6.1.21
Happy Tuesday, UIS!
It’s finally feeling like summer on campus. Can you believe it is already June? This edition of the newsletter is a little lengthy; regardless of our summer status, there’s much to share and applaud.
New Information
New Website is Live!
The UIS website has an entirely new look and feel, effective today. The new site prioritizes recruitment of new students on a platform that provides easier access to update and share content with more functionality than the old site. Spend some time perusing our new digital space. If you are looking for some of your favorite spots, check the Quick Links page.
Campus Senate New Executive Board
Professor Celest Weuve has been selected as the 2021-22 Campus Senate Chair. Professor Sudeep Sharma was elected Vice Chair. Aaron Stewart will serve as secretary, and John Laubersheimer has been appointed Parliamentarian. Thank you all for serving.
Appointments
Congratulations to Lucia Vazquez, newly appointed Associate Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation, where she has served in an interim role since last summer. Lan Dong has been appointed Interim Dean for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Both appointments will go before the Board of Trustees during its July meeting.
Student Union Summer Hours
This summer, the Student Union is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and closed on weekends. The Food Studio is open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Starbucks will remain closed until classes begin in August.
Orientation on Campus
We are excited to welcome the incoming freshman class for Orientation this summer. If you see students and parents on campus, please give them a warm Prairie Star welcome.
Friends of Brookens Library Guest Speaker
The Friends of Brookens Library invite you to hear from their special guest speaker, Paul Kendrick, co-author of Nine Days: The Race to Save Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life and Win the 1960 Election. The event happens at 6 p.m. June 8. Click here to register.
Old Information that Bears Repeating
SHIELD Testing
Individuals who upload their complete vaccination card to their secure UIS Patient Portal will no longer need to submit a weekly saliva test to be on campus. Anyone who received their vaccine on campus automatically has that information in their Patient Portal. Our CRRT team will re-evaluate United in Safety measures for this coming fall. In the meantime, please continue to wear a face covering on campus.
PAC Construction Update
You will notice a temporary plywood wall blocking the Teardrop entrance as crews continue construction. However, the PAC/Brookens tunnel remains open. While a new entry will give the building an updated look and feel, the priority of this project is to repair infrastructure failures in the underground concourse that cause significant flooding in the lower levels of Brookens and the PAC. Work is scheduled to run through mid-September. For your safety, please be respectful of sidewalk and road closures.
Performance Evaluations Due this Week
This Friday, June 4, is the deadline to submit performance evaluations to Human Resources. Earlier this month, President Kileen announced the authorization of a 2-percent, merit-based salary program. While the details of the UIS plan are still under development, an employee must have an annual evaluation on file with Human Resources on or before June 4 to be considered for the merit-based program.
Celebrating our Star Power
UIS Athletics is creating program history and making us all proud to be Prairie Stars!
- UIS Baseball advanced to its third straight NCAA post-season tournament and ranked as high as fourth in the country in NCAA Division II Baseball. Prairie Stars baseball won the GLVC Regular Season Division Title and finished second in the GLVC Tournament. Zion Pettigrew was named the GLVC and Regional Player of the Year, and seven other players earned all-GLVC honors.
- Men’s Tennis earned its first bid in program history to the NCAA DII National Tournament. Menno Servaes was named to the GLVC all-conference team.
- UIS Track and Field runners Blake Jones and Taryn Christywere both named All-Americans at last week’s NCAA DII Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Jones finished third in the 5,000 meter, becoming the first Prairie Star runner to score at nationals. Christy earned All-American honors in the 10,000 meter placing 11th. Jones also competed in the Indoor National Meet and was the GLVC Runner of the Year.
- Women’s Tennis had its best season in program history. Three players earned all-GLVC honors: Franca Bucco, Neha Mokhasi and Carol Quevedo.
- The Women’s Basketball Team had its second-best season since 1999, led by all-GLVC performersLauren Ladowski and Malea Jackson.
Congratulations to Valerie Gebhardt, named the May UIS Employee of the Month. Valerie is the alcohol and drug prevention coordinator for the UIS Counseling Center. Her nominator said, “Valerie understands that every contribution, regardless of how large or small, has merit.”
Safe travels to Sharon Graf, professor of sociology and anthropology, who is on sabbatical, sailing the South Pacific with her husband for 19 months. Her plans include stopping at various islands in the South Pacific to study the cultural interchange between hosts and guests. You can read about Sharon’s past journey to the South Pacific at Larabeck.com. She plans to update the page with her current journey, when time and Internet are available.
Our Art and Music departments had an outstanding year. Here are a few highlights:
Art
- “Flash Point || Liminal Lost”: Two exhibitions showcasing works by graduating seniors.
- Kortney Correra received the Chancellor’s Merit Award, and Zoey Pritchett and Claude Henry received honorable mentions.
Music
- UIS Music Lecture Series: “From Diversity to Inclusion: Arts Advocacy and Racial Equity in the 21st Century.”
- UIS Faculty Recital Series: “From Springfield to Serbia” featuring Jose Gobbo.
- Virtual performance: “The Illinois State Song” by UIS Camerata students for the U of I Board of Trustees May meeting.
- In-person concerts by the UIS Orchestra and UIS Band, and performances by the UIS Jazz Ensemble and UIS Cello Choir.
- Graduating seniors Brandon Smith and Savannah Brandon received honors in Music.
While the traditional academic year has ended, many of you are gearing up for summer courses or beginning to plan for fall. Hopefully, you have the opportunity to rest, recharge and reflect before you dive back in. We all need those opportunities to continue to be our best for our family, friends and our students.
United in Safety,
Karen
Karen M. Whitney, PhD
Interim Chancellor University of Illinois Springfield