Public invited to provide feedback to new UIS Innovation Center

WHAT:        The University of Illinois Springfield invites the public to attend an interactive input session about the new UIS Innovation Center and Springfield Innovation District in downtown Springfield.

WHEN:       5-6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 5, 2020

WHERE:      Innovate Springfield, 15 S. Old State Capitol Plaza, Springfield

DETAILS:    The UIS Innovation Center was named the first hub of the Illinois Innovation Network (IIN), a system of connected university-community-industry-based hubs throughout the state that will work together to drive innovation, economic development and workforce development across Illinois utilizing a combination of research, public-private partnerships, entrepreneurship and workforce training programs. Gov. JB Pritzker recently announced the release of funding for the IIN.

The goal of the UIS Innovation Center is to advance the regional economy by working with industry partners, government, civic organizations and other higher education institutions to build a robust and inclusive human capital and innovation pipeline.

After learning more about these endeavors, members of the public will have the opportunity to provide input and engage in small-group sessions with UIS faculty in the following focus areas: business incubation and acceleration, technology and research commercialization, social innovation, public policy research and workforce development and education.

Registration is limited. Members of the public who plan to attend are required to RSVP online at go.uis.edu/RSVPonline. If you’re unable to attend, members of the public can also provide feedback at go.uis.edu/FeedbackForm.

For more information, contact Bruce Sommer, UIS director of economic development and innovation, at 217-899-3186 or bsomm2@uis.edu.

UIS Lincoln Legacy Lectures focus on Lincoln and Education

Illustration by Harry Dayton Sickles (1934)

The 15th annual Lincoln Legacy Lectures presented by the University of Illinois Springfield will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, October 12, 2017, in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library at UIS.

This year’s topic is “Lincoln and Education.” The lectures, and a reception and book signing that will immediately follow, are free and open to the public. No reservation is required.

The Lincoln Legacy Lecture Series brings nationally known scholars to Springfield to present lectures on topics that both engaged Abraham Lincoln and the citizens of his era and are still timely today.

This year’s featured speakers are Robert Bray, Colwell Professor of English Emeritus at Illinois Wesleyan University, and Paula R. Shotwell, educator and creator of the Lincoln Living History Project. Michael Burlingame, Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies at UIS, will give opening remarks on “Lincoln’s Views on Education,” and serve as moderator.

In the first lecture, Bray will describe “Lincoln’s Self-Education: The Personal and the Public.” In the second lecture, Shotwell will explore “Why Lincoln?: An Examination of Lincoln’s Role in Today’s Education.” The speakers will discuss the contemporary implications of their lectures at the beginning of the Q & A session.

Bray is the author of a prize-winning book, “Reading with Lincoln” (Southern Illinois University Press, 2010). Shotwell developed a Living History Project with the staff of the Old State Capitol in Springfield, which was given a Superior Achievement Award by the Illinois Association of Museums. Burlingame is the author of the two-volume biography, “Abraham Lincoln: A Life” (Johns Hopkins University Press, paper, 2012).

The Lincoln Legacy Lecture Series is sponsored by the UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership, in cooperation with the Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies. Cosponsors of this year's event include the Abraham Lincoln Association, Brookens Library John Holtz Memorial Lecture, Engaged Citizenship Speaker Series, Gobberdiel Endowment, Illinois State Historical Society, Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition, NPR Illinois, UIS Colleges of Education and Human Services and Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the UIS Office of Advancement.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. Seating in Brookens Auditorium is limited; however, overflow seating will be available in the Public Affairs Center, Level 1, Conference Rooms C/D, where the audience can watch a large-screen live video feed. Those unable to attend in person can watch a live webcast at the time of the event.

For more information, contact the Center for State Policy and Leadership at 217/206-7163 or visit the Lincoln Legacy Lectures website.

UIS Lincoln Legacy Lectures to examine reconstruction and the struggle for equality

The 14th annual Lincoln Legacy Lectures presented by the University of Illinois Springfield will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, October 20, 2016 in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library at UIS.

