Camp Invention, summer program fostering creativity and problem-solving, returning to UIS

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield will host Camp Invention, the nation’s premier summer enrichment day camp program that is supported by the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the National Inventors Hall of Fame. The week-long day camp for students entering grades one through six fosters innovation and creativity while also building self-esteem, teamwork, persistence and goal-setting skills.

WHEN: June 20-24, 2016 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

WHERE: UIS Campus (Founders & University Hall)

DETAILS: Camp Invention, not only encourages inventive young minds through Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in a fun and creative atmosphere, it also incorporates outdoor activities. Students experience winning, success and victory, along with an adrenaline rush that comes with competition among students and successful completion of challenging projects.

Camp Invention provides a great opportunity for inventive young minds to exercise their creativity and use their imagination in ways they don’t normally get to – through real-world problem-solving challenges, they build things, take things apart, and explore different types of technology.

This year’s Camp Invention curriculum is called Epic™ and was inspired by some of our nation’s most brilliant minds including experienced educators, Inductees of the National Inventors Hall of Fame and members of the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Parents are asked to register their children using the online form at www.campinvention.org. UIS employees may use the promo code "HOST" for a $30 discount.

The Springfield program will be led by Harshavardhan Bapat, UIS associate professor of chemistry. For more information on Camp Invention, contact Bapat at 217/206-7744 or hbapa1@uis.edu.

UIS Speaker Series examines the unexpected link between temporary populations in Los Angeles

WHAT:       The University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE)Speaker Series will explore “Stay” in LA: Temporary Workers and Precarious Duration in Los Angeles, presented by Anne Cong-Huyen.

WHEN:       Tuesday, October 27, 2015 at 10:00 a.m.

WHERE:    Lincoln Residence Hall Great Room

DETAILS:  The global city of Los Angeles has long been notorious for its conflicting representational history. It persists as a destination for workers from the global south searching for opportunities in the hemispheric north.

                     This talk will examine LA as a city where diverse temporary populations struggle to endure and stay, particularly the H1B1 workers from South Asia in the high-tech industry and Latino day laborers. These groups are commonly represented on opposite ends of the economic and social spectrum. However, they are linked by the temporary and racialized nature of their work.

                     Anne Cong-Huyen, coordinator of the Digital Liberal Arts Center at Whittier College in Los Angeles, holds a Ph.D. in English from UC Santa Barbara and is a previous Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Transnational Studies at UCLA. Her research focuses on migration and labor in global cities such as Dubai, Los Angeles and Ho Chi Minh City.       

                     This discussion is co-sponsored by the University of Illinois Springfield Department of English.

For a list of other upcoming ECCE Speaker Series events and more information, visit www.uis.edu/speakerseries/. All events are free and open to the public.

UIS Wepner Symposium to explore Counter-Emancipation following Lincoln’s Death

The fifth Wepner Symposium on the Lincoln Legacy and Contemporary Scholarship at the University of Illinois Springfield will advance the concept of Counter-Emancipation following President Abraham Lincoln’s death, and its connections to racial inequality in the United States today.

The symposium will be held June 25-27, 2015 at UIS and the Old State Capitol in downtown Springfield. All events are free and open to the public.

According to Matthew Holden, Jr., the Wepner Distinguished Professor in Political Science at UIS, following Lincoln’s death supporters faced many political setbacks in advancing Emancipation policies. “President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclaim intended that the freed people would be ‘forever free.’ Counter-Emancipation is the purposeful effort, over time, to undercut the idea of Emancipation and restore the world to as near possible before Emancipation,” said Holden.

“Lincoln supporters struggled after his death and failed to gain common acceptance for the 13th. 14th, and 15th amendments.”

In a presentation on Thursday, June 25 at 6 p.m. in UIS Brookens Auditorium Holden will argue by World War I race relations in the United States were worse than at any time in the previous 50 years. The Thursday night session will also receive a major lecture by Cornell University political scientist D. Alexander Bateman.

Day two of the Wepner Symposium begins on Friday, June 26 at the UIS Public Affairs Center. From 8:30 a.m. to Noon Lorena Sue Johnson from UIS, James W. Ingram III from San Diego State University, and Shoon Lio from UIS will present. Following lunch, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., Khalilah Brown-Dean of Quinnipiac University will present.

