Thursday, March 21, 2019

UIS Speaker Series to explore “Queer Poets of Color: Undocupoets and Migrant Literary Activism"

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speaker Series presents a discussion on “Queer Poets of Color: Undocupoets and Migrant Literary Activism.” The presentation will be led by Christopher Soto, a poet based in Brooklyn, New York. The event is part of the national LGBTQ Day of Silence observed on campus.

WHEN: 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 11, 2019

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

DETAILS: Soto will discuss queer of color poetry from the Harlem Renaissance to the age of mass incarceration with an emphasis on undocumented literary activism. During this event, students will explore the intersections of queer identities and poetry with activism as it relates to undocumented youth.

Soto is the author of “Sad Girl Poems” (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2016) and the editor of “Nepantla: An Anthology Dedicated to Queer Poets of Color” (Nightboat Books, 2018). He cofounded the Undocupoets Campaign and worked with Amazon Literary Partnerships to establish grants for undocumented writers. In 2017, he was awarded The Freedom Plow Award for Poetry & Activism by Split This Rock and he was invited to teach a Poetry and Protest Movements course at Columbia University, as part of the June Jordan Teaching Corp. He is currently working on a full-length poetry manuscript about police violence and mass incarceration. He received his master of fine arts in poetry from New York University (NYU).

This event is cosponsored by the UIS Office of Gender and Sexuality Student Services, the UIS Diversity Center, the UIS Women’s Center and the Organization of Latin American Students.

Individuals with disabilities who anticipate the need for accommodations should contact the UIS Speaker Series Office at 217/206-8507 or speakerseries@uis.edu in advance. For a list of other upcoming ECCE Speaker Series events, visit www.uis.edu/speakerseries/.

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

UIS students to hold a Dance Marathon to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network

WHAT: Students at the University of Illinois Springfield will hold a Dance Marathon as part of a fundraising campaign for the Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) at HSHS St. John’s Children’s Hospital in Springfield. Members of the public are invited to participate.

WHEN: 2 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 23, 2019

WHERE: UIS Student Union Ballroom, 2251 Richard Wright Drive, Springfield

DETAILS: Participants can sign up for the Dance Marathon as an individual or as part of a team with a fundraising goal. Anyone is welcome to participate and can register online at https://go.uis.edu/dm2019 or at the event. Participants pay a $10 registration fee and are asked to fundraise at least $20 by March 23.

The Dance Marathon will feature fun music, a variety of performances by different organizations and food. The theme for this year’s Dance Marathon is Olympics. Various games will be hosted throughout the night to make the event fun and engaging.

Six local families who have benefited from the Children’s Miracle Network at HSHS St. John’s Hospital will share their stories starting at 2:30 p.m.

UIS students have been raising money for the campaign throughout the year. Over the past five years, the event has raised more than $25,000 for the Children’s Miracle Network.

Tuesday, March 12, 2019

UIS Visual Arts Gallery announces a curatorial walkthrough for “The Magnificently Mundane”

The University of Illinois Springfield Visual Arts Gallery is pleased to announce a curatorial walkthrough for its current exhibition, “The Magnificently Mundane,” a group exhibition that presents works selected from the field of graphic design. Brytton Bjorngaard, UIS assistant professor of digital media and curator of this exhibit, will lead a walkthrough of the exhibition where she will guide the audience through the works on display and share contextual information about both the works and field of graphic design.

The exhibition walkthrough for “The Magnificently Mundane” will take place on Wednesday, March 27, 2019, from 2 to 3 p.m. This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

“The Magnificently Mundane” features works from designers throughout the country, among them Thom Caraway (Spokane, Washington), James Ewald (Edmond, Oklahoma), Lisa Hammershaimb (Chicago, Illinois), Jessica Hawkins (Shreveport, Louisiana), Alma Hoffmann (Mobile, Alabama), Laura Huisinga (Fresno, California), Taekyeom Lee (Boone, North Carolina), Jeanne Komp (Royersford, Pennsylvania), Renee Meyer Ernst (Davenport, Iowa), Shannon McCarthy (Richmond, Kentucky), Ed Outhouse (Joplin, Missouri), Chris Sickels (Greenfield, Indiana), Becky Simpson (Nashville, Tennessee), RJ Thompson (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), Teruko Tsubaki (Omaha, Nebraska), Natalie Tyree (Bowling Green, Kentucky) and Neil Ward (Des Moines, Iowa).

At UIS, Bjorngaard teaches courses in graphic design and digital media, including technology, print, typography, web, animation, digital and film photography and professional skills. In addition to teaching, she is a freelance graphic designer, exhibiting artist, a Springfield Art Association board member and was a member of DEMO Project (a former artist-run contemporary and alternative project gallery space in Springfield).

The Visual Arts Gallery is centrally located on the UIS campus in the Health and Science Building, Room 201, and is open Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information, visit the UIS Visual Arts Gallery website at www.uis.edu/visualarts/gallery or contact the gallery by phone at 217/206-6506 or by email at alach@uis.edu.

