Illinois Springfield in the News

College Report: Smith Earns GLVC, NCAA Honors

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:56:00 +0000

Every softball game that University of Illinois-Springfield had this year, Nokomis graduate Mandy Smith was looking to steal.

Smith, a sophomore, is a base stealer extraordinaire. She was one of three UIS players that stole over 10 bases this year and one of only two that posted more than 25 in the 58 UIS games.

One has to believe that Smith's ability to stretch a single into a double, the old fashioned way, was one of the reasons that the Great Lakes Valley Conference opposition coaches named her to the all-conference team.

Smith was featured in an May 17, 2012, article in the Hillsboro Journal-News.

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First-year UIS coach Rooke adds sand, Champaign to recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:53:00 +0000

The Energizer Bunny has spent the last few months masquerading as University of Illinois Springfield volleyball coach Noelle Rooke.

Rooke has been on the go since she was hired in March to oversee a program that hasn’t had a winning record since 2007. She experienced a “whirlwind” spring season that introduced the Prairie Stars to an entirely new way of doing things.

“I couldn’t imagine coming in over the summer and the first day being with them would have been the first day of the preseason,” Rooke said. “Give or take we had four weeks together, so that behooved us. I was happy to have it but wish I had more time.”

Rooke, who came from NCAA Division I Mercer, crammed as much as she could into those weeks. She also implemented offensive and defensive systems.

Week One started player evaluations and ended with UIS playing in a tournament at Lincoln Land. More training took place the second week, and tryouts were held.

Rooke was featured in an May 15, 2012, article in the State Journal-Register.

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Colleges create campus ties for online students

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Thu, 17 May 2012 19:50:00 +0000

Most schools still do little more than invite their online students to graduation ceremonies. Some will even broadcast those sessions on websites, for those who can't attend.

But there are those that have taken some extra steps.

It's actually nothing new at the University of Illinois at Springfield, which has been offering an online graduate brunch for a decade. It brings in about 300 students and family members each year, with students coming from all over the country to take part, said Ray Schroeder, director of the Center for Online Learning, Research, and Service.

"They crave the opportunity to meet their professors and shake hands with other students," Schroeder said.

Schroeder was featured in an May 13, 2012, article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

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Twins 'start together, end together' at UIS graduation

noreply@blogger.com (UIS Web Services) — Mon, 14 May 2012 20:09:00 +0000

It was only fitting that Elizabeth and Margaret Wright of Taylorville both donned caps and gowns for the University of Illinois Springfield’s commencement Saturday.

Despite graduating last semester, Margaret waited for Saturday’s ceremony so she could share the moment with her twin sister.

After all, Elizabeth and Margaret, both 22, had lived together for three years, graduated with degrees in communications and were nearly inseparable during their time at UIS.

“Start together, end together,” Margaret said.

UIS celebrated its 41st commencement Saturday at the Prairie Capital Convention Center. Of the 1,316 students eligible to graduate, 768 participated in the ceremony. That was the most since 2000, said Derek Schnapp, a spokesman for the university.

Wenguang Huang, a Chicago-based journalist, writer and translator who graduated from the university’s Public Affairs Reporting program in 1991, was the commencement speaker.

Huang’s recently published memoir, "The Little Red Guard,” chronicles his life growing up in China. He also contributes regularly to Fortune, the New York Times, the Asian Wall Street Journal and the Chicago Tribune, among other publications.

Commencement was featured in an May 13, 2012, article in the State Journal-Register.

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Double the excitement at UIS graduation

noreply@blogger.com (UIS Web Services) — Mon, 14 May 2012 20:07:00 +0000

Hundreds of students participated in this year's University of Illinois Springfield graduation ceremony. But four graduates from two families had twice as many reasons to celebrate the class of 2012.

While most in the class of 2012 have had four years to bond, some of them have had a little longer.

“We’ve been together grade school, junior high, high school, now college and now we’re both going to be going our separate ways,” said graduate Margaret Wright.

Wright and her identical twin Elizabeth are both communication majors.

“We could do homework together and kind of bounce ideas off each other for papers and topics. It was great,” said Elizabeth.

The twins graduating in the same class is not much of a stretch, a mother and daughter duo was also surprised to see it happen to them.

“It’s one thing to watch your child graduate, but to be able to experience it with her is just going to be a totally different experience,” said Lisa Daykin. Her daughter Allysa also graduated during the ceremony.

Commencement was featured by WICS-TV in an May 12, 2012, report.