This year’s topic is “Lincoln and Reconstruction: America’s Struggle for Equality.” The lectures, and a reception and book signing that will immediately follow, are free and open to the public. No reservation is required.

The Lincoln Legacy Lecture Series brings nationally known scholars to Springfield to present lectures on topics that both engaged Abraham Lincoln and the citizens of his era and are still timely today.

This year’s featured speakers are Allen C. Guelzo, the Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era at Gettysburg College, and Brooks D. Simpson, Foundation Professor of History at Arizona State University. Michael Burlingame, Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies at UIS, will give opening remarks on “Lincoln’s Changing Thoughts on Reconstruction,” and serve as moderator.

In the first lecture, Guelzo will describe “Reconstruction as a Bourgeois Revolution.” In the second lecture, Simpson will explore “Abraham Lincoln and Reconstruction: Did Booth’s Bullet Change History?” The speakers will discuss the contemporary implications of their lectures at the beginning of the Q & A session.

All three speakers are the authors of prize-winning books. Guelzo is the author of “Fateful Lightning, A New History of the Civil War and Reconstruction” (Oxford University Press, 2012). Simpson is the author of “The Reconstruction Presidents” (University Press of Kansas, 2009). Burlingame is the author of the two-volume biography, “Abraham Lincoln: A Life” (Johns Hopkins University Press, paper, 2012).

The Lincoln Legacy Lecture Series is sponsored by the UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership, in cooperation with the Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies. Cosponsors of this year's event include the Abraham Lincoln Association, Brookens Library John Holtz Memorial Lecture, Engaged Citizenship Speaker Series, Gobberdiel Endowment, Illinois State Historical Society, Illinois State Library, Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition, NPR Illinois, Springfield Branch of the NAACP, UIS Colleges of Education and Human Services, Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Public Affairs and Administration and the UIS Office of Advancement.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. Seating in Brookens Auditorium is limited; however overflow seating will be available in the Public Affairs Center, Level 1, Conference Rooms C/D and G, where the audience can watch a large-screen live video feed. Those unable to attend in person can watch a live webcast by going to www.uis.edu/technology/uislive.html at the time of the event.

For more information, contact the Center for State Policy and Leadership at 217/206-7094 or visit http://go.uis.edu/LincolnLegacyLecture.

UIS Social Justice Leadership Series announces book club featuring the works of author Harper Lee

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield Institute for Legal, Legislative and Policy Studies (ILLAPS) invites participants to the first Community Education Book Club featuring the works of author Harper Lee. The club is part of the Social Justice Leadership Series: Race and Racism in America.

WHEN: October 14, 21, and 28, 2015 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

WHERE: UIS Public Affairs Center (PAC 457) and Online Webinar

DETAILS: Harper Lee’s Pulitzer-prize winning book, To Kill a Mockingbird, has become an American literature classic, touted by critics as “the most widely read book dealing with race in America.” The book is commonly used in high schools across the country to teach about racial injustice and emphasize tolerance. Go Set a Watchman, Lee’s sequel to Mockingbird, published in 2015, and was actually written and submitted to publishers before Mockingbird in mid 1950s.

ILLAPS invites participants to read both To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman, and join them for a Book Club discussion to better understand how these two works relate and what they can tell us about race and race relations in America today.

Pauline Kayes, professor emeritus from Parkland College, will lead the discussion for book club participants who wish to meet in person and in a Webinar format.

Cost for the Community Education Book Club is $75. To register, contact Elizabeth Thai at 217/206-7990 or email illaps@uis.edu.

The ILLAPS Community Education Book Club will host a new book and discussion each semester. For more information, visit www.uis.edu/illaps/community-education/.

UIS to host Scholarly Symposium for Lincoln Funeral Commemoration

The University of Illinois Springfield will present a scholarly symposium on Thursday, April 30, 2015 as part of the Lincoln Funeral Coalition’s commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the funeral of Abraham Lincoln. The event will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library at UIS. It is free and open to the public. No reservation is required.