The final day of the symposium on Saturday, June 27 will take place at the Old State Capitol in downtown Springfield where Lincoln delivered the “House Divided” speech and accepted the Republican senatorial nomination in 1858.

The extent of economic and social division in the country today will be considered in a roundtable discussion on “Degrees of Freedom/Degrees of Inequality” from 9 to 10:45 a.m. Following the roundtable, the intellectual and psychological division will be considered in a presentation by Holden, which will examine four historians and journalists’ writing on Lincoln’s attitudes to African Americans and what Africans have thought of Lincoln even today.

The symposium seeks to bridge the gap between K-12 and university education, as well as bring together scholars from around the country with diverse intellectual backgrounds, from political science to history, law, economics and other disciplines.

Click here for more information on the Wepner Symposium.

UIS Lunch & Learn Series presents "Gerontological Education: Early Foundations and Future Demands"

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield Alumni SAGE Society and Illinois State Historical Society presents “Gerontological Education: Early Foundations and Future Demands” as part of the Lunch and Learn Series.

WHEN: Wednesday, December 5 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

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

DETAILS: Learn about the early foundations of gerontological education and what specific trends and events contributed to the evolution of the discipline. Also learn from a current and futurist perspective what impact the baby boomer cohort’s life decisions will have on services. Dr. Carolyn Peck, UIS associate professor and chair of the human services gerontology program, and Ruth Bixby, founder and director of Lincoln Land Community College’s occupational therapy assistant program will present.

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.

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.

UIS to celebrate 5th annual Sustainability Days

The University of Illinois Springfield will celebrate Sustainability Days (November 12-15, 2012) with several activities on campus. All events are free and open to the public.

Monday, November 12 

Electronic Waste Collection/Recycling
When: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Where: Brookens Library loading dock

“Art in Nature” Contest Submission Deadline 
Entries must be submitted to Mary Umbarger, SLB 16, by 10 a.m.
Prizes will be awarded for 1st place, 2nd place, & popular vote. All medians of art accepted.

Tuesday, November 13 

Launch of Food Services Clamshell Program 
Participants will have the option of replace there Styrofoam containers and get a clamshell container. This event is limited to the first 50 participants.
When: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: PAC Food Emporium

Electronic Waste Collection/Recycling 
When: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Where: Brookens Library loading dock

“Art in Nature” Contest Voting Begins 
When: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: Across from the PAC Food Emporium

Wednesday, November 14 

Earth Fair 
Meet local environmental groups at the Earth Fair.
When: 6:45 – 7:30 p.m.
Where: Tunnel outside Brookens Auditorium

Foreign Intervention & Domestic Conflict in the Congo featuring Séverine Autesserre 
Séverine Autesserre, will discuss her book, The Trouble with the Congo, which won the Chadwick Alger prize presented by the International Studies Association for the best book on international organizations and multilateralism published in 2010.
When: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Brookens Auditorium

“Art in Nature” Contest Voting
When: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: Across from the PAC Food Emporium

Thursday, November 15 

“Art in Nature” Contest Voting
When: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: Across from the PAC Food Emporium

Sustainability Open Microphone and “Art in Nature” Reception
When: 4:30 to 6 p.m. (Contest winners announced at 5:30 p.m.)
Where: PAC C/D
Light refreshments will be served.

UIS Sustainability Days are sponsored by the Senate Committee on Sustainability, Lambda Pi Eta, Students Allied for a Greener Earth, Department of Environmental Studies, and BLH Computers of Springfield.

Illinois Innocence Project presents "DNA as Evidence"

WHAT: The Illinois Innocence Project, based at the University of Illinois Springfield, is giving you a chance to learn about DNA. The project will host a lecture by Cris Hughes, Ph.D. from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). She will discuss how human genetic variations in DNA can be used in a variety of contexts.

WHEN: Monday, November 5, 2012 at 6 p.m.

WHERE: UIS Public Affairs Center (PAC), Conference Room G

DETAILS: Participants will learn ‘the basics’ of forensic DNA, understand how DNA testing is used in the criminal justice system, and discover the science behind genetics at Native American anthropological sites.

Hughes will discuss how DNA has been used in her work on the border at the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner in Tucson, Arizona. She will also discuss her work at the Malhi Degraded DNA Laboratory at UIUC, which focuses on living and ancestral genetic variation in Native Americans. Additionally, she will address the way that degraded DNA, associated with crimes, is processed and used in cases.

