Vickie Cook, executive director of online, professional and engaged learning at the University of Illinois Springfield has been recognized by the University Professional Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) as the 2020 Central Region Outstanding Leader.

University of Illinois Springfield Professor of Political Science Jason Pierceson’s “LGBTQ Americans in the U.S. Political System: An Encyclopedia of Activists, Voters, Candidates, and Officeholders” was recently featured on Choice’s top ten editors’ pick list for June 2020.

Choice is a publishing unit of the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of the American Library Association.

The University of Illinois Springfield will offer 27 new accelerated eight-week courses for prospective and current students. Most will begin Monday, Oct. 19 and end on Saturday, Dec. 5. Others, like athletic training, will start on Nov. 2 and end on Jan. 15, 2021. 

“We know this has been a challenging year for many people,” said UIS Interim Chancellor Karen Whitney. “Many students may not have been ready to start classes in August due to the COVID-19 pandemic but are ready to start now.”

Donald Morris, a University of Illinois Springfield emeritus professor of accountancy, has written a new book, “Taxation in Utopia: Required Sacrifice and the General Welfare.”

The University of Illinois Springfield, Junior League of Springfield and the United Way of Central Illinois honored more than 50 Sangamon County volunteers and businesses during the virtual 12th annual Good as Gold Ceremony. The winners were announced in a video released Monday on the UIS Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center’s website.