Friday, February 26, 2010

Cyber Defense and Disaster Recovery Conference focuses on international threats

WHAT: “Protecting yourself and your business from international threats” is the focus of a one-day conference at the University of Illinois Springfield. The conference is hosted by UIS' Computer Science department, in conjunction with InfraGard Springfield, an initiative of the FBI, and CSSIA, a regional center for cyber security.

WHEN: Friday, March 12, 2010

WHERE: Conference Room C/D, located on the lower level of the Public Affairs Center (PAC) on the University of Illinois Springfield campus.

DETAILS: There is a present and growing risk to businesses and individuals from international threats, both via cyber and physical means. Due to the ‘take all’ attitude of foreign intelligence services and the insiders they compromise, no one is immune. It is important for all of us to maintain a healthy respect for the privacy of our personal and business electronics and information in the global economy.

Breakout sessions will focus on social networking, hacker prevention, risk assessment, computer forensic response, and PKI. Michael Davis, author of Hacking Exposed, is keynote speaker. Other presenters come from the National Security Agency, FBI, IBM, Semantec, and others. In addition, conference registration of $30 includes SANS interactive training, ‘Catching the Wiley Hacker’.

COST: $30 includes a sit down lunch and break refreshments. There is no extra charge for the SANS interactive training track: ‘Catching the Wiley Hacker.’

To register: http://csc.uis.edu/cyberconference. Limited seating for SANS training, so register early. Registration closes Friday, March 5th at 5pm. Any questions call Janis Rose at 217-206-8246.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Collegiate Career Fair brings hundreds of job seekers to UIS



Students from the University of Illinois Springfield and three other colleges were treated to a one-stop-shop in finding a job during the 12th annual Springfield Collegiate Career Fair.

The event was held on Thursday, February 18, 2010, in the Public Affairs Center lobby on the UIS campus. The career fair brought in representatives from approximately 100 area employers, along with approximately 400 students and alumni.

“It’s a really good way to network with about 100 different people in a very short period of time,” said Tammy Craig, Career Services Director.

Beyond information about actual job openings, the fair is designed to provide an open information exchange about different organizations, hiring trends and the best routes to future opportunities.

“I thought this would be a great time to get a practice run at a career fair and also just get experience talking with recruiters from companies,” said Vernon Cail, UIS graduate student in Public Health.

Cail hasn’t decided what he wants to do after graduation, but came to the fair looking for government jobs. Other students like UIS junior accounting major Dara Abina came to the fair with a single goal in mind, to find their dream job.

“We’re in economic times where a lot of people really don’t have jobs and people are coming out here to offer jobs. It’s just an amazing experience,” said Abina.

The UIS Career Development Center has been working with students to prepare them for the fair, so they’d know what to expect. That still couldn’t take away all the nerves.

“It’s kind of like a rush because when you walk up to a table you really don’t know what to say, but it just comes out the right way,” said Abina.

Plans are already in the works for next year’s Collegiate Career Fair, which is a partnership between UIS, Lincoln Land Community College, Robert Morris College and Springfield College in Illinois/Benedictine University.

For more information about the Collegiate Career Fair, go online to www.uis.edu/careerservices.

Speakers Series presents Combating Human Trafficking in Illinois

WHAT: University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series presents Combating Human Trafficking in Illinois. Lisa Fedina, Project Coordinator of the Illinois Rescue and Restore Coalition will be the featured speaker at the event.

WHEN: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 at 12:00 p.m.

WHERE: Conference Room G, located on the lower level of the Public Affairs Center (PAC) on the University of Illinois Springfield campus.

(The event will be available via live webcast and video on demand at http://www.uis.edu/technology/uislive.html)

DETAILS: Illinois Rescue and Restore Coalition is a state-wide group made up of social service organizations, law enforcement, advocacy groups, and community members working together to fight human trafficking in Illinois.

Fedina will discuss the basics of human trafficking (including child exploitation, sex trafficking, and labor trafficking), trafficking in local and global contexts, U.S. anti-trafficking legislation, victim identification, and how individuals can get involved in local anti-trafficking efforts. www.dhs.state.il.us/rescueandrestore

For more information and a list of other speakers series events visit http://illinois.edu/goto/speakerseries or contact Kimberly Craig at 217/206-6245 or craig.kimberly@uis.edu.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

UIS to host GLVC Basketball Final Four for men and women


The University of Illinois Springfield will host the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) men's and women's basketball tournaments. The final four games of the two tournaments will be held at The Recreation and Athletic Center (TRAC) on the campus of UIS on March 6 and 7.

"The GLVC is grateful for the support we have received in the Springfield business community for this year's basketball tournament," said GLVC Commissioner Jim Naumovich.

The tournament, in its 13th year, will determine the league's men's and women's champion and the winners of the tournaments will receive the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.

"We are extremely excited to be the host for the GLVC final four. Fans are going to see some highly competitive basketball at a very reasonable price," said UIS Athletic Director Rodger Jehlicka.

The GLVC will be returning to a neutral site for the tournament for the first time since 2007. UIS will serve as the neutral site host as the Prairie Stars will not be eligible to compete in the GLVC Tournament until the 2010-11 season.