This Illinois Innocence Project event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Mandy Altman at 217/206-6569. For more on the project, visit their website at www.uis.edu/innocenceproject/.

Cyber Defense and Disaster Recovery Conference explores "Securing the Human"

“Securing the Human” was the focus of the 2011 Cyber Defense and Disaster Recovery Conference at the University of Illinois Springfield on March 11, 2011.

The one-day training conference was organized by the UIS Computer Science Department, in conjunction with InfraGard Springfield, an initiative of the FBI, and CSSIA, a regional center for cyber security.

“Securing the Human is protecting them from disasters that they can get themselves into by giving out information they shouldn’t,” said Ted Mims, chair of the UIS Computer Science Department.

More than 200 people attended the conference, which included speakers from around the country talking about topics, such as “Using the Internet to Discover Personal Information” and “Securing Access to Applications and Social Media”.

“It’s an extremely important topic in cyber security and physical security. It’s probably our greatest weakness,” said Daniel Hancock, a senior Computer Science major who helped organize the conference.

Hancock says the conference is not only a chance for students like him to learn about the latest threats, but build connections with people in the industry.

“It presents a good networking opportunity to be able to get with them and discuss recent security trends,” said Hancock.

Conference participants were made up of law enforcement personnel, members of state agencies, as well as representatives from the public and private sector.

UIS hosts Illinois State Library initiative on using technology to create positive change

The University of Illinois Springfield hosted the ILEAD U (Illinois Libraries Explore, Apply and Discover) Initiative, which met Feb. 28-March 3, 2011 on campus. The initiative is part of the Illinois State Library’s effort to use web technologies that foster community participation to create innovation and positive change

“It’s really a program about leadership more than anything, but they come together in this team effort to craft a solution that meets this need,” said Anne Craig, director of the Illinois State Library.

UIS has hosted the event before and the university also has a number of librarians who have taken part in the initiative. Four staff members from Brookens Library participated last year and visiting instructional librarian Sarah Sagmoen was selected to serve as an instructor this year.

“We have a lot of things to show off and we get a chance to say what we’re doing and then people can take that back to their libraries and see if it will work for them,” said Sagmoen.

University Librarian and Dean Jane Treadwell says the experience the UIS librarians gain from the initiative is invaluable.

“I think it’s wonderful to be able to work with the state library and to capitalize on the fact that we’re both in the state capitol here. It’s a really good partnership,” said Treadwell.

"Expanding Your Horizons" gives girls hands-on lessons in math, science and technology

WHAT: The American Association of University Women - Springfield Branch will host "Expanding Your Horizons in Math, Science and Technology" – a hands-on conference designed for girls in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades.

WHEN: Saturday, March 19, 2011 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

WHERE: Public Affairs Center (PAC) on the UIS campus

DETAILS: Many cutting-edge careers will involve science, technology, engineering and math and will be wide open to well-prepared young women. Girls who attend this conference can choose three sessions from more than 20 hands-on, experiential workshops. Separate workshops for parents and teachers will be held concurrently.

Girls’ workshops will allow participants to interact with successful women who are scientists, physicians, engineers, architects and professionals in many other careers traditionally held by men. They will meet other girls with similar interests and learn about career opportunities for women in these fields.

Workshops include From Science to Smoothie, At the Scene of the Crime, The Unseen World Around Us, Futuristic Medicine Today, Soar into Engineering, and Horsin’ Around, among others.

The workshops for adults are designed to provide information on how to help girls cope with issues common to their age group and provide links to the resources they will need for access to higher education and careers.

Adult workshop topics include Best Practices in Bullying Prevention and Intervention for Adolescents and Unraveling the Mystery of the ACT and SAT.

The event is presented by the American Association of University Women - Springfield Branch, and is sponsored by the University of Illinois Springfield and The Children’s Center of Mental Health Centers of Central Illinois, a Memorial Health System affiliate.

Advance registration is required and space is limited for this event. For a brochure and registration information, call 217/787-8078 or go to www.aauw-il.org/springfield/eyh.htm.

Whitney Young program to showcase student fellows

WHAT: The Whitney M. Young Graduate Fellowship Program at the University of Illinois Springfield will host a symposium to showcase the work of students who are current Fellows. The event is free and open to the public.

