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University of Illinois

Friday, May 16, 2008

UI officials trying to cut energy costs

Night owls working on campus might find their offices a bit chillier in the winter and warmer in the summer as the University of Illinois ramps up its energy-conservation measures.

The UI wants to cut energy use in existing buildings by 10 percent in three years and roll it back to 1990 levels within five years under a plan announced Thursday.

UI's first female dean leaving for Northwestern

URBANA – The first woman to be dean of the University of Illinois' largest college is leaving to take a similar post at Northwestern University.

Sarah Mangelsdorf, dean of the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences since 2004, was appointed this week as dean of Northwestern's Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, effective Aug. 16.

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Co-founder of BET donates $4 million to UI School of Music

URBANA – The University of Illinois was not exactly a diverse place when Sheila Johnson arrived in 1966.

One of perhaps 150 black students on campus, the promising musician and future millionaire found a friend and mentor in Dan Perrino.

Monday, May 12, 2008

Speakers to new grads: Make Mom proud

The milling around, primping, pictures with family and friends, greeting classmates; the hey-we-made-its; the sighs, smiles and tears – joyful tears – were moved inside to the hallways of the Assembly Hall by a bout of weather more reminiscent of early April than mid-May.

But rain and wind couldn't upstage a graduation day at the University of Illinois on Sunday that also happened to coincide with Mother's Day.

Job market providing mixed results for new grads

U.S. employers cut 20,000 jobs in April, and the national unemployment rate was 5 percent.

Both facts should make new University of Illinois graduate Sebastian Seider even happier.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Paxton's Pacey kids graduating four at a time

PAXTON – Twenty-two years ago this week, the last of the Pacey quadruplets came home from the hospital.

It was a sweet Mother's Day for their parents, Brenda Pacey, a librarian, and her husband, Paxton attorney Steve Pacey, who had waited anxiously while their children's tiny lungs grew strong enough to let them breathe on their own.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Ethical decisions tied to brain's emotional centers

Maybe it's not surprising that we apparently react more with emotion than logic when deciding what we consider fair.

But a University of Illinois researcher and colleagues have now identified parts of the brain that come into play in such situations in a study designed to look at what goes on in our heads – literally – during moral decision making.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

UI researcher: Cells could be super sensors

Study focuses on detecting toxins – and giving warning

Don Cropek says he and his colleagues are trying to put a human on a chip.

Police warn about congestion as students depart

Campus traffic may be a bit more congested than usual for the next few days as University of Illinois students exit en masse.

Most on-campus students will move out of UI residence halls between Thursday and Saturday, so campus police advise local motorists to find alternate routes if possible.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Globetrotters chairman to address UI graduates

Mannie Jackson, chairman and owner of the Harlem Globetrotters, will be keynote speaker at the 137th University of Illinois commencement Sunday.

Jackson, a 1960 UI graduate, will speak at both the 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. ceremonies at the UI Assembly Hall.

Jackson served as the first black team captain of the Illini basketball team, and, along with fellow Edwardsville graduate Govoner Vaughn, was one of the first two blacks to earn varsity letters. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in education.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Scientists developing way to detect brain injuries

Soldiers can walk away from the battlefield with no visible wounds but still be suffering from traumatic brain injuries that might haunt them later even if they don't, as is also possible, immediately become a problem in combat.

Hidden injuries imposed on the brain by exposure to the high-pressure shock waves of explosives – a particular problem in Iraq and Afghanistan, where rocket attacks and improvised explosive devices are prominent features of the conflicts – can leave military personnel disoriented.

Records of academic honor made available digitally

On big weekends – mom's and dad's weekends, homecoming, commencement – the first floor of the University of Illinois Library is crawling with people.

Students, parents, grandparents and alumni of all ages walk the halls searching for names carved into bronze. Many pose for a photo by one of the Bronze Tablets or take a snapshot of the tablet itself.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

University of Illinois study confirms chocolate's benefit

Sorry, you can't expect to sit on the couch in front of the tube every night or in an office chair in front of a computer screen all day and munch your way to health on CocoaVia bars.

