The University of Illinois Springfield’s ION Professional eLearning Programs have been honored with the 2021 University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA) Outstanding Program Award. ION will be recognized at the 2021 UPCEA Regions Week Conference later this month.

Hometown: Houston, TexasMajors: Exercise Science and PsychologyFuture Plans: Coach volleyball, earn a master’s degree in psychology

The University of Illinois Springfield and the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation (ILBCF) Speaker Series will discuss “Dismantling Systemic Racism through Education and Workforce Development Reform” during a Zoom virtual event from 5:30-7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 7.

The third session in the speaker series will focus on Pillar II of the Caucus’s policy pillars, which aims to reform education and workforce development by improving early childhood through adult learning.

The University of Illinois Springfield Center for Lincoln Studies will hold a workshop for K-12 social studies educators on “Lincoln, Antislavery, and Antiracism,” a premier of the film “Lincoln & Douglas: Touring Illinois in Turbulent Times” and the 2021 Mary and James Beaumont Endowed Lincoln Legacy Lecture Series discussion on “Lincoln and Anti-Racism” on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021.

Bio: Crystal E. Snodgrass, DPA Doctoral Candidate, is investigating whether the extent to which health care partners collaborate in a Medicare Accountable Care Organization (ACO) affects ACO performance on federal quality and cost measures. An ACO is a formal partnership established by health care providers willing to be accountable for the cost and quality of care for their patients in exchange for a share in the cost savings associated with improving care.