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  • The original time capsule was replaced into the rebuilt gateway's wall Jan. 28.  Click photo to enlarge

    100-year-old time capsule found in Lincoln Hall gateway

    The unearthing of a 100-year-old box in the wall of the Lincoln Hall gateway last month is thrilling to Melvyn Skvarla, a Facilities and Services planner and the university's campus historic preservation officer.

  • Fred Kummerow

    100-year-old trans fat pioneer celebrates news of an FDA ban

    A Minute With™... Fred Kummerow, trans fat expert

  • One hundred years after the widespread fatalities of the 1918 flu pandemic, influenza is still a serious and deadly disease, says professor Christopher Brooke. Flu shots and new antiviral treatments could help thwart another pandemic.

    100 years after influenza pandemic, why should I get a flu shot?

    Influenza has no cure, but vaccines and anti-viral treatments could help thwart another deadly outbreak, says microbiology professor Christopher Brooke.

  • Tamara Chaplin

    100 years ago: The Christmas Truce of World War I

    A Minute With™... Tamara Chaplin, a University of Illinois historian of modern France

  • Physics and astronomy professor Stuart Shapiro used data from a computer simulation that solves Einsteins equations of general relativity to create a visualization of merging binary black holes.

    100 years of relativity: How has Einstein's theory shaped modern physics, astronomy?

    A Minute With...™ U. of I. physicist Stuart Shapiro

  • 12 Illinois faculty awarded Blue Waters Professorships

    Twelve U. of I. faculty members from a range of fields have been selected as Blue Waters Professors, an honor that comes with substantial computing and data resources on the Blue Waters supercomputer at the university's National Center for Supercomputing Applications.

  • 132nd commencement May 18 features Pulitzer Prize-winning speaker

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The 132nd commencement of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will be held in two ceremonies May 18 at the Assembly Hall, 1800 S. First St., Champaign.

  • Bruce Levine

    150 year anniversary of the Confederate surrender at Appomattox

    Bruce Levine, professor of history and expert on the Civil War

  • Bruce Levine

    150 years after the Confederate surrender at Appomattox

    The American Civil War came to an end 150 years ago with the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9, 1865. Five days later, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. What role did slavery play in the Confederate defeat? And how might history have been different if Lincoln had lived? University of Illinois historian Bruce Levine (pronounced La-VEEN) has written extensively about the war and its consequences. His 2013 book, "The Fall of the House of Dixie," traced how fighting the war transformed the South from within. He spoke with News Bureau social sciences editor Craig Chamberlain.

  • $151.5 million in private gifts support UI programs

    $151.5 million in private gifts support UI programs Gifts to the UI and the UI Foundation for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2005, totaled $151.5 million, according to Stephen K. Rugg, UI chief financial officer and treasurer of the UI Foundation. Of the $151.5 million received, $36.9 million was given to the UI directly and $114.6 million was contributed through the foundation. Rugg announced the private gift figures during the business session of the foundation's 70th annual meeting, held Sept. 23. The foundation is the private gift procurement arm of the UI. Of the $151.5 million in private support received last fiscal year, $55.4 million, or 36 percent, came from alumni and friends, $45.1 million (30 percent) was from corporations, $36.1 million (24 percent) was from foundations and $14.9 million (10 percent) was from associations. Private gifts support a number of programs across the campuses at Chicago, Springfield, and Urbana-Champaign. Last fiscal year, $30.4 million of the $151.5 million raised was added to the endowment. Student financial aid in the form of scholarships, fellowships and student loans received $4.9 million in contributions. Donors to the UI provided $22 million to academic divisions, $41.3 million for research, $10 million for buildings and equipment, $12.6 million for public service and extension, and $3 million for faculty and staff compensation. Gifts to UI athletics at all three campuses increased by $1.5 million over the preceding year totaling $7.1 million. Of the $151.5 million received last year, 77 percent or $116.1 million was designated by donors for current use. Those funds provided support to a number of programs across all of the university's campuses. Twenty percent or $30.4 million was invested in endowed funds, which are held in pooled investment accounts under the policy supervision of the Investment Policy Committee of the Foundation Board and the Finance and Audit Committee of the UI Board of Trustees. Earnings from endowed funds help support an array of university endeavors, including student financial aid, faculty and programs. Such investments also provide specified annuity and life-income funds for many donors. The UI's combined active and deferred endowment stood at $1.656 billion as of June 30, 2005. The active endowment, which represents 69 percent of the university's endowment picture, grew to $1.148 billion by the end of last June. Also included in the UI's total endowment is $374.3 million designated as revocable deferred gifts. Another $133.1 million of the endowment is in charitable trusts and other irrevocable gifts held by the UI Foundation and others. The foundation's endowment goal is to provide a distribution to the university each year to meet its spending needs coupled with a desire to protect the purchasing power of the endowment against inflation. Over the past 10 years, the investment return allowed the Foundation not only to meet the spending and inflation objectives, but also permitted a net real return to the endowment of 1.6 percent. Growth of the endowment during the past decade, Rugg said, has enhanced many important academic efforts at the UI. For instance, the library's endowment has risen from $10.3 million in 1995 to $29.6 million as of June 30 this year. Endowment for professorships has increased from $26.2 million to over $74.9 million. Graduate fellowships have climbed from $29.1 to $79 million. Endowed chairs have soared from $35.4 million ten years ago to $120.8 million by the end of FY 05. And undergraduate scholarships and student aid endowment jumped from $41.7 million to $154.9 million over the past 10 years. "Total market returns," Rugg said, "combined with new-gift development have produced a total endowment today that is nearly three times what it was 10 years ago, rising from $589.9 million to $1.656 billion. That translates to total endowment growth of 11 percent annually over the past decade."