WHEN: Friday, February 4, 2011 from 10 a.m. to noon

WHERE: Conference room G in the Public Affairs Center on the UIS campus

DETAILS: The fellowship program is open to full-time students who are accepted into a graduate degree program at UIS and is designed to help students pursue and complete their degrees in a timely manner. The program also aims to enhance research and leadership skills through regular seminars and by involving students in public service projects that complement their academic disciplines.

The program is named after the late Whitney M. Young Jr., former Executive Director of the National Urban league, educator, and activist. The program carries on his legacy and is focused on graduate students who are underrepresented at UIS, including ethnic and racial minorities, first generation college students and students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

During the symposium, current Fellows of the program will speak about both academic and public service work they have done this year in the classroom and in the community. Fellows will be available for discussion after formal presentations. Come out to see some of UIS’ best, brightest and most committed graduate students.

For more information about the symposium or the fellowship program, contact Cecilia Cornell, director of the program, at 217/206-7430 or email ccorn1@uis.edu.

"Birds of Emiquon" event rescheduled for May 6 at Therkildsen Field Station

WHAT: A public seminar entitled “Birds of Emiquon” featuring Tharran Hobson, an Illinois River Restoration Manager with The Nature Conservancy originally scheduled for April 29 at 5 p.m. has been postponed due to a wind advisory.

WHEN: Rescheduled for Thursday, May 6, 2010 at 5 p.m.

WHERE: Alfred O. and Barbara Cordwell Therkildsen Field Station at Emiquon (formerly the Emiquon Field Station) near Lewistown, Illinois

DETAILS: Hobson will present a short orientation to bird watching, and then guide visitors on a walk up the bluff behind the Field Station. Bird sightings and photography will be possible. “This time of year is good for migrant warblers in the uplands,” notes Hobson. Visitors are advised to dress appropriately for hiking and bring binoculars.

UIS’ Therkildsen Field Station is at The Nature Conservancy’s Emiquon Preserve, located between Havana, IL and Lewistown, IL near the Dickson Mounds Museum. The program is free and open to the public; reservations are not required. Entrance to the field station is on Prairie Road, located off Illinois Rts. 97/78, approximately one-and-a-half miles north of the Dickson Mounds turnoff. A sign will be posted at the turnoff and a map is also available online at www.uis.edu/emiquon/.

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 Hua Chen, Interim Director of the Therkildsen Field Station at Emiquon, at hchen40@uis.edu or (217) 206-8339.

UIS Health Awareness Week offers lifesaving screenings and education

The University of Illinois Springfield Campus Health Service and the Master of Public Health Student Association hosted a health fair providing screens and educational services on Wednesday, April 7.

Students, faculty, staff and community members were invited to take part in the annual event, which celebrates National Public Health Week.

“Prevention is key. A lot of times people don’t know they have a problem and if it can be detected early they can prevent it from becoming worse,” said Jill Stoops, UIS Campus Health Service nurse practitioner.

Stoops hopes health fairs like this one will help catch problems early by offering blood glucose, blood pressure, body fat testing, bone density and HIV screenings.

“I’ve actually had a few people from the community who have come, who have had high blood pressure and didn’t know it or high cholesterol,” she said.

UIS invited outside health providers like Memorial Medical Center and St. John’s Hospital to help with the screenings. Other on-campus health services like the Counseling Center were also represented.

“Education and just awareness is such a good tool and a good key to keeping people happy and living a successful life,” said Michelle Skotzke, UIS Counseling Center graduate assistant.

The Counseling Center helps student’s cope with stress related issues or other mental health problems that may be impacting their lives.

UIS Health Awareness Week runs through Friday, April 9. Organizers have a week full of activities planned, which include speakers and other presentations. Learn more by visiting our previous news release on the event.

"Under the Dome" gives high school students an insider look at state government

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield will host its second annual “Under the Dome” event, giving central Illinois high school students a behind the scenes look at the statehouse during the spring 2010 legislative session.

WHEN: Wednesday, March 24, 2010 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

WHERE: Illinois State Capitol Building - Springfield, Illinois

DETAILS: “Under the Dome” is the state’s premier immersion event for high school juniors interested in government, politics, and public service.