The symposium, “Mourning Father Abraham: Lincoln’s Assassination and the Public’s Response,” will feature three prize-winning historians of Lincoln and the Civil War era. Featured speakers are Louis P. Masur, distinguished professor of American Studies and History at Rutgers University, Martha Hodes, professor of History at New York University, and Michael Burlingame, Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies at UIS, who will give opening remarks on “Lincoln as Father Figure,” and serve as moderator.

Masur’s presentation, “Lincoln’s Last Speech and the Problem of Reconstruction” will focus on the path to Reconstruction Lincoln outlined in his final speech, including his call for black suffrage. In her presentation, “Shock and Fury, Gloom and Glee: Personal Responses to Lincoln’s Assassination,” Hodes will describe the range of responses to Lincoln’s death, gleaned from diaries and letters, reflecting a moment of national uncertainty and competing visions of the country’s future.

Both guest speakers will draw on their new books. Masur is the author of Lincoln’s Last Speech (Oxford University Press, 2015). Hodes is the author of Mourning Lincoln (Yale University Press, 2015). Burlingame is the author of the two-volume biography, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008). A reception and book signing will immediately follow the event.

The symposium is sponsored by the Center for State Policy and Leadership and the Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies at UIS, and is presented in collaboration with the 2015 Lincoln Funeral Coalition and with the support of The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation. Event cosponsors include the Brookens Library John Holtz Memorial Lecture, Engaged Citizenship (ECCE) Speaker Series, Gobberdiel Endowment, Illinois State Historical Society, Staab Funeral Home, and WUIS/Illinois Issues.

Doors will open at 6 p.m. Seating in Brookens Auditorium is limited; however overflow seating will be available in the Public Affairs Center, Level 1, Conference Rooms C/D, G and H where the audience can watch a large-screen live video feed. Those unable to attend in person can watch a live webcast by going to www.uis.edu/technology/uislive.html at the time of the event.

For more information, contact the Center for State Policy and Leadership at 217/206-7094 or visit http://cspl.uis.edu.

UIS Lincoln Legacy Lectures: Scholars to discuss Lincoln's death and funeral

The 12th Annual Lincoln Legacy Lectures presented by the University of Illinois Springfield will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, October 16, 2014 in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library at UIS.

This year’s topic is “Lincoln’s Funeral,” in anticipation of the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s death and funeral in 2015. The lectures, and a reception and book signing that will immediately follow, are free and open to the public. No reservation is required.

The Lincoln Legacy Lecture Series brings nationally known scholars to Springfield to present lectures on topics that both engaged Abraham Lincoln and the citizens of his era and are still timely today.

This year’s featured speakers are James L. Swanson, senior legal scholar at The Heritage Foundation, and Dr. Richard Wightman Fox, professor of history at the University of Southern California. Dr. Michael Burlingame, Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies at UIS, will give opening remarks on “Why Lincoln was Murdered,” and serve as moderator.

Swanson will present a lecture titled “I give you my sprig of lilac”: The Death and Funeral of Abraham Lincoln.” In his lecture, “What We’ve Forgotten about Lincoln’s Funeral, and What We’ve Never Known,” Fox will examine what the loss of Lincoln signified to citizens of his time.

Swanson is the author of Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer (Wm. Morrow, 2006), its sequel Bloody Crimes: The Funeral for Abraham Lincoln and the Chase for Jefferson Davis (HarperCollins, 2011), and End of Days: The Assassination of John F. Kennedy (Wm. Morrow, 2013). Fox is the author of the forthcoming Lincoln’s Body: A Cultural History (Norton, 2015). Burlingame is the author of the two-volume biography, Abraham Lincoln: A Life (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008).

The Lincoln Legacy Lecture Series is sponsored by the UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership in cooperation with the Lynn Chair in Lincoln Studies. Co-sponsors of this year's event are the Abraham Lincoln Association, UIS College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, UIS College of Public Affairs and Administration, Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund, UIS Engaged Citizenship Speaker Series, Laurie and David Farrell, Jim and Linda Gobberdiel, Illinois State Historical Society, Illinois State Library, Staab Funeral Home, University of Illinois Alumni Association, and WUIS/Illinois Issues.

