer groups.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Companies that want to motivate workers to use electronic-based or digital training programs need to make training modules fun and stimulating whenever they can, and offer extrinsic incentives, such as wage increases and user support, when employees need extra enticement, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Hispanics living in the Midwest have the highest obesity rates among Latinos in the U.S., and in Illinois, the percentage of obese Latino children 6-11 years of age has doubled since 2001, standing now at 24 percent.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - No matter how many hours a day young women spend tweeting and texting, downloading electronic media or communicating online with co-workers or friends, many of them believe they're not as competent at using computer technology as the men around them. Since the Internet's infancy, researchers have observed a distinct gender divide in attitudes toward and adoption of computer technology, with many women tending to feel intimidated by it, a phenomenon called computer anxiety.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Brainiacs of all ages are invited to explore the mysteries of the brain and nervous system March 11 during an afternoon of games and activities at the Orpheum Children's Science Museum in Champaign. The event, F.I.N.D. Orphy, will kick off a new science education outreach program jointly sponsored by the Orpheum and the University of Illinois that highlights the research of the university's neuroscientists.

A Minute With™... Angela Lyons, a professor of agricultural and consumer economics and the director of the Center for Economic and Financial Education

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Students with cognitive and learning disabilities who engaged in a self-directed learning program were more likely to access mainstream instruction and achieve their academic or other goals, suggests research by Karrie A. Shogren, a special education expert at the University of Illinois.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Photos of happy, smiling faces on patient education websites may engage readers, but they also may have a negative impact on older adults' comprehension of vital health information, especially those elderly patients who are the least knowledgeable about their medical condition to begin with, suggests a new study.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Children's social goals at the beginning of a school year may predict whether they'll be more popular - or less popular - by the end of that academic year, a new study conducted at the University of Illinois suggests.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Incidents such as the one that took place at Normal Community High School on Friday (Sept. 7), during which a student armed with a gun briefly took classmates and a teacher hostage at the Illinois school before being subdued, provide sobering reminders that crisis plans are as imperative as lesson plans in U.S. schools today.

CHAMPAIGN,Ill. - Celebrated authors of books for children and adults will share their enthusiasm for their craft in a series of events as part of the College of Education's annual Youth Literature Festival, to be observed Thursday-Saturday (Oct. 4-6).

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Today's teachers face classrooms of students who cut their teeth using electronic communications, and two education scholars at the University of Illinois have just released both a software application and a new book that they believe will profoundly change the teaching of literacy for this technology-savvy group and generations to come.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - As Greece struggles to rebuild its shattered economy, humanitarian agencies worry about the impact that the nation's stringent reductions in wages and social services may have on vulnerable populations such as the Roma (also known as Romani, gypsies and travelers), many of whom live in extreme poverty on society's fringes.

A Minute With™... James D. Anderson, the Gutgsell Professor of Educational Policy Studie

CHAMPAIGN,Ill. - Karen Erickson, a literacy expert, will give the annual Goldstick Family Lecture in the Study of Communication Disorders at the University of Illinois on Nov. 8. Erickson's talk is titled "Conditions of Literacy Learning Success for Students With Significant Disabilities."