Students and teachers will spend the day behind the scenes at the Illinois Statehouse on one of the busiest days of the legislative session. They’ll talk with lawmakers and lobbyists, analysts and journalists, and see up close how policy is made in Illinois.

UIS has been preparing leaders in government and public service since its founding 40 years ago. UIS government-related majors include Communication, Criminal Justice, Environmental Sciences, Environmental Studies, Global Studies, Legal Studies, Political Science, Public Administration, Public Affairs Reporting and Public Health.

Enrollment is limited to 40 high school juniors in order to provide a quality in-depth experience. There is no cost for students to attend and lunch is provided, along with snacks and beverages.

View our Under the Dome webpage for more information.

Speakers Series presents American Indian Traditions: Black Elk's Legacy

WHAT: University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series presents American Indian Traditions: Black Elk's Legacy. The featured speaker for this event is Aaron Black Elk DeSersa, a member of the Lakota Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, living on Pine Ridge Reservation.

WHEN: Tuesday, March 23, 2010 at 7:00 p.m.

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

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

DETAILS: DeSersa is the great-grandson of Nicholas Black Elk and holder of the Black Elk family pipe, signifying him as the religious leader or spiritual conscience of the family.

He will describe for us the unique contribution his great-grandfather and family have made to our culture. In carrying on their traditional way of life, and in educating others about "walking in a sacred manner", or continuously honoring your beliefs in your life and your work, the Black Elk DeSersa family embody a unique world view. The American Indian perspective of the connectedness of all people, and indeed all living things, means that their orientation to life is different from that of most Americans.

Aaron will share some family, tribal and American history, and will describe some of the ongoing results of his great-grandfather's teachings. Such an authentic voice from one of the best known, historic American Indian families is a rare opportunity for the Springfield community.

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.

"Expanding Your Horizons" gives girls hands-on lessons in math, science and technology

WHAT: "Expanding Your Horizons in Math, Science and Technology" – a hands-on conference designed for girls in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades.

WHEN: Saturday, March 20, 2010 from 8:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

WHERE: Public Affairs Center (PAC) on the UIS campus

DETAILS: Many cutting-edge careers will involve science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and will be wide open to well-prepared young women. Girls who attend this conference can choose three sessions from more than 20 hands-on, experiential workshops in these STEM areas. Separate workshops for parents and teachers will be held concurrently.

Girls’ workshops will allow participants to interact with successful women who are scientists, physicians, engineers, architects and professionals in many other careers traditionally held by men. They will meet other girls with similar interests and learn about career opportunities for women in these fields.

A partial list of topics includes The Fantastic Voyage... Inside our Bodies, Medical Laboratory Investigators Solve a Mystery, Women of the Web – Create a Personal Photo Web Page, Come Fly with us, and Are you Superhero Material?

The workshops for adults are designed to provide information on how to help girls cope with issues common to their age group, keep them on track for success in math, science and technology, and provide links to the resources to help access higher education and career information.

Adult workshop topics include Bridging the Gaps during Middle and High School, Unraveling the Mystery of the ACT and SAT, and “Green” Your Daughter’s Career for More “Green” in Her Wallet.

The event is presented by the American Association of University Women - Springfield Branch, and is sponsored by UIS and The Children's Center, a Memorial Health System affiliate.

Advance registration is required and space is limited for this event. For a brochure and registration information, call 217/787-8078 or go to www.aauw-il.org/springfield.

UIS alumni share literary talents with the community

Two UIS graduates, A.D. Carson and Michael Gammon, will present a series of creative-writing workshops for members of the community ages 16 and older. Quiddity international literary journal and public-radio program is sponsoring the workshops.

A.D. Carson is a writer and educator who received his B.A. in Education and Creative Writing from Millikin University and an M.A. in English from the University of Illinois Springfield. He is a recipient of the Grace Patton Conant Award for Literary Creation, and his work has appeared in Collage and The Alchemist Review.

Michael Gammon is a writer, editor, and teacher. He has published poetry in Collaborations: The Journal of Integral Yoga, and fiction in The Alchemist Review. In addition, he authored two award-winning essays. Currently he is writing a series of screenplays that integrate his studies in English, psychology, and philosophy.