Seating in Brookens Auditorium is limited; however overflow seating will be available in the Public Affairs Center, Level 1, Conference Rooms C/D and G, where the audience can watch a large-screen live video feed. Those unable to attend in person can watch a live webcast by going to www.uis.edu/technology/uislive.html at the time of the event.

For more information, contact Barbara Ferrara in the UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership at 217/206-7094.

UIS Lincoln Legacy Lectures to discuss the Gettysburg Address

The 11th Annual Lincoln Legacy Lectures presented by the University of Illinois Springfield will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, November 19, 2013 in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library at UIS.

This year’s topic is “Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address”, commemorating the 150th anniversary of Lincoln’s immortal speech. The lectures, and a reception and book signing that will immediately follow, are free and open to the public. No reservation is required.

The Lincoln Legacy Lecture Series brings nationally known scholars to Springfield to present lectures on topics that both engaged Abraham Lincoln and the citizens of his era and are still timely today.

This year’s featured speakers are Dr. Martin P. Johnson, assistant professor of history, Miami University-Hamilton, and Dr. Joseph R. Fornieri, professor of political science and Director of the Center of Statesmanship, Law, and Liberty at Rochester Institute of Technology. Dr. Michael Burlingame, Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies at UIS, will give opening remarks on the relevance of the Gettysburg Address for Americans today, and serve as moderator.

Johnson’s lecture will discuss “Lincoln’s Journey to Gettysburg”, tracing Lincoln’s new vision of the American experiment in the words of his speech. In his lecture, “Abraham Lincoln’s Political Faith in the Gettysburg Address”, Fornieri will consider Lincoln’s statesmanship in preserving the nation’s political faith at Gettysburg and the meaning of its “new birth of freedom” in defending, affirming, and extending the Founders’ legacy of equality and self-government.

Johnson’s research has focused on the American Civil War and the politics of the Lincoln Administration. His most recent book, Writing the Gettysburg Address (University Press of Kansas, 2013) resolves longstanding mysteries about how Lincoln wrote his most admired speech. Fornieri is the author of several books on Lincoln’s political thought including Abraham Lincoln’s Political Faith (Northern Illinois University Press, 2005) that explores Lincoln’s religion and politics.

Burlingame and central Illinois photographer Robert Shaw have collaborated on a new book, A Day Long to Be Remembered – Lincoln in Gettysburg (Firelight Publishing, 2013). Slides of Shaw’s photographs of Gettysburg will be shown before the lectures begin at 7:00 and the book will be available for purchase after the program.

The Lincoln Legacy Lecture Series is sponsored by the UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership in cooperation with the Lynn Chair in Lincoln Studies. Cosponsors of this year's event are the Abraham Lincoln Association, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Public Affairs and Administration, Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund, Engaged Citizenship Speaker Series, Jim and Linda Gobberdiel, Illinois Issues, Illinois State Library, University of Illinois Alumni Association, and WUIS Public Radio.

Seating in Brookens Auditorium is limited; however overflow seating will be available in the Public Affairs Center, Level 1, Conference Room C/D, where the audience can watch a large-screen live video feed. Those unable to attend in person can watch a live webcast by going to www.uis.edu/technology/uislive.html at the time of the event.

For more information, contact the Center for State Policy and Leadership at 217/206-7094.

UIS Illinois Innocence Project to honor three with Defenders of the Innocent Awards

The Illinois Innocence Project at the University of Illinois Springfield will honor Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn, University of Illinois College of Law Professor J. Steven Beckett, and project volunteer Kiran Desai with Defenders of the Innocent Awards during their sixth annual reception. The event will take place on Saturday, April 6, 2013 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Artisans Building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield.

