Thursday, March 29, 2012

Speakers Series presents "Portrait of Resistance"

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series presents “Portrait of Resistance” featuring Mitch Braff, executive director of the Jewish Partisan Education Foundation in San Francisco.

WHEN: Monday, April 9, 2012 at 7 p.m.

WHERE: Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library

DETAILS: Most people have never heard of the 20,000-30,000 Jews who fought back against the Nazis as Jewish partisans. These Jews were responsible for blowing up thousands of armored convoys and thwarting the Nazi war machine in countless ways. This information has the power to transform people's perception of the Jewish experience during the Holocaust.

The mission of the Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation is to develop and distribute effective educational materials about the Jewish partisans and their life lessons, bringing the celebration of heroic resistance against tyranny into educational and cultural organizations.

Mitch Braff’s lecture will coincide with the photo exhibit entitled “Pictures of Resistance” to be displayed on campus in the Access Gallery, located in the Visual & Performing Arts Building (VPA). The exhibit runs March 20 – April 20, 2012.

For a list of other ECCE Speakers Series events and more information, visit http://illinois.edu/goto/speakerseries.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Speakers Series presents "Spinnin' Transnational Science: Southeast Asian American Rap"

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series presents “Spinnin' Transnational Science: Southeast Asian American Rap” featuring Cathy Schlund-Vials, Ph.D. assistant professor of English and Asian American Studies at the University of Connecticut, Storrs.

WHEN: Thursday, April 5, 2012 at Noon

WHERE: Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library

DETAILS: The talk will examine Southeast Asian American rappers who use hip hop to politically engage, actively question, and produce knowledge about human rights abuses, large-scale disenfranchisement, and state-authorized violence. Through her study of an emergent and vibrant Southeast Asian American “return to politics” hip hop movement, Schlund-Vials argues that these Southeast Asian American rappers are transnational cultural producers.

Schlund-Vials is the Interim Director of Asian American Studies Institute and Faculty Director of Humanities House at UConn. She received her Ph.D. in English with a concentration in American Studies from the University of Massachusetts Amherst where she served as the program curator for New WORLD Theatre, a company dedicated to developing and producing works by artists of color.

For a list of other ECCE Speakers Series events and more information, visit http://illinois.edu/goto/speakerseries.

Monday, March 26, 2012

UIS invites community to "Health Awareness Day"

WHAT: As part of National Public Health Week, Campus Health Services at the University of Illinois Springfield will host “Health Awareness Day”. Over 40 vendors will offer information on health strategies and prevention. Members of the community, students, faculty, and staff are invited.

WHEN: Wednesday, April 4, 2012 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

WHERE: The Recreation and Athletic Center (TRAC) on the UIS campus.

DETAILS: Campus Health Service is partnering with several local health providers to offer free health screenings. Memorial Medical Center will provide bone density and cholesterol testing; dieticians from St. John’s Hospital will be on site for nutrition counseling; Abbot Diabetic Care will be measuring glucose, UIS Recreational Sports will conduct body fat testing and BMI; nurses from UIS will measure blood pressure, height and weight. Midwest Rehab will discuss work ergonomics; Springfield Clinic will provide retina scanning, CPR for the lay person, eye and breast health information and asthma screenings. The Sangamon County Health Department will offer sun damage scanning and nicotine replacement program information.

“Health Awareness Day” will also feature samples of healthy vegetarian meals and exercise demos. The Red Cross will provide information on disaster preparedness and the UIS Stars Lounge will offer first aid kits. The Chiropractors of Springfield will offer massage therapy and spinal evaluations. The Central Illinois Community Blood Center will be providing blood typing and holding a blood drive from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. From 12:10 to 12:55 p.m., Kara McElwrath from UIS Information Technology Services will talk about “Health Related Apps” for your phone.

The event is co-sponsored by the UIS Masters in Public Health Student Association, UIS Recreational Sports, and Springfield Health Check. For more information, contact Lynne Price, director of UIS Campus Health Service at 217/206-6676 or email lpric1@uis.edu.

Friday, March 23, 2012

PAPS presents "This is What Free Trade Looks Like" film & discussion

WHAT: The Political Art and the Public Sphere (PAPS) series at the University of Illinois Springfield presents a screening of the film “This is What Free Trade Looks Like”, which will be followed by a group discussion.

WHEN: Monday, March 26 at 6 p.m.