  • Portrait of Hamed Kadiani, one of 16 Illinois students offered Fulbright grants

    16 Illinois students, recent graduates offered Fulbright grants

    Sixteen University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign students and recent graduates were offered Fulbright grants to pursue international education, research and teaching experiences around the globe this coming year. Another six Illinois students were named Fulbright alternates.

  • $1.9 million available for campus utility conservation projects

    More than $1.9 million will be available for campus projects through the Revolving Loan Fund this semester. Departments and units interested in submitting utility conservation work for consideration are encouraged to complete the application online.

  • Lenny Pitt

    2004 Distinguished Teacher/Scholars share talent for teaching

    Paul Kelter, a professor of chemistry and director of general chemistry, and Lenny Pitt, a professor of computer science, have been named Distinguished Teacher/Scholars.

  • 2005 was warm, dry year

    2005 was warm, dry year

  • Professors Walt Hurley, left, and Prasanta Kalita will help educators explore the benefits of inquiry-based and community-based learning and how teachers can incorporate these activities in their curricula. The seminar series, “Undergraduates Engaging in Inquiry,” meets from 3-5 p.m. Wednesdays in Room 428 Armory. The series runs through Nov. 28 and is open to anyone in the campus community interested in these topics.

    2007-08 Distinguished Teacher/Scholars

    The Distinguished Teacher/Scholar program recognizes outstanding faculty members who actively enhance teaching and learning on campus and supports innovative projects that recipients develop as part of the selection process. Award recipients serve as consultants and mentors to other faculty members and departments seeking to explore new instructional methods and revitalize their teaching programs.

  • 2007 ACES Academy for Global Engagement Scholars Selected

    2007 ACES Academy for Global Engagement Scholars Selected Eight scientists from the UI College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences have been selected to form the ACES Academy for Global Engagement class of 2007. The yearlong program encourages global awakening in areas of education, research and outreach. One member of each of the seven departments in the college and one UI Extension educator will represent the 2007 class. The academy involves a one-year commitment that focuses on global activities at the college, campus and national levels, and culminates in an international immersion trip. Each member of the academy is encouraged through the program by senior faculty mentors (called fellows) who have had scholarly experience on an international level. The scholars selected for the 2007 ACES Academy for Global Engagement:

  • 2008 Distinguished Teacher/Scholars announced

    The Teaching Advancement Board recently selected Annie Abbott, a professor and director of the Spanish & Illinois program in the School of Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics, and Rajeshwari Pandharipande, a professor of linquistics, of Sanskrit and of comparative literature, as its Distinguished Teacher/Scholars for the 2008-2009 academic year.

  • James D. Nowlan

    2012: Still seeking solutions on gambling, pensions, economy

    A Minute With™... James D. Nowlan, a senior fellow in the Institute of Government and Public Affairs

  • 2015-16 committee rosters available

    The annual summary of committee members on the Urbana-Champaign campus can be viewed online. In an effort to provide the most accurate information, Inside Illinois has compiled a list of URLs for units that appoint committees.