Eric Zorn has been a powerful force exposing flaws of the criminal justice system and informing the public with his columns in the Chicago Tribune. Zorn covered the infamous Jeanine Nicarico case and the wrongful convictions of Alex Hernandez and Rolando Cruz in over 100 columns. He chronicled the saga of Herb Whitlock’s and Randy Steidl’s wrongful convictions. He permeated the political rhetoric with his coverage of Juan Rivera’s wrongful conviction. Zorn chronicled the death penalty abolition movement and exposed the flaws of the criminal justice system. His and the Chicago Tribune’s reporting advance the cause of wrongful convictions and inform the public, adding pressure needed to reform the criminal justice system.

Professor J. Steven Beckett is the director of Trial Advocacy at the University of Illinois College of Law. In addition to teaching about trial advocacy, client counseling, evidence and white-collar crime, he serves as a liaison for students enrolled in the Illinois Innocence Project course and externship. He is the lead counsel of a team of three attorneys who individually represent the Slover family. Professor Beckett has donated countless pro bono hours to advance their case.

Kiran Desai first began volunteering with the Illinois Innocence Project in 2012. He brings years of experience working professionally in the data management field and is able to apply that knowledge to assist with managing large amounts of data for grant reporting, client management, and other office needs. Desai is passionate about seeking justice and is a faithful and reliable volunteer, often the first in the office each morning. Besides his invaluable contribution in the project’s office, he also attends court visits and presentations by project exonerees.

Illinois Innocence Project exonerees Keith Harris, Julia Rea, Herb Whitlock, and Anthony Murray plan to attend the event. Murray will be speaking as will Juan Rivera, a Center on Wrongful Convictions exoneree.

The event is open to the public, however registration is encouraged. A tax-deductible donation of $100 is suggested for those purchasing tickets. A shuttle will be provided from the Fairground’s Happy Hollow parking lot. The event will feature substantial hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction, and cash bar. To register, please call 217/206-6058 or visit www.uis.edu/innocenceproject/.

UIS Lincoln Legacy Lectures to discuss the Emancipation Proclamation and Slavery Today

The 10th Annual Lincoln Legacy Lectures presented by the University of Illinois Springfield will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, October 11, 2012 in Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library at UIS.

This year’s topic is “Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation.” The lectures, and a reception and book signing that will immediately follow, are free and open to the public. No reservation is required.

The Lincoln Legacy Lecture Series brings nationally known scholars to Springfield to discuss issues that are of contemporary interest and also engaged Abraham Lincoln and citizens of his era.

This year’s featured speakers are Dr. Allen C. Guelzo, director of Civil War Era Studies at Gettysburg College, and Ron Soodalter, historian and author. Dr. Michael Burlingame, Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies at UIS, will serve as moderator.

Guelzo’s lecture will discuss Lincoln’s decision making in “Four Roads to Emancipation.” Soodalter will describe “A Blight on the Nation: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today.”

Guelzo is one of America’s foremost Lincoln scholars and author of many books on Lincoln and the Civil War, including Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America (Simon & Schuster, 2004) and Fateful Lightning: A New History of the Civil War and Reconstruction (Oxford University Press, 2012).

Soodalter is the author of The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today (with K. Bales, University of California Press, 2010) and Hanging Captain Gordon: The Life and Trial of an American Slave Trader (Atria, 2006).

The Lincoln Legacy Lecture Series is sponsored by the UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership in cooperation with the Lynn Chair in Lincoln Studies. Cosponsors of this year's event are: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Public Affairs and Administration, Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund, Engaged Citizenship Speakers Series, Illinois Issues, Illinois State Library, University of Illinois Alumni Association, and WUIS Public Radio.

 Seating in Brookens Auditorium is limited; however overflow seating will be available in the Public Affairs Center, Level 1, Conference Room C/D, where the audience can watch a large-screen live video feed. Those unable to attend in person can watch a live webcast by going to www.uis.edu/technology/uislive.html at the time of the event.

For more information, contact the Center for State Policy and Leadership at 217/206-7094.