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Chancellor Koch offers advice to college graduates

noreply@blogger.com (UIS Web Services) — Mon, 14 May 2012 19:56:00 +0000

College seniors are finishing up finals and looking forward to donning their cap and gown. Walking across the stage to accept their diploma represents their first steps into the real world. So how do they make sure they take the right path and gain success?

A love of learning is what drove Susan Koch to become an educator. She’s now chancellor of the University of Illinois Springfield. She says her key to success has been pushing herself beyond what she thought she was capable of, but one thing she wishes she had when first starting out is a more global awareness.

"Get out there. Take the opportunity to go to some place you haven't been before to be with people who are not like you and to learn things that are just way outside the bounds of what you are use to," said Koch.

Koch's advice was featured in an May 11, 2012, report by WICS-TV.

Watch the story online

Area colleges: UIS men's basketball adds three players

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:24:00 +0000

John Wood Community College transfer Regan Bruenger, Glenbard South High School senior Dusko Despot and Downers Grove South High School senior Jamall Millison have signed with the University of Illinois Springfield men’s basketball program.

Bruenger, a 6-foot-2, 200-pound guard, averaged 15 points and shot 47 percent from the field for John Wood, which was ranked No. 2 in National Junior College Athletic Association Division II top 25 poll last season. The two-year starter was named to the Mid-West Athletic Conference and the all-Region 24 first teams.

Despot, a 6-5, 200-pound forward, averaged 14.3 points and 6.8 rebounds for Glenbard South High School as a senior. He was twice named to an all-area team and Metro Suburban all-conference team.

The 6-2, 190-pound Millison was a three-year starter at Downers Grove South High School, averaging 14 points, five assists and five rebounds last season as the team’s most valuable player.

The players were featured in an May 10, 2012, article in the State Journal-Register.

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UIS commencement speaker and former student portrays life in The Little Red Guard

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:16:00 +0000

The following book review was written by Mary Bohlen and published in an May 10, 2012, edition of the Illinois Times.

"I thought I knew the story of Wenguang Huang, who will be the commencement speaker at the University of Illinois Springfield May 12. After all, I’ve known Wen for 21 years, first as my student at UIS and later as a dear family friend. He met my extended family, picked apples in my husband’s orchard and even flew from Chicago to Boston for my son’s wedding.

I was wrong.

Sure, I knew he had grown up in China during the Cultural Revolution, was involved in student protests at the time of Tiananmen and had embraced democracy after a short time in the United States. Not until I read his just-published and captivating memoir did I realize the extent of his journey.

Most of all, I did not know he had been the keeper of his grandmother’s coffin, a fact that stands at the center of The Little Red Guard."

Read the full review online

Springfield history in old newspaper photos

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:13:00 +0000

It’s like a long forgotten, 80-year-old scrapbook of our city. It shows a bustling downtown crowded with men wearing fedoras and women in fur coats, a family brewery preparing for the onslaught of business after Prohibition, a swimming hole packed on a busy summer day, and many more scenes of daily life in Springfield between 1929 and 1935.

It’s not a literal scrapbook, but an exhibition of black and white photos developed from glass plates taken by Illinois State Journal photographers and neglected for decades.

Rich Saal, photographer for the State Journal-Register (which was formed when the city‘s two newspapers, the Journal and the Register, combined), organized the exhibition. In 2004, while preparing a different exhibition to celebrate the paper’s 175th anniversary, Saal started reviewing its old photos.

“I was blown away at how good and how descriptive they were. I felt like I was there looking at life in the 1930s,” he says. After studying those photos, “I wanted to study the period and know more about it, and get a better idea of what these pictures meant.” So, he went to the University of Illinois Springfield and got his master’s degree in history.

The project was featured in an May 10, 2012, article in the Illinois Times.

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Emiquon science lecture set Sunday at Field Station

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Wed, 09 May 2012 21:31:00 +0000

The next installment of the Emiquon Partners Science Lecture Series will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 13. This presentation is titled "Not Just Pretty Flowers: Restoration in the Age of Global Change."

Amy McEuen is an associate professor in the Biology Department at University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) where she teaches courses in ecology, environmental biology, and statistics.

She holds a PhD in terrestrial ecology and a master of science degree in wildlife ecology from the University of Michigan. Her expertise is in conservation biology, focusing on plant communities. She and her students have been studying the tallgrass prairie restoration that began at Emiquon in 2007.

The event was featured in an May 9, 2012, edition of the Canton Daily Ledger.

