News Bureau

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- The University of Illinois Motorcycle Rider Program, now in its 24th year, will recognize its 10,000th enrollee Saturday.

Nearly 400 youth from across Illinois will be on the University of Illinois campus Saturday (May 2) to compete in the seventh annual Illinois 4-H Robotics Challenge.

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

A Minute With...™ Jennifer Delaney, expert on higher education finance

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A new study co-written by a University of Illinois expert in math education suggests that incorporating technology in high school-level geometry classes not only makes the teaching of concepts such as congruency easier, it also empowers students to discover other geometric relationships they wouldn't ordinarily uncover when more traditional methods of instruction were used.

Adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities on Illinois’ Medicaid wait list who are minorities, in poor health or unable to speak are more likely to have unmet service needs, a new study by University of Illinois researchers found.

A curriculum that has involved hundreds of Illinois youths in advocating for policy changes in their communities also could help schools fulfill a new state mandate that makes civics education a requirement for high school graduation.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Aging adults may joke about memory lapses and "early Alzheimer's." They may worry when they can't understand a drug plan or lose track of the characters in a novel.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Parents and educators who favor traditional classroom-style learning over free, unstructured playtime in preschool and kindergarten may actually be stunting a child's development instead of enhancing it, according to a University of Illinois professor who studies childhood learning and literacy development.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Members of the community can explore topics as diverse as opera, terrorism, flower gardens and the detective novel in programs to be offered this spring and summer by the Office of Continuing Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. One opera program features a 10-day trip in July to Verona, Italy, for an opera festival.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Self-administered surveys are a vital tool for researchers who gather sensitive information about adolescents. But young people who provide untruthful answers on questionnaires as pranks have the potential to throw researchers' findings way off track, particularly studies that involve minority groups.

James D. Anderson, the interim dean of the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, will become the dean effective Aug. 16.

James D. Anderson, the head of the department of education policy, organization and leadership and the executive associate dean for the College of Education, will become the interim dean of the College of Education effective Aug. 16.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Animation is a proven vehicle for biting comedy, a la "The Simpsons" and "South Park."

Teachers who have just completed their first year in the classroom are invited to attend the annual Beginning Teacher Conference  on July 17-18 at the University of Illinois.

Two Chicago educators who recently received Golden Apple Awards for their innovative teaching practices will be the keynote speakers at the 2018 Beginning Teacher Conference at the University of Illinois.

Helping early career teachers improve their instructional practices while fostering skills and relationships that promote professional development are the foci of the Illinois New Teacher Collaborative’s upcoming Induction and Mentoring Conference.

An annual statewide conference that focuses on helping new teachers prepare students to compete in science, technology, engineering and math fields in the global economy is expanding this year to include the arts.The STEM Beginning Teacher Conference, July 28-29 in Champaign, will be the third such event organized by the Illinois New Teacher Collaborative – but the first time that the agenda will include sessions focusing on instructional strategies for the arts.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Even as many schools face tightening budgets, their recruiters will be out in force Thursday (April 17) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, for the annual Teacher Placement Day.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Applied baccalaureate degree programs at community colleges not only offer a path for non-traditional students to earn a bachelor's degree, but they also help state and local governments address shortages in the workforce, according to a University of Illinois expert who studies how first-generation college students use community colleges as a bridge to higher education.

A Minute With™... Peggy Doty, who provides educational programs about coexisting with large predators for the University of Illinois Extension.

Direct college admissions systems benefit both students and postsecondary institutions, according to Jennifer Delaney, a professor of higher education at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

According to a new commentary in Disability and Health Journal, people with disabilities who rely on service dogs often are prohibited from bringing their working dogs into teaching and research laboratories. This one barrier can stop them from pursuing careers in science, says Joey Ramp, a researcher in the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and lead author of the commentary. Ramp spoke about the issue with News Bureau life sciences editor Diana Yates.

Revenue from collegiate sports TV networks may decrease cross-subsidization of athletic programs by other units at these colleges, but athletic programs' spending also seemed to increase, scholars Jennifer Delaney and Tyler Kearney found.