WHERE: Brookens Auditorium on the lower level of Brookens Library at UIS

DETAILS: “This Is What Free Trade Looks Like” examines México’s experience with NAFTA as a basis for understanding the impacts of other free trade agreements (FTAs) on farmers, the youth, and impoverished people around the world. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is an FTA between the U.S., México, and Canada which went into effect on Jan. 1, 1994. This film was shot at the 5th WTO Ministerial in Cancún, México in Sept. 2003. That Ministerial, like the 1999 Seattle Ministerial, collapsed when “Global South” nations refused to agree to the policies pushed by the wealthy nations of the G8. This film not only highlights what “free trade” looks like, but also what people are doing to oppose the ill-effects of NAFTA, the WTO and other FTAs. We get a good look at several alternative visions too, including regional trade agreements, direct action, and food sovereignty.

The PAPS series is a monthly event on the UIS campus featuring a showing or a performance of some kind of “political art,” followed by open group discussion. The discussion is hosted by Dr. Richard Gilman-Opalsky, professor of Political Philosophy and Dr. Heather Dell, associate professor and chair of Women and Gender Studies at UIS.

Each of the installments in the spring 2012 series will explores the meanings and impacts of the phenomenon called “globalization,” highlighting its history and problems. All events are free and open to the public.

For more information contact Dr. Gilman-Opalsky at 217/206-8328 or email rgilm3@uis.edu.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Stepping Up: Exploring Undergraduate & Graduate Options at UIS

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield Career Development Center and Office of Academic Affairs will present the inaugural “Stepping Up: Exploring Undergraduate & Graduate Options at UIS”.

WHEN: Thursday, March 29 from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

WHERE: Sangamon Auditorium Lobby, located on the second floor of the Public Affairs Center at UIS.

DETAILS: The purpose of this event is to connect UIS students, alumni and community members with representatives from various UIS departments in order to:
  • Explore “What Can You Do With A Degree In”
  • Explore all UIS Majors (undergraduate & graduate), certificates and professional development/continuing education (COLRS online offerings)
  • Explore a particular degree’s emphasis, concentration, track
  • Explore career opportunities to retool/retrain, enhance credentials, or re-career
  • Receive information on admissions, financial aid, internships (undergraduate/graduate), study abroad
This event will be webcast, so online students can listen and ask questions. See www.uis.edu/career/events/steppingup.html for more details.

For more information, contact Angela Evans in the UIS Career Development Center at 217/206-6508 or aevan01s@uis.edu.

Monday, March 12, 2012

UIS Lunch & Learn Series presents "Illinois and the War of 1812"



WHAT:
The University of Illinois Springfield Alumni SAGE Society and Illinois State Historical Society will host “Illinois and the War of 1812” as part of its annual Lunch and Learn Series.

WHEN: Thursday, March 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Public Affairs Center (PAC) Restaurant, located on the lower level of the PAC on the UIS campus.

DETAILS: Dr. Mark Wagner, an archaeologist with research interests in the American frontier and Native American rock art, will share what has been learned from the excavation and analysis of artifacts left behind by the Native Peoples of the era. Gillum Ferguson, historian and author, will discuss life on the prairie frontier and the conflict between Native Americans, soldiers and settlers of the Illinois Territory.

The cost for the hot buffet lunch and program is $20/per person. Reservations are requested, as seating is limited. Seating is available in the back for those who do not purchase the luncheon buffet.

The final Lunch and Learn event of the semester, “Illinois – Overhead and Underfoot” will take place on April 19. Dr. Jeffery Saunders, curator and chair of geology at the Illinois State Museum, will take us back in time over 10,000 years to explore the Prairie State's vast geological past and extinct species such as mammoths and saber-toothed cats. Guy Sternberg, arborist, retired landscape architect and owner of Starhill Forest Arboretum, will discuss Illinois' shady past and the management of ancient and historic trees.

Visit www.uiaa.org/uis to register online. For more information, contact the UI Alumni Association at UIS at 217/206-7395 or email alumni@uis.edu.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Speakers Series presents "Trouble Online: Campus Computing and the Law"

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series presents “Trouble Online: Campus Computing and the Law” featuring C.L. Lindsay III, a nationally recognized expert and leader in the field of student rights and academic freedom.

WHEN: Thursday, March 22, 2012 at Noon and 5 p.m. (Two Sessions)

WHERE: Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library

DETAILS: The public discussion will include topics, such as how your Facebook page can come back to haunt you and undermine future job opportunities, as well as a discussion on plagiarism and intellectual property online and the dangers of Internet predators obtaining personal information.

Lindsay left his law practice in New York City in 1998 to found the Coalition for Student and Academic Rights (CO-STAR). Acting as its Executive Director he has built CO-STAR into a national student rights organization that helps thousands of college students with their legal problems free of charge.