  • 2015-16 online courses offered Dec. 21-Jan. 15

    The U. of I. will again offer four-week online courses during winter break this year. Winter Session 2015-16 will run Dec. 21 through Jan. 15. The courses offer an opportunity for undergraduate degree-seeking students to take an active role in their education, learn time management, set goals and meet them as they work toward degree completion. Illinois faculty members teach the courses that are offered to U. of I. undergraduate students at the Urbana campus and nondegree students at other institutions.

  • 2016 Campuswide Commencement

    Exercises set for May 14

  • 2017 Martin Luther King Jr. celebration ponders ‘challenging times’

    With a theme of “Pursuing the Dream in Challenging Times,” the 2017 communitywide celebration of the life of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. includes a half-dozen events throughout Champaign and Urbana.

  • The annual Carbon Budget Project report found that among other trends, the global COVID-19 pandemic restrictions caused a record drop in CO2 emissions for 2020, says Illinois atmospheric sciences professor and report co-author Atul Jain.

    2020 a bad year in many respects, but what about global carbon emissions?

    The Global Carbon Project recently published the Global Carbon Budget 2020, giving world leaders access to data on atmospheric carbon concentrations, emissions and trends. Illinois atmospheric scientist Atul Jain was part of an international team of scientists that contributed data to the report. Jain talked about the carbon budget and this year’s findings with News Bureau physical sciences editor Lois Yoksoulian.

  • The third annual Ebert Symposium, exploring film and the media industry, will be online this year on three different dates, starting Oct. 8.

    2020 Ebert Symposium to explore changing times in film, media

    Films and the media industry in changing times will be the subject of this year’s online Ebert Symposium, on Oct. 8 and two later dates, with filmmakers, media professionals and academics part of the discussion. Participants will explore the effects of the pandemic, the racial justice movement and other factors on the media industry, documentary filmmaking and media representation.

  • Roger Ebert’s Film Festival will return in April 2021.

    2020 Roger Ebert’s Film Festival canceled

    This year’s Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, or “Ebertfest,” has been canceled due to concerns related to the coronavirus.

  • Roger Ebert’s Film Festival will be in September 2021, rather than April.

    2021 Roger Ebert's Film Festival moved to September

    The 2021 edition of Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, or “Ebertfest,” has been moved to early September due to uncertainties related to COVID-19.

  • 2023 spring semester graduates, Dean's List and Bronze Tablet honorees named

    The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has announced 8,209 Dean’s List students, 253 Bronze Tablet honorees and more than 10,500 graduates for the 2023 spring semester. 

  • Roger Ebert’s Film Festival, named for the late film critic and University of Illinois alumnus, opens April 18 at the Virginia Theatre in downtown Champaign. This marks its 20th year.

    20th Ebert Film Fest adds ‘The Big Lebowski’ to lineup, with ‘The Dude’ as guest

    “The Big Lebowski” is coming to the 20th annual “Ebertfest,” along with the man who inspired the movie’s central character, “The Dude,” as a guest.

  • All Ebertfest films are shown in the ornate 1,500-seat Virginia Theatre, a restored downtown Champaign movie palace opened in 1921.

    20th Ebert Film Fest to open with ‘The Fugitive’ and feature guest Ava DuVernay

    The 20th Ebert Film Festival will open with "The Fugitive" and feature Ava DuVernay, the director of the Oscar-nominated "Selma" and "The 13th," among its guests.

  • 252 faculty members, academic professionals retire

    Between Aug. 16, 2011, and Aug. 15, 2012, 252 faculty members and academic professionals retired from the UI, according to the Office of Academic Human Resources. Those who retired during that time were honored last spring at the campus's Academic Service Recognition Luncheon. Also honored were employees celebrating an employment milestone (10, 20, 30, 40 or 50 years) during that time.

  • 25th Annual CAS Lecture: Can We Feed and Fuel the World from Crops by 2050?

    Stephen P. Long, the Center for Advanced Study Professor of Plant Biology will deliver the 25th Annual CAS Lecture at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27 in the Knight Auditorium at Spurlock Museum. Long’s topic is “Feeding and Fueling the World from Crops: Will it be Possible by 2050?”

