10.2.23

Happy fall, everyone!

Now that it’s officially apple cider and pumpkin season, watch my Instagram this week for some seasonal this-or-that questions. I’d love to know what you think. We saw a few glimpses of changing colors as we headed north last week for the first part of the UI System state tour with President Killeen, the UIC and UIUC chancellors, and other leaders. I had many opportunities to tout your hard work to UIS alumni, elected officials and others. Later this week, we travel through central, western and southern Illinois. Follow my travels via social media.

New Information

Homecoming this week!

Don’t miss out on all the fun activities Thursday, Friday and Saturday with the theme, “The Wizard of Oz: There’s No Place like Home with the Prairie Stars.” Let’s turn out to support our soccer and volleyball teams, and don’t miss the bonfire and fireworks. Full schedule of events.

Prairie Promise

I am thrilled to announce the launch of the Prairie Promise, a new four-year financial aid program for Illinois residents that will fully cover the cost of tuition and fees for first-time, first-year undergraduate students enrolled full time in on-campus degree programs starting in Fall 2024. To qualify, students must be eligible to receive MAP grant funding, which requires a demonstration of financial need.

Good Idea Fund

The Provost’s Office has announced the availability of limited one-time (non-recurring) funds to support implementation of “good ideas” from UIS staff and faculty that will help make a positive difference for the university. A wide range of ideas will be considered with the goal to fund projects with broad impact to campus. Requests up to $5,000 will be considered, but smaller requests are welcome. Identified matching funds are also welcome, but not required. The Provost Leadership Team will prioritize the allocation of funds. Applications submitted by Oct. 16 will be considered, and decisions will be announced by Nov. 1. All funds must be expended in the current fiscal year, and a final report from awardees is due no later than July 15, 2024. When you’re ready, submit your Good Idea Fund application. 

Annual Ethics Training Due Oct. 31

Please complete your annual ethics training by 5 p.m. Oct. 31 to remain in compliance. The training will take approximately 40-60 minutes to complete. Take the training.

Beaumont Endowed Lincoln Legacy Lecture

UIS will host the Beaumont Endowed Lincoln Legacy Lecture on “Abraham Lincoln and Digital Humanities” at 7 p.m. Oct. 6 at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Please register online to attend.

Innovate Springfield News

Sangamon CEO, an accredited high school and college dual-credit program that teaches entrepreneurship and leadership skills to high school seniors in Sangamon County, is joining Innovate Springfield. By partnering with Innovate Springfield, the program will provide more resources and a larger network to students. Learn more.

Innovate Springfield will host a new business startup education series for inspiring entrepreneurs, titled “iSPI Startup Map.” Bruce Sommer will lead the course every Thursday from Oct. 5 through Nov. 16.

Networking Summit for Local Government and Non-Profit Leaders

On Oct. 25, the UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership, College of Public Affairs and Education, and Win Together will host a Government Excellence Network Summit that will create a learning experience aimed at innovative strategies and practical solutions. Win Together is a company focused on helping local governments build cultures of continuous improvement to address capacity constraints, economic and operational challenges and improve the quality of life for both employees and residents of the communities they serve. Learn more, or register to attend.

Fall Accelerated Classes begin Oct. 23

Please encourage students to register for a fall accelerated class. This is a great opportunity for students to catch up, get ahead or simply take a course on an interesting topic. A full list of classes is available here. 

Information that Bears Repeating

Fall Graduation Deadline is TODAY

Please encourage students to submit their application if they are graduating this fall. Info is available on the Registrar’s website.

Flu Shot Clinics

The Sangamon County Department of Public Health will offer two flu shot clinics at UIS: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 4 and 9 a.m. to noon Nov. 8. Both clinics will occur in the PAC Board Room (formerly PAC E) on the lower level of the Public Affairs Center. Watch Campus Announcements for more details.

Student & Employee Mental Health and Well-being Event

There is still time to register for the upcoming system-wide event, Resilience, Resistance & Roaring: Integrating Belonging, Social Justice & Well-Being Into Our Educational Mission," scheduled for 1:30-3:30 p.m. Oct. 11 via Zoom. Please register soon to secure your spot at this important event.

Creating Newsletters

If you’re considering creating a newsletter for your department or unit, please review the Office of Web Services resources for newsletters through the website. If you have questions after reviewing the website resources, please contact Jessica Baumberger, director of Web Services.

Website newsletters are preferred over a designed PDF or image sent through email for the following reasons:

• Creating articles on your website for your newsletter keeps content up to date.
• Fresh content means search engine optimization is improved, driving more people to your website.
• It saves time that would have been spent on designing or laying out a visual newsletter.
• Your content could be picked up for other areas of the website, such as the employee hub Orbit.

SECA

The annual State and University Employees Combined Appeal (SECA) campaign is underway. I encourage you to donate to support a wide range of charitable organizations, addressing various issues such as education, health, poverty alleviation and environmental conservation. Learn more.

Celebrating our Star Power

Assistant Professor of Finance Serkan Karadas was named the PNC Distinguished Professor in Banking and Finance at UIS. The endowed professorship will provide Dr. Karadas with significant financial support to conduct research and other academic-related activities.

Shipra Gupta, associate professor of marketing, was named the 2023 University Scholar. Her research has been published in top-tier journals in her field, and she has won numerous awards, grants and recognitions for her work. As University Scholar, Dr. Gupta will receive $15,000 per year for three years to support research and other scholarly activities.

Our September Employee of the Month is Carol Marshall, admissions and record coordinator for the UIS Office of Admissions Processing. “She’s always willing to listen and help in any situation, work-related or not, and is a rock for her team. She puts in the effort to ensure every applicant’s admission process goes smoothly, and if there is a problem, she will find a solution,” said Carol’s nominator.

This was a long update, so thanks for reading all the way to the end. Amazing things are happening at UIS and in the community. Keep up the great work, everyone!

Janet

Janet L. Gooch, PhD

Chancellor

University of Illinois Springfield