But the dark chocolate and sterols, chemicals naturally occurring in plants, in the candy from Mars do appear to lower blood pressure and cholesterol, University of Illinois researchers say.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Scientists find carbon-dioxide increase helps plants, hurts soil

While problems including hotter temperatures and an increase in pest populations raise concern about the potential effects of global warming and climate change on plants, including corn and soybeans in East Central Illinois, there are supposed to be some advantages as well.

For instance, higher levels of carbon dioxide, which plants use to drive photosynthesis, the process by which they convert the energy from light to sugar to fuel their growth, could result in bigger crops, as well as benefit the soil by adding organic matter to it.

UI chancellor, professor elected to group

URBANA – University of Illinois Chancellor Richard Herman and chemistry Professor Jeffrey Moore will have some noteworthy company at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences induction ceremony.

The two were elected Monday to the prestigious society, founded in 1780 by John Adams, John Hancock and other patriot scholars to recognize the best minds and most influential leaders of each generation.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

New Chief Illiniwek portrayers announced

URBANA – Logan Ponce is the latest Chief Illiniwek, and likely will be the second in a row who never gets to perform the famed halftime dance at University of Illinois events.

Ponce, a junior from St. Charles majoring in general engineering, was announced as the 37th Chief Illiniwek on a rainy Monday morning in front of the Alma Mater statue on campus. UI sophomore Rob Zaldivar of Palatine was announced as assistant Chief Illiniwek.

Opposition voiced over stereotypes at sponsored activities

URBANA – Homecoming isn't named specifically, but a new resolution from the University of Illinois faculty-student senate reaffirms its opposition to the use of racial stereotypes in university-sponsored activities.

The nonbinding measure approved unanimously Monday is a watered-down version of a resolution introduced last fall that called on the UI administration to sever its ties with homecoming. It was prompted by Chancellor Richard Herman's decision to overturn a campus policy that initially prohibited the use of Chief Illiniwek images on homecoming parade floats. Herman said the floats represented personal expression, and students who supported the now-retired Chief Illiniwek ended up marching in the parade wearing Chief apparel.

UI Senate OKs multi-year deals for non-tenure-track profs

URBANA – After years of deliberation, the University of Illinois will soon allow multiyear contracts for non-tenure-track professors.

Up until now, professionals in business, medicine, engineering or other fields were hired on a series of one-year contracts, with no provision for longer appointments. That didn't serve the university or the employees well, said Chancellor Richard Herman.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Researchers chart papaya gene map

Not many papaya trees in the fields around Champaign-Urbana to be sure, but a University of Illinois professor was in the middle of the event when scientists unveiled a landmark draft of the papaya's gene map this week.

The papaya genome already is revealing new information about angiosperms – or flowering plants, a category that goes far beyond the melonlike tropical fruit rich in vitamins A and C – and the gene map should be a font of knowledge particularly as it relates to sex determination in those plants, UI Professor Ray Ming said.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Students call for women's center

CHAMPAIGN – With the help of a table, a microwave and a few books, the entrance to a University of Illinois administration building was transformed temporarily into a women's center on Wednesday.

Male and female students rallied outside the Swanlund Building, home to the offices of several university administrators, to call attention to the need for a place that could house offices, resources and programming about gender issues.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Budget director decries costs of health care in visit to UI

CHAMPAIGN – Ever wonder what Americans are really getting by continuing to pay more for health care?

They're getting more health care, that's what.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

UI mechanics look into cause of plane's engine failure

SAVOY – University of Illinois aviation mechanics are trying to figure out what caused a UI training airplane's engine to fail Saturday, forcing the pilot and student to make an off-field landing.

Neither the instructor nor the student was injured in the landing, which occurred about 10:40 a.m. Saturday just south of Willard Airport in Savoy, according to Ginny Davis, assistant director of the UI Institute of Aviation.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Conference highlights alternative energy

If you've experienced sticker shock at the gas pump lately, a University of Illinois conference next week probably holds some interest.

Environmental Horizons, the 10th annual conference put on by the UI's Environmental Council, will look at biofuels, solar panels, wind turbines and geothermal heating, among other things.