Tickets for the event can be purchased in advance by contacting UIS at 217-206-7017. For more information on the GLVC tournament and how to purchase tickets click here.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

UIS PAPS series to present viewing and discussion of Flow

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield’s series called Political Art and the Public Sphere will resume for the spring 2010 semester. The first installment will be the viewing and discussion of the film Flow.

WHEN: Monday, February 22, at 6 p.m.

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

DETAILS: During the spring semester, all three installments of PAPS will provide a forum for focusing on particular political issues under the general heading “Water and Politics.”

Flow is an award-winning documentary investigation into what many experts call the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st century. The film builds a case against the privatization of the world's dwindling fresh water supply with a focus on politics, pollution and human rights. The film raises the question: “can anyone really own water?”

Each semester, Political Art and the Public Sphere features a showing or performance of some kind of “political art,” followed by a group discussion of the issues it raises. The basic idea behind PAPS is to consider how ‘art’ raises provocative social and political questions.

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

UIS Visual Arts Gallery hosts exhibit by Felicia Olin

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield’s Visual Arts Gallery will be hosting an exhibit by Springfield resident Felicia Olin. Olin’s exhibit will focus on portraits that are inspired by the past, relics from nature, oddities, anatomy, books, animals and botanicals.

WHEN: A reception and artist talk will be February 18 from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

WHERE: The Visual Arts Gallery, room 201 of the Health and Sciences Building on the UIS campus.

DETAILS: Born in 1977, artist Felicia Olin has lived in Springfield most of her life. She received her associate's degree from Springfield College in Illinois and her BFA in painting from Illinois State University. Felicia is a member of the Prairie Art Alliance and participates in area shows.

The Visual Arts Gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday. For more information, contact Ken Pease at 217/206.6506 or email gallery@uis.edu.

UIS to hold symposium on arts, humanities and social sciences

The University of Illinois Springfield will be hosting the first annual Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Research Symposium on April 9 in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library on the UIS campus.

Undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty, in the arts, humanities and social sciences are invited to submit abstracts for the symposium. The due date for the submission of abstracts has been extended until March 8.

The purpose of the research symposium is to showcase student research and student/faculty reciprocity in the arts, humanities and social sciences. Members of the community are invited to attend, and students from other campuses also may participate or attend.

Michael Burlingame, Naomi B. Lynn Chair of Lincoln Studies, will present the keynote address,"The Joys of Conducting Original Research, or what new can be said about Abraham Lincoln?" There will also be poster sessions as well as oral presentations, and prizes will be awarded.

Potential participants should visit http://www.uis.edu/clas/students/symposium.html for forms and information on abstract parameters and poster board sessions as well as general information about the symposium.

For more information, contact Deborah McGregor at mcgregor.deborah@uis.edu.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

12th annual Collegiate Career Fair to be held at UIS

WHAT: The career planning and placement offices of the University of Illinois Springfield, Lincoln Land Community College, Robert Morris College and Springfield College in Illinois/Benedictine University will host the 12th annual Springfield Collegiate Career Fair. The primary audience for the free event is current students and alumni of the four participating institutions.

WHEN: Thursday, February 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

WHERE: The Public Affairs Center on the UIS campus

DETAILS: Beyond information about actual job openings, the fair is designed to provide an open information exchange about different organizations, hiring trends and the best routes to future opportunities. For potential employers, it is a chance to disseminate pertinent information and to develop a pool of candidates interested in future opportunities, internships and summer openings as well as permanent employment.

Representatives from approximately 100 area employers are expected to be on hand, and the event has an average attendance of more than 400 students and alumni.

Information for students, alumni and others: Pre-registration is not required; business-casual attire is required, and participants should bring copies of their resumes to the fair.

Information for employers: Advance registration is required. Free booth space will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration is available online at www.uis.edu/careerservices. For more information or to register, contact the Career Development Center at 217/206-6508.

For more information about the Collegiate Career Fair, go online to www.uis.edu/careerservices, call 217/206-6508 or e-mail careerservices@uis.edu.

Friday, February 5, 2010

UIS to hold investiture ceremony for Lincoln chair


The University of Illinois Springfield will hold a special investiture ceremony on Thursday, February 11, at the Old State Capitol in downtown Springfield for Professor Michael A. Burlingame, the new Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies.

During the ceremony, Burlingame will be invested with a gold medallion, the symbol of the Lincoln Chair. The medallion will be presented with assistance from Springfield attorney Richard Hart, who is the president of the Abraham Lincoln Association and a long-time friend of Burlingame. Burlingame will then share his plans for his time as Lincoln Chair.

“We are truly grateful to have attracted this remarkable teacher and scholar to UIS,” said UIS Chancellor Richard Ringeisen. “His presence at this university will strengthen our academic prowess.”

A preeminent Lincoln scholar, Burlingame’s recently released two-volume biography of Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), was named one of the top five books published in 2009 by the Atlantic Monthly.

According to historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, “Lincoln scholars have waited anxiously for this book for decades. Its triumphant publication proves it was well-worth the wait. Few scholars have written with greater insight about the psychology of Lincoln. No one in recent history has uncovered more fresh sources than Michael Burlingame. This profound and masterful portrait will be read and studied for years to come.”

The Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies was established in 2000 when the Dr. Richard E. Vaden Family donated a gift for that purpose to honor their long-time friendship with then-UIS Chancellor Naomi Lynn. Val Vaden, managing partner of Outfitter Ventures and representative of the Vaden Family, will also speak at the investiture.