  • Photo of Communication professor Ned OGorman

    30 years after the Challenger disaster: A 'Where were you when...' event

    A Minute With...™ communication professor Ned O'Gorman

  • 32nd Marching Band Festival set for Oct. 19

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Fifty-six high school bands from across Illinois will compete in the 32nd annual Illini Marching Band Festival on Saturday (Oct. 19) at the University of Illinois.

  • 33 proposals funded through equipment-purchase program

    Thanks to a one-time program sponsored by the Office of the Provost and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, campus researchers will be able to use the latest in microscopes, wind tunnels, mass spectrometers, electron beams, surgical robots and a number of additional systems and tools that enable research and discovery.

  • 36 Illinois students awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

    Thirty-six University of Illinois students have won National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships, including 31 graduate students and five undergraduates. An additional 52 students were accorded honorable mention.

  • Jan Slater

    $4 million for one thirty second Super Bowl ad: Money well spent?

    A Minute With™... Jan Slater, an advertising professor and the dean of the College of Media

  • Ned O'Gorman

    50 years after the Cuban missile crisis

    A Minute With™... Ned O'Gorman, a professor of communication affiliated with the U. of I. Program for Arms Control, Disarmament, and International Security

  • 5K Road Race for Animals to benefit A Pet’s Place and Wildlife Medical Clinic

    Omega Tau Sigma, the professional veterinary fraternity, will host the 5K Road Race for Animals on Oct 25. Participants may run or walk, with or without a dog.

  • James Anderson

    60th anniversary of Brown v Board and recent affirmative action rulings

    A Minute With™... U. of I. educational historian James D. Anderson

  • christopher benson

    60 years ago this month, Emmett Till's death sparked a movement

    A Minute With...™ Christopher Benson, author and professor of journalism

  • Peter Fritzsche

    75 years later, why did Germans follow the Nazis into Holocaust?

    A Minute With™... Peter Fritzsche, a historian of modern Germany

  • 79th annual Illinois Fire College begins training Thursday

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - More than 1,000 Illinois firefighters and emergency personnel will be in Champaign-Urbana this week for the 79th annual Illinois Fire College, hosted by the University of Illinois Fire Service Institute.

  • 90-day health insurance contracts to be announced

    Note: With the everchanging benefits landscape, this article was out-of-date before the print issue of Inside Illinois was delivered. We encourage you to visit NESSIE for a full summary of the current health care choices and the status of Benefit Choice.

  • 99 faculty members, academic professionals retire

    Between Sept. 1, 2014, and Aug. 31, 2015, 40 faculty members and 59 academic professionals retired from the U. of I., according to the Office of Academic Human Resources.

  • AAUP hosts April 14 workshop on achieving tenure and promotion policies and procedures

    The Urbana chapter of the American Association of University Professors is sponsoring a workshop dealing with tenure and promotion issues. “Achieving Tenure and Promotion Policies and Procedures at UIUC” will be 2:30-4 p.m. April 14 at 314 B Illini Union.

  • AAUP hosts open meeting with former Gov. Jim Edgar on May 10

    The U. of I. chapter of the American Association of University Professors will host an open meeting with former Gov. Jim Edgar from 3 to 4:30 p.m. May 10 in the General Lounge of the Illini Union Room 210. 

  • Abbott Laboratories buys UI-licensed virtual biotechnology company

    CHAMPAIGN, Ill. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign today announced the sale of a UI-licensed virtual biotechnology company to Abbott Laboratories for $7 million. The company, BioDisplay Technologies Inc., was founded to commercialize technology that dramatically shortens the time it takes to discover various drugs that can be tested for their potential therapeutic application.

  • Abbott Power Plant hosts open house Nov. 6

    Energizing the U. of I. since 1941, Abbott Power Plant provides safe, reliable, environmentally compliant and cost-effective energy to support the mission of the university.

  • Abbott Power Plant

    Abbott Power Plant stack to be dismantled ahead of gas boiler upgrades

    Abbott Power Plant’s 77-year-old south stack will be taken down in much the same way it went up, one piece at a time. Crews this month began preparations to disassemble the 197-foot concrete stack at the plant, located on the U. of I. campus at 1117 S. Oak St. The work is expected to end this summer.

  • Aaron Hager

    A bumper crop...of weeds?

    A Minute With™... crop sciences professor and weed expert Aaron Hager