Educational psychology professor Kaylin Ratner found in a study of more than 200 adolescents that feeling a sense of purpose had a significant impact on teens' emotional well-being.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Illinois college students preparing to apply to law school are invited to attend Law School Day at the University of Illinois on Sept. 19.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Several staff changes will be taking place later this spring in the Office of the Chancellor on the University of Illinois campus.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Mary Kalantzis, a professor of education and former dean at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia, has been named the new dean of the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, pending approval by the U. of I. Board of Trustees at its May 11 meeting in Chicago.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Robert B. Hill, a nationally known authority on African-American families, will speak on "Understanding Black Families: Strengths and Challenges" in a lecture Nov. 12 (Tuesday) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Author and syndicated columnist Naomi Klein will speak Oct. 29 on the University of Illinois campus, on the topic "Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism in Latin America."

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - How to spot the early signs of autism and intervene will be the subject of a pubic talk Nov. 1 on the University of Illinois campus.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Many characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorders can be identified by the age of 2 and are predictive of which children will be diagnosed with these disorders when they're older, a new study suggests.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Is there such a thing as being too safe on the Internet? One University of Illinois education researcher believes there is, at least when teenagers are concerned.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - High schools need to work with community colleges to align their curricula better and to reduce the number of students who need to enroll in remedial courses, according to a University of Illinois expert who studies community college education policy.

The Super Bowl will feature car ads, beer ads, food ads – but probably none for carrots. Most food ads, game time or anytime, are pitching less-healthy fare. Kids are often the target. Do they understand what an ad is? Who made it and why? Advertising professor Michelle Nelson worked with an Illinois school district to develop an advertising literacy curriculum that also promotes healthy eating.

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. - The role of black women in civil rights and in 20th-century black history will be the focus of three presentations on Nov. 8 and 9 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Elizabeth Hoiem, an information sciences professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, examines how children’s literature and material culture responded to industrialization and shaped the class politics of playful learning in her new book “The Education of Things.”

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. -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.

Recessions and other economic downturns usually portend cuts in states' higher education funding, and U. of I. professor Jennifer Delaney and other experts explore the implications in the new book, "Volatility in State Spending for Higher Education."

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - More than 40 years after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down sponsored prayer and scripture readings in the nation's public schools, the role of religion in education remains a sharply divisive topic in many communities.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - A new book challenges popular assumptions about the superiority of private-school education and raises questions about the political imperatives behind current school-reform and policy initiatives that are based on market theory.

Before his service as director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and science advisor in 2019, meteorology professor Kelvin Droegemeier developed an online course designed to give researchers from all disciplines the skills needed to navigate the complex landscape of scholarly endeavor. Droegemeier thought that there was a lot of valuable information in those videos, so he wanted to share them with a much broader audience. 

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Much more cross-gender bullying - specifically, unpopular boys harassing popular girls - occurs in later elementary school grades than previously thought, meaning educators should take reports of harassment from popular girls seriously, according to new research by a University of Illinois professor who studies child development.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Adolescent boys who bully peers and engage in homophobic teasing are more likely to perpetrate sexual harassment later on, suggests a new study of middle-school students conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Brazilians with less education are more likely to self-report as being in poor health, according to a study using data from nationwide surveys distributed every five years from 1998 to 2013. The study also found that general subjective health did not improve over the study period, even though more people gained education throughout the study, indicating that other factors associated with poor education may need to be addressed to improve self-perceptions of health.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The presence of gangs in the vicinity of schools creates a pervasive climate of fear and victimization among students, teachers and administrators that escalates the level of aggression in bullying incidents and paralyzes prevention efforts, suggests a new study in the journal Psychology of Violence.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - In the battle against drugs in the 1980s and '90s, schools overwhelmingly embraced the DARE program before research came to seriously question its effectiveness.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Are public research universities still serving the public interest? Are low-income and minority students losing access? What are the consequences as these schools become more selective and competitive?