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Softball: Stars' Gray, Smith make second team

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Wed, 09 May 2012 21:28:00 +0000

University of Illinois Springfield junior second baseman Sarah Gray and sophomore right fielder Mandy Smith have been named to the All-Midwest Region second team by Daktronics.

Gray ranked eighth in NCAA Division II and led the Great Lakes Valley Conference with 47 stolen bases in 53 attempts. She was first in runs scored with 51 and doubles with 16. She hit .305 and had 22 RBIs, three home runs and two triples.

Smith had 14 RBIs, five doubles and a triple en route to a .312 batting average. Her 29 stolen bases ranked sixth in the GLVC and No. 32 in Division II. She scored 28 runs.

Gray and Smith are the first UIS softball players to receive all-region honors from Daktronics.

The players were featured in an May 9, 2012, article in The State Journal-Register.

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'Little Red Guard' author Wen Huang has come to terms with his father, and with China

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:06:00 +0000

Wenguang Huang, whose book traces his path from schoolboy communist to Chicago resident, notes the tiny contradictions and fissures of party loyalty, but also paints a rare portrait of the every day family eccentricities of China in the 1970s.

A couple of months ago, as strong early notices for "The Little Red Guard" began coming in from Publishers Weekly and Oprah.com, Huang packed unpublished proofs of the memoir and flew to China. He brought a copy to his father's grave. He thought his father would have been horrified at its mentions of family secrets and fights.

Huang is 47. He has a Charlie Brown head, the smile of a Halloween pumpkin and the cheerful, ingratiating manner of a guy who makes friends easily. He came to Chicago via the University of Illinois at Springfield, where he studied journalism in the early '90s. He worked in the state legislature's research division, and today — though for the past two decades he has been writing commentary about China for The New York Times, Fortune magazine and the Christian Science Monitor — Huang still keeps a marketing job at Aon.

Huang was featured in an May 8, 2012, article in the Chicago Tribune.

Read the full interview online

Special Report: The Illinois Innocence Project

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:30:00 +0000

The mission statement is simple. Free innocent people from prison. Making that happen can take years of investigation and lots of legal maneuvering.

But, the Illinois Innocence Project at the University of Illinois Springfield has freed several who were wrongfully convicted. So, how do they do it?

WICS-TV 20's Andrew Hansen has more in an May 7, 2012 special report: "Guilty, until proven innocent."

Watch the story online

Chinese writer, SSU grad, to speak at UIS graduation

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:55:00 +0000

Wenguang Huang, a Chicago-based journalist, writer and translator, says he owes a lot to Springfield, the first place in America he landed after he left China in 1990.

He’s going to return some hospitality by speaking at the University of Illinois Springfield commencement ceremony at 2 p.m. May 12 at the Prairie Capital Convention Center.

Huang grew up in northern China and obtained his bachelor’s degree in English literature and master’s degree in journalism from Fudan University in Shanghai. He participated in the student pro-democracy movement in Tiananmen Square in 1989 and shortly thereafter left his home for Springfield.

“I wasn’t a student leader, just a participant,” he said. “But many felt it was becoming oppressive in China.

Huang was featured in an May 7, 2012, article in The State Journal-Register.

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WUIS to emphasize news programming starting in July

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:30:00 +0000

WUIS 91.9 FM, the National Public Radio outlet at the University of Illinois Springfield, is switching weekday programming largely to news and information from classical music beginning July 2.

New weekday shows will include “Talk of the Nation,” which station officials say is the program most requested by WUIS listeners. “Talk of the Nation,” hosted by veteran NPR journalist Neal Conan, will air from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Other additions include “On Point,” a two-hour discussion and call-in show; “Here & Now,” the latest news and expanded conversation on the day’s events; and a new local program, “Illinois Central,” which will focus on the region, particularly the arts and news. WUIS general manager Bill Wheelhouse and news director Sean Crawford will co-host “Illinois Central.”

The changes were reported in an May 5, 2012, article in The State Journal-Register.

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Changes on the horizon for WUIS

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Thu, 03 May 2012 18:35:00 +0000

Change doesn’t have to be painful. At least that’s what WUIS general manager Bill Wheelhouse is hoping will be the case this summer, when the venerable radio station plans to shift from its longtime classical music-based programming to focus instead on news and talk.

“I like to call it ‘civilized talk,’ a public radio version of talk, as opposed to a shout-fest,” says Wheelhouse, quick to point out that Limbaugh-esque ranting will not be on WUIS’s agenda. “‘Informed talk’ would be another way to describe it,” he quips.

