Friday, July 31, 2009

Emiquon hosts meteor shower event

A late evening star-gazing event called “Meteors and Thompson Lake – 2009,” will be held at Thompson Lake on The Nature Conservancy’s Emiquon Preserve, located between Havana and Lewistown, from Tuesday, August 11, at 8 p.m. until Wednesday, August 12, at 1 a.m.

This program is free and open to the public and is presented by the University of Illinois Springfield’s Emiquon Field Station in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy. UIS professor Dr. John Martin will be the guest lecturer, and members of the Sangamon Astronomical Society will also be present to share views of the night sky through their telescopes.

The event will take advantage of the peak display of the Perseids Meteor Shower, the annual mid-August display of “falling stars.” As the sky becomes dark after sundown, the meteor showers should be readily visible.

Martin, assistant professor of Astronomy/Physics, will help guide sky-watchers as they view the meteor shower. Dr. Michael Lemke, associate professor of Biology and director of the Emiquon Field Station, will be available to share information regarding the station and associated wetland ecological research.

Participants should gather after 8 p.m. at the lakeside entrance to Thompson Lake, located directly off Illinois Rts. 97/78, approximately one-half mile north of the Dickson Mounds turnoff. A sign will be posted at the entrance. Visitors are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and/or blankets.

Everyone entering the property will be asked to sign a liability waiver. Participants younger than 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult and must have their waiver signed by a parent or legal guardian.

For more information, contact Dr. Michael Lemke at 217/206-7339 or lemke.michael@uis.edu.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

UIS Career Center invites employers to participate in “Foot in the Door” Fair

The Career Development Center at the University of Illinois at Springfield will sponsor the 2009 “Foot in the Door” Fair for UIS students interested in part-time jobs, internships and volunteer opportunities – both on- and off-campus – from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday, August 27, in the lower level concourse area of the Public Affairs Center on the UIS campus. The event is free to all UIS students.

The “Foot in the Door” Fair is intended to bring students and local employers or organizations together to discuss career opportunities in a broad range of available positions. Local employers with job opportunities are invited to participate in the event, which typically yields around 300 students in attendance.

Booth assignments will be made on a first-come, first-served response basis. Additionally, interviewing rooms will be available for employer use during the fair.

Registration for the event takes place through the Career Center’s online system called UIS-SUCCESS, which also allows employers to establish a company profile and post career opportunities at no cost. UIS students and alumni are then able to view and apply for positions directly through the system by uploading their resume.

All employer services through the UIS Career Center are free of charge. Employers are given the opportunity to host on-campus information sessions, informational tables, interviews and more. For more information about employer services, contact the Employer Relations Recruitment Coordinator at (217)206-6508 or e-mail employerrelations@uis.edu.

For more information about the “Foot in the Door” Fair or to sign up for an employer booth, go online to http://www.uis.edu/careerservices/foot_fair/foot_recruiter.html or call the Career Development Center at 217/206-6508.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

ECCE program focuses on poststructuralism

The University of Illinois at Springfield will be hosting its final program for the summer Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speaker Series on Wednesday, July 15 at 6 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library on the UIS campus. The program is called “This Event is Not Taking Place: Truth, Reality and History in Baudrillard’s Political Philosophy” and will be presented by Dr. Richard Gilman-Opalsky.

The lecture, followed by an open discussion, will focus on some of the central claims of the work of Jean Baudrillard and the most provocative tenets of late 20th century French social and political philosophy, especially the movement known as “poststructuralism.” Gilman-Opalsky will discuss how this movement challenges the ways we think and speak about the world in which we live. Background knowledge about Jean Baudrillard or “poststructuralism” is not needed to understand and participate in this program.

Gilman-Opalsky is an assistant professor of political philosophy in the Department of Political Science at UIS. His teaching areas and research interests include the history of political philosophy, continental and contemporary political theory, socialist philosophy, globalization, cosmopolitanism, critical theory, and poststructuralism.

For information about the ECCE Speaker Series, contact Kimberly Craig, series coordinator, at 206-6245 or e-mail speakerseries@uis.edu.