The first workshop takes place on December 5, 2009, from 10 a.m.–12 p.m. in Dawson Hall Room 103 on the Benedictine University Springfield campus. Carson will present and lead "Blended Media: Making Lyrics Work on the Page and Making Poetry Work Out Loud." The workshop will be held in two parts. Part I will take place December 5. Part II will take place January 9, 2010, from 10 a.m.–12 p.m. The workshops are free. Space is limited. Interested participants should call (217) 525-1420, ext. 291, to reserve their seat.

In February and March, Gammon, will lead a two-part workshop centering on creative philosophy and titled “Relevant and Impassioned: Using Critical Theory to Tell Stories.”

Springfield and the Sangamon Valley enjoy a lush literary tradition. Quiddity seeks to build and expand upon that tradition, not only seeking work from a wide and diverse pool of individuals around the globe, but also by serving the community in which Quiddity is housed.

Quiddity is sponsored by Benedictine University in Springfield. Quiddity’s founding editor, novelist Joanna Beth Tweedy, is a graduate of both UIUC ’95 and UIS ’04. Quiddity’s prose editor, David, Logan, is also a graduate of UIS ’04.

Speakers Series: Battle in Seattle

WHAT: University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series presents Battle in Seattle film viewing followed by a discussion moderated by Richard Gilman-Opalsky.

WHEN: Monday, September 21, 2009 at 6:00 p.m.

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

ADDITIONAL INFO: Battle in Seattle is a 2007 film based on the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference of 1999 protest activity. Thousands of activists arrive in Seattle to protest the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999. The movie takes an in-depth look at characters during those five days in as demonstrators protested the meeting of the WTO in Seattle's streets. Protests began with a goal of stopping the WTO talks, and escalated to a State of Emergency that pitted protesters against the police and National Guard. http://www.battleinseattlemovie.com/

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.

Speakers Series: State of the Recovery

WHAT: University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series presents a State of the Recovery panel discussion on the status of the Central Illinois economy.

WHEN: Friday, September 18, 2009 at 12:00 p.m.

WHERE: Public Affairs Center (PAC) Lobby at UIS

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

ADDITIONAL INFO: WUIS General Manager Bill Wheelhouse will facilitate the panel discussion featuring Jeremy Hobson, Marketplace Wall Street reporter; Tim Landis, State Journal- Register business editor; and Ronald McNeil, Dean of the UIS College of
Business & Management.

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.

Constitution Day Panel: Lincoln and the Constitution

WHAT: University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series presents Constitution Day Panel: Lincoln and the Constitution featuring Dr. Thomas F. Schwartz, John A. Lupton and Dr. Daniel W. Stowell.

WHEN: Thursday, September 17, 2009 at 12:00 p.m.

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

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

ADDITIONAL INFO: Dr. Thomas F. Schwartz will present Lincoln, Politics and the Constitution. Dr. Schwartz is the Illinois State Historian and Director of Research at the
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. He recently participated in the Global Lincoln Conference at Oxford University that explored how other nations view Abraham Lincoln. http://www.alplm.org/

John A. Lupton will present Lincoln's War Powers. Mr. Lupton is the Associate Director and Associate Editor of the Papers of Abraham Lincoln. He has spoken widely on Abraham Lincoln and on the law. He received his M.A. at UIS. http://www.papersofabrahamlincoln.org/

Dr. Daniel W. Stowell will present Seceding from the Secessionists: The Constitutional Problem of West Virginia. Dr. Stowell is the director and editor of the Papers of Abraham Lincoln. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Georgia, and his doctorate in American History from the University of Florida.

The event is co-sponsored by the UIS Center for State Policy & Leadership.

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.

Speakers Series: Transforming "China" in American Eyes

WHAT: University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speakers Series presents Transforming “China” in American Eyes featuring Dr. Zhou Liu of Northeastern University of China.

WHEN: Wednesday, September 9, 2009 at 2:00 p.m.

WHERE: Brookens Auditorium on the lower level of Brookens Library at UIS
(The event will be available via live webcast and video on demand at http://www.uis.edu/technology/uislive.html)

ADDITIONAL INFO: Dr. Liu will discuss the transformative images of China and Chinese in the United States, addressing Chinese American immigration history and the mainstream’s cultural shift from Anglo-Saxon’s WASP dominance to multicultural era. Dr. Liu is currently a visiting scholar at the Department of English at the University of Washington.

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.