Happy Graduation (in September!)

Springfield’s class of 2020 was honored Saturday afternoon in two separate commencement exercises, deferred because of the pandemic.

UIS Chancellor Emerita, Susan Koch, conferred diploma covers to approximately 150 graduates. COVID protocols were in place for both ceremonies held at the UIS Sangamon Auditorium.

This story appeared on WTAX on Sept. 18, 2021.

Read the entire article online.

U.S. News & World Report ranks UIS as the top public regional university

Joey McLaughlin talks with Vickie S. Cook, who is the Acting Associate Provost for Enrollment Management and Associate Vice Chancellor for Online, Professional and Engaged Learning about a new ranking by U.S. News and World Report and about the UIS adopting the Common App, and waiving the application fee.

This interview occurred on Sept. 17, 2021.

Listen to the entire interview online.

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Pandemic heightening food insecurity for college students

The pandemic heightened food insecurity for families across Illinois.

Now, research is showing students on college campuses are also feeling the impact.

At the University of Illinois Springfield, they have a food pantry where students can come and get food at no cost.

Jill Hawkins-Wright, the director of the Volunteer and Civic Engagement Center at UIS, said students are tight on time and also paying for costs that come with schools like books and transportation.

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UIS to honor the Class of 2020 during two special commencement ceremonies

The University of Illinois Springfield will honor the Class of 2020 during two special commencement ceremonies on Saturday afternoon.

Officials said this will be an opportunity for 2020 graduates to walk across the stage in their cap and gown and have their names read in front of up to eight guests. The ceremonies will be held at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. at the UIS Sangamon Auditorium, which is inside the Public Affairs Center Building on Ernest Hemingway Drive.

This story was published on WCIA on Sept. 16, 2021.

UIS waives application fees through 2022-23 academic year

University of Illinois Springfield is waiving all application fees starting from now through the 2022-2023 academic year for all incoming students.

Officials said students can apply to the university through Common App. It is an online college application platform that serves more than three million applicants, teachers, counselors and advisors across the U.S. and around the world every year.

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UIS officials: COVID-19 continues to affect enrollment numbers

Fall enrollment numbers at the University of Illinois Springfield took a 5% plunge, school officials said Wednesday.

The total number of undergraduate and graduate school students enrolled in classes stands at 3,944 compared to 4,146 students in fall 2020.

Karen Whitney, UIS interim chancellor, said the COVID-19 pandemic was problematic in how the university's recruitment and admissions teams got out to high schools and community colleges.

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Springfield honors 20th anniversary of 9/11 with stair climb at Crowne Plaza hotel

Stair climbers commemorated 9/11 in a literal way Saturday. 

The climbers, among them those too young to remember first-hand the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in New York, The Pentagon in Washington, D.C., and a plane that crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, made their way up flights of stairs at the Crowne Plaza hotel to mark the revered day and to honor the first responders who climbed the steps of the World Trade Center that morning to rescue the injured.

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UIS Perspectives: Virtual Star Parties help community explore, enjoy fabulous night sky

The following is an excerpt from a column by University of Illinois Springfield Associate Professor of Astronomy-Physics John Martin. This column appeared in The State Journal-Register on September 12, 2021.

Everyone living in central Illinois is familiar with the beauty of a star-filled night sky split in half by the Milky Way. Even those of us living in towns and cities full of lights have just a short distance to travel to take in awe-inspiring views.

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