The de-emphasis on classical music at the station should come as no surprise, following on the heels of Karl Scroggin’s retirement at the end of March. Since 1984, Scroggin had been hosting “Classics” from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. “In this day and age, it’s not possible to find a replacement for someone like Karl,” Wheelhouse explains.

A firm was hired to survey the WUIS audience and later several listener focus groups were assembled to ensure the direction was best for the future of the station. The result of all this research clearly pointed in the direction of the news and talk format, which will also allow the station to do more timely coverage in the event of breaking news at the Capitol during the daytime. These changes will begin at 9 a.m. on the first Monday in July with the WUIS debut of “On Point,” a National Public Radio production from Boston.

The changes were featured by the Illinois Times in an May 3, 2012, report.

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UIS softball team earns spot in NCAA Division II tournament

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 22:02:00 +0000

Technical difficulties kept the University of Illlinois Springfield softball team from hearing the Prairie Stars’ name announced among the at-large selections for the NCAA Division II Softball National Championship, but it didn’t dampen their joy Monday.

UIS is headed to a national tournament for the first time in any sport since joining Division II in 2010. The Stars (34-20) are seeded fourth in the double-elimination Midwest Regional and play fifth-seeded Northern Kentucky (35-19) at 11 a.m. Friday in Indianapolis.

UIS is 2-1 this season against Northern Kentucky, which is moving to NCAA Division I later this year.

The winner plays at 10 a.m. Saturday against host and top-seeded Indianapolis (49-7) or No. 8 seed Wayne State (34-20), which play at 1:30 p.m. Friday. The loser plays at 2 p.m. Saturday.

UIS players and coach Mat Mundell gathered Monday morning to watch an Internet broadcast of the selection show. Technical problems delayed the announcement, so several players left for their classes.

“(Associate Director of Athletics) Scott Reed and some of the other coaches were anxiously waiting to see,” Mundell said. “There was an outburst of joy when we found out we were in for use.”

Mundell used text messaging to notify his team of the good news.

The announcement was published in an May 1, 2012, article in The State Journal-Register.

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UIS students plant Arbor Day trees in Carpenter, Gurgens parks

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 22:00:00 +0000

More than 200 University of Illinois Springfield students Friday found that it’s easier being green than Kermit the Frog would lead us to believe.

As part of UIS’s Springfest celebration and to commemorate Arbor Day, the students planted 3,500 native saplings in open spaces at Carpenter and Gurgens parks north of Springfield.

“We had 550 students registered for Springfest, and this is a service project part of it where the students accumulate points for their teams,” said Mark Dochterman, director of the UIS Volunteer & Civic Engagement Center.

Although the parks are forest preserves, large areas in them lack trees. The planting of pin oak, red oak, white oak and black oak saplings, as well as shagbark hickory trees, will help reclaim about 10 acres of open land.

The planting project provides a valuable service to the Springfield Park District while teaching students about sustainability and engaging them in environmental responsibility.

“I’m a biology major and I like the environment,” said Francisco Mendez, a UIS senior from Mexico. ”It’s nice to help out.”

The volunteer effort was featured in an April 28, 2012, article in The State Journal-Register.

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Illinois Innocence Project expands work to free the wrongfully convicted

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:41:00 +0000

When Jonathan Grayson went to the Kane County courthouse on March 6, he wasn’t expecting to walk out a free man. The 30-year-old had spent 10 years in prison for murder, and he still had another 65 years of prison ahead. But Grayson didn’t commit the murder that led to his incarceration, and on March 6, a Kane County judge overturned his conviction.

“When I first shook his hand, he was still in disbelief,” says Steven Schott, a third-year law student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Schott is part of the Illinois Innocence Project, a group of students, professors and attorneys based at the University of Illinois Springfield which works to free from prison people who are convicted of crimes they didn’t commit.

“He walked into court that day thinking he was going to remain in prison, but he walked out a free man,” Schott says. “He’s starting to get back into society. It’s pretty great.”

Grayson’s exoneration is the fourth for the Illinois Innocence Project, and it marks several changes for the group, now in its 11th year. Formerly known as the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project, the group has dropped “Downstate” from its name, signaling its expansion statewide. To facilitate that expansion, the project is joining forces with the state’s three public law schools, which also allows for a larger caseload. Meanwhile, the project has added two full-time lawyers and one part-time lawyer, providing valuable legal guidance to the quickly growing body of students involved in gaining justice for the wrongly convicted.

The Innocence Project was featured in an April 26, 2012, article in the Illinois Times.