He has been featured in many national publications including the Chronicle of Higher Education, Chicago Tribune, U.S. News & World Report, and the Washington Post. His syndicated column, “Ask CO-STAR” is distributed nationwide on Knight Ridder/Tribune’s College Wire Service and he is the author of the bestselling book The College Student’s Guide to the Law.

Lindsay graduated from Denison University, received his J.D. from the University of Michigan and currently teaches Law and Literature at the University of Pennsylvania.

This event is sponsored by ECCE, the UIS Career Development Center and Student Government Association. For a list of other ECCE Speakers Series events and more information, visit http://illinois.edu/goto/speakerseries.

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Spring schedule set for UIS Friday Night Star Parties

The University of Illinois Springfield’s popular Friday Night Star Parties will resume the last week in March and continue through the end of April. Those dates include: March 23, 30 and April 6, 13, 20, and 27. Friday Night Star Parties are held from 8 to 10 p.m., weather permitting, at the UIS observatory, located on the roof of Brookens Library.

Star Parties are hosted by John Martin, assistant professor of Astronomy/Physics. The observatory’s telescopes will be used to view a number of celestial objects, including the planets Venus, Mars, and Saturn; the Moon, when visible; the Great Nebula in Orion; and other double stars and star clusters. This spring we are fortunate to have the two bright planets Jupiter and Venus in the west at sunset, followed by Mars and Saturn rising later in the evening in the east.

A typical Star Party begins with a presentation as visitors ascend the stairs to the observatory, learning about galaxies, the sun and stars along the way. On the roof observation deck visitors are invited to view various celestial objects through telescopes and ask questions. Participants are welcome to arrive and leave as they wish between 8 and 10 p.m.

Friday Night Star Parties are free and open to the public. Reservations are not required, and groups are encouraged to attend. The entrance to the campus observatory is located outside Brookens Library on the southeast corner of the building.

Star Parties may be canceled for cloudy weather. Questions about whether the weather is suitable for viewing should be directed to 217/206-8342 at 7 p.m. on the evening of the Star Party. For more information on Star Parties, email John Martin at jmart5@uis.edu or visit www.uis.edu/astronomy/about/starparties.html.

Monday, March 5, 2012

New York-based photographer Amy Stein to hold exhibition at the UIS Visual Arts Gallery

The University of Illinois Springfield Visual Arts Gallery presents Amy Stein, a celebrated photographer and educator based in New York City. Stein comes to UIS as an exhibiting artist and an ECCE Speaker to present and discuss her photographic series entitled Stranded. Her lecture will take place in the UIS Visual Arts Gallery on March 22 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. with a reception to immediately follow from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Stranded runs in the UIS Visual Arts Gallery from March 15 to April 19, 2012 and is free and open to the public.

Amy Stein is an internationally recognized artist. Through her photographs, she strives to explore “our evolving isolation from community, culture and the environment.” Her series Stranded relied on a five-year investment in which she drove across America to interact with and photograph stranded motorists. The interaction and documentation of these individuals in this unfortunate and helpless condition is, in itself, an act of responsibility, awareness, and respect by calling attention to the struggle of the everyday person. She travels supplied with blankets, water, and other various essentials on hand in order to help where she can. Because she is interacting with strangers in a highly stressful situation, Stein stresses that “I need to decide when I stop, to what extent I help the motorist, and to what extend I make myself vulnerable.”

Stranded navigates both the landscape and the relationship between photographer and subject. She looked to the history of Hurricane Katrina and our current financial crisis to guide her work. Just as our cars are intended to make journeys reliable, the systems present in government are intended to help us achieve the “American Dream”. However, when the unexpected happens, those systems we rely on can leave us stranded and alone.

Amy Stein teaches photography at Parsons The New School for Design and the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Her work has been featured within a variety of prominent venues and collections, among them the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, the Nevada Museum of Art, the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, and the George Eastman House Photography Collection.

Stein has been selected as an ECCE Speaker and will present a lecture to address how this particular body of work, Stranded, is a meditation on the current rupture in the promise of the “American Dream” as traditionally understood. Complimentary refreshments will be provided during the March 22 public reception.

The UIS Visual Arts Gallery is centrally located on the UIS campus in the Health and Science Building, room 201 (HSB 201). Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For more information regarding Stranded and future exhibitions, please visit the UIS Visual Arts Gallery website at www.uis.edu/visualarts/gallery, or contact the gallery by phone at 217/206-6506 or email: gallery@uis.edu.