Monday, March 11, 2019

UIS Illinois Innocence Project Defenders of the Innocent event to feature the Exoneree Band

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield’s Illinois Innocence Project will hold the 12th annual Defenders of the Innocent fundraising event featuring the Exoneree Band. The band is comprised of five exonerees from throughout the country who lost a collective 92 years of their lives to wrongful imprisonment. Through storytelling and original songs, they will share their experiences of wrongful conviction and imprisonment.

WHEN: Saturday, March 30, 2019 (cocktail reception at 5 p.m., dinner & program at 6 p.m.)

WHERE: Crowne Plaza Hotel, 3000 S. Dirksen Pkwy, Springfield, Illinois

DETAILS: The Illinois Innocence Project (IIP) will also recognize the posthumous exoneration of Grover Thompson, granted clemency in January 2019 by outgoing Gov. Bruce Rauner. This is considered the first posthumous exoneration in Illinois, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. Thompson was wrongfully convicted in 1981 and died during his wrongful imprisonment in 1996. In addition to securing Thompson’s pardon, IIP, since its founding in 2001, has helped free 11 wrongfully convicted individuals.

The Project will present its “Defender of the Innocent” awards to S.T. Jamison Jr. and James W. Reed Jr. Jamison advocated for the posthumous exoneration of his uncle, including testifying in front of the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. He represents all family and friends of the wrongfully convicted who never give up fighting to bring justice to their loved ones. Reed provides critical pro bono legislative consulting to IIP, helping staff navigate the legislative process and strengthen relationships with policymakers. In 2018, he guided IIP toward passage of landmark legislation and the overturn of Gov. Bruce Rauner’s subsequent veto to create the nation’s strongest law to protect innocent people from jailhouse informant testimony.

On average, it takes 7-10 years to free an innocent person from prison, and hundreds of thousands of dollars per case. It also requires a skilled team of litigators and investigators supported by UIS students, volunteers and staff.

Registration for the Defenders of the Innocent event is required by Monday, March 25, 2019. Sponsorships are available. For more information or to purchase a seat, visit www.uis.edu/innocenceproject/ or call 217/206-6569.

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

UIS Lunch & Learn Series presents "Irish Heritage & History"

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield’s Office of Advancement, Alumni SAGE Society and the Illinois State Historical Society presents “Irish Heritage & History” as part of the Lunch and Learn Series.

WHEN: Wednesday, March 27, 2019, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: UIS Student Union Ballroom, 2251 Richard Wright Drive, Springfield

DETAILS: In celebration of Irish heritage in Illinois, Eileen McMahon, professor and chair of the history program at Lewis University, will discuss her research on the parish communities found along the Illinois & Michigan Canal and the Irish immigrants who built this vital passageway.

Theodore Karamanski, professor of history and public history director at Loyola University Chicago, will present on the Irish in the Civil War. This presentation will feature live music by Wild Columbine.

The cost for the hot buffet lunch and program is $23/per person. Reservations are requested, as seating is limited. The registration deadline is one week prior to each event.

Join us for the final Lunch & Learn presentation of the semester “Three-I Baseball & Forgotten Voices of Illinois” on April 30.

These lunch-time programs will stimulate thinking as they build upon the University’s tradition of open and intelligent dialogue.

Visit https://go.uis.edu/LLspring2019 to register online. For more information, contact the UIS Office of Advancement at 217/206-6058 or email advancement@uis.edu.

Monday, March 4, 2019

UIS Speaker Series presents “Gateway to Equality: Black Women and the Struggle for Economic Justice in St. Louis”

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speaker Series presents “Gateway to Equality: Black Women and the Struggle for Economic Justice in St. Louis,” a discussion by author Keona Ervin, assistant professor of African-American History in the Department of Black Studies at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

WHEN: Monday, March 25, 2019, at 6 p.m.

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

DETAILS: As part of Women's History Month, Ervin will examine one history of Black women's leadership in our region based on her book “Gateway to Equality: Black Women and the Struggle for Economic Justice in St. Louis,” which won the 2018 Missouri History Book Award. From the 1930s to 1960s, Black women formed a community-based culture of resistance to fight for employment, a living wage, dignity, representation, and political leadership. Their politics played an important role in defining urban political agendas. Professor Ervin sheds light on the overlapping civil rights and labor movements during the first half of the 20th century.

Ervin served as Center for Missouri Studies Faculty Fellow at the State Historical Society of Missouri. Her current projects examine the history of black women and the U.S. labor movement and working-class organization and black radical politics in the late 20th Century.

This event is cosponsored by the UIS Departments of Sociology Anthropology, Women and Gender Studies, History, African-American Studies and Political Science. It is also sponsored by the UIS Provost's Office and the UIS Diversity Center.

Individuals with disabilities who anticipate the need for accommodations should contact the UIS Speaker Series Office at 217/206-8507 or speakerseries@uis.edu in advance. For a list of other upcoming ECCE Speaker Series events, visit www.uis.edu/speakerseries/.