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UIS softball team has been stealing the spotlight all season

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:38:00 +0000

University of Illinois Springfield softball player Mandy Smith was treated to a pleasant surprise when she left her dorm Wednesday.

Written on the sidewalk in chalk were messages congratulating Smith and her teammates on winning the GLVC West Division title Tuesday and racking up 30 wins this spring.

“It’s nice to walk out your dorm and see it on the ground,” Smith said.

The UIS softball team is the first program to win a division title in the school’s brief NCAA Division II era.

The Prairie Stars will make their postseason debut Friday at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship Tournament in East Peoria as the No. 2 seed. UIS (30-18) opens the double-elimination tourney against seventh-seeded Bellarmine (31-25) at noon at EastSide Centre.

The team was featured in an April 26, 2012, article in The State Journal-Register.

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UIS softball wins West, earns No. 2 seed

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:45:00 +0000

The University of Illinois Springfield finished first in the Great Lakes Valley Conference West Division and earned the No. 2 seed for the upcoming GLVC Championship tournament with a doubleheader sweep of Missouri S&T on Tuesday.

The Stars (30-8) won their division via a tiebreaker. Both UIS and Drury finished with 22-12 GLVC records in the West. Since the teams split a pair of doubleheaders, divisional records were used to break the tie. UIS was 20-8 in division play, while Drury went 16-10.

The Stars will make their GLVC tourney debut against seventh-seeded Bellarmine (31-25) at noon Friday at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria.

The team was featured in an April 25, 2012, article in The State Journal-Register.

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UIS students approve construction of student union building

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:53:00 +0000

Students at the University of Illinois Springfield Thursday voted in favor of building a student union and increasing fees to pay for it – but only when the building opens.

A total of 432 students voted to approve a fee increase, which will finance much of the construction, while 109 students voted “no.” The vote was taken online.

The project next will go through a planning process involving campus and U of I administrators and an outside design firm. The plan still needs to be approved by both the U of I Board of Trustees and the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

“It was an idea whose time had come,” said John Tienken, the UIS student representative on the U of I board and co-chairman of the Student Union Committee. “The 4-to-1 margin by which this was approved clearly sent a message that it’s time. It’s almost a complete reversal of the vote two years ago.

If the project gains final approval, the student union will be on the South Quad, next to University Hall and in front of the soccer fields.

The vote was featured in an April 21, 2012, article in The State Journal-Register.

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Former UIS chancellor, others receive state's highest award

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:51:00 +0000

Naomi Lynn said she received the surprise of her life in February when she returned home to Springfield from a vacation in Florida.

Lynn, the former chancellor of University of Illinois Springfield, said she opened an envelope and read that she had been awarded the Order of Lincoln Medallion, the highest award given out by the state of Illinois.

“I was absolutely shocked, surprised and pleased,” Lynn said. “It’s a privilege to be in a group of such distinguished people.”

Lynn was featured in an April 22, 2012, article in The State Journal-Register.

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After UI's short-lived experiment, Web courses, enrollment on rise

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:47:00 +0000

In recent years, online education has become "a whole new environment, fueled by a combination of things," said Ray Schroeder, associate vice chancellor for online learning at the UI Springfield.

Those include "the economy and the lingering effects of recession (it's difficult for students to come to campus or pursue their education without working if not full time at least half time) and the wide variety of technologies available" to teachers and students, he said. Because obtaining a college degree costs more compared with previous years, many students are interested in completing the degree requirements quickly or while working as much as possible.

At the same time, mobile technology, such as smart phones and tablets, helps students become more engaged, virtually that is, with their professors and with other students.

Schroeder was featured in an April 22, 2012, article in the Champaign News-Gazette.

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Glass plates yield a remarkable exhibit

noreply@blogger.com (Blake Wood) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:42:00 +0000

A remarkable photo exhibit has come together, through the work of State Journal-Register photo editor Rich Saal over the past two years.

The exhibit, “Springfield Photographs: Images from The Illinois State Journal Glass Plates 1929-35,“ will debut with a 6 p.m. presentation on May 1 at the Lincoln Public Library. The event is open to the public.

He started studying history at the University of Illinois Springfield, and research for a class led him to view the newspaper’s glass plate photography in the Sangamon Valley Collection of the Lincoln Library.

When the exhibit ends in August, the panels will remain at Lincoln Library, creating a new venue for community art exhibits in a public and accessible downtown space, said Saal, who soon will graduate with a master’s degree in history from UIS.

Saal was featured in an April 22, 2012, article in The State Journal-Register.

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