UIS to resume in-person instruction Thursday after two-day pause

The University of Illinois Springfield will resume in-person instruction Thursday.

UIS Interim Chancellor Karen M. Whitney made the announcement in a campus-wide letter.

The university pivoted to online classes Tuesday while other activities took a pause due to an increase in positive COVID-19 tests on campus.

Whitney said the intention is “to safely finish this semester...with in-person courses through Nov. 25.”

UIS goes fully-remote when it comes back from Thanksgiving break on Nov. 30.

While the university is resuming in-person classes, it is reducing non-instructional activities to only essential activities.

On-site work may continue, but employees were being encouraged to work remotely if they can do so.

The recommendations come from the university’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Team.

UIS experienced the highest number of one-day positive cases from its saliva testing on Monday.

This story appeared in The State Journal-Register on November 11, 2020.

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UIS, UIUC create mobile recording studio

As part of a faculty collaboration between the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), the universities created the Hip-Hop Xpress, a school bus that serves as a mobile recording studio.

Hip-hop artists in the capital city are invited to visit the bus to write original music using instrumental tracks that were created by Champaign producers.

Officials said when the Hip-Hop Xpress is finished, they plan to have it travel across the state to different communities and classrooms to teach about African-American history and cultural innovations spurred on by hip-hop.

The outside of the bus displays its name and the names of various artists. The inside of the bus is empty, except for its use of transporting non-permanent recording equipment.

The bus was partially funded by a University of Illinois System Presidential Initiative to Celebrate the Impact of the Arts and the Humanities grant worth $150,000.

UIS Instructor of Sociology and African American Studies Tiffani Saunders, along with UIUC faculty members Adam Kruse, Malaika McKee, and William Patterson, played a significant role in the creation of the Hip-Hop Xpress.

This story aired on WICS Newschannel 20 on September 24, 2020.

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UIS professor will be ‘invested’ in virtual ceremony Thursday

Graham Peck will be formally invested as the Wepner Distinguished Professor of Lincoln Studies at the University of Illinois Springfield on Thursday at 2 p.m.

The ceremony, which can be viewed on Zoom, was originally scheduled for March 19.

During the ceremony, Peck will receive a medallion that symbolizes his position as a distinguished professor. He will be entitled to wear the medallion at special university ceremonies, like commencement.

Peck will present a lecture, “Abraham Lincoln and the Making of an Antislavery Nation,” at the ceremony.

Peck is the author of the 2017 book “Making an Antislavery Nation: Lincoln, Douglas and the Battle Over Freedom” (University of Illinois Press). His scholarship focuses on antebellum American political history, and particularly on Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas and the origins of the Civil War.

A ceremony of investiture is held when an endowed chair or distinguished professor is installed. The ceremony, modeled after knighthood ceremonies, began in early English universities.

There are five other Distinguished Chairs and Professorships at UIS, including Michael Burlingame, the Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies. A renowned scholar, Burlingame has published a dozen books on the life and times of Lincoln, including the award-winning two-volume biography, “Abraham Lincoln: A Life.”

This story appeared in The State Journal-Register on September 19, 2020..

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The march goes on: This moment in civil rights history: Reflections from Springfielders on demonstrations in D.C.

Tiffani Saunders was a teenager when she joined her family members for the 30th anniversary March on Washington in 1993. A Maryland resident at the time, she said she was lucky her family was active in matters of social justice and civil rights. "What I was able to do was translate those (historical) black and white images into color, in real time, in the modern era when I was 13." Saunders said that and other activist events her parents took her to were formative experiences. She's now an anthropologist and professor at University of Illinois Springfield where she teaches African American studies.

The most recent march in D.C. is happening as cities around the country continue with demonstrations, as has been the case for months. In cities such as Portland and Chicago, police have attacked and arrested protesters. Conduct of federal agents and police has been unlawful at times, according to civil rights groups such as the ACLU. Demonstration is part of our cultural fabric. "We've seen in the past, action by taking to the streets has led to profound change," said Saunders. The majority of those calling for racial justice out in the streets have not engaged in violent activity. But that doesn't mean everyone is comfortable by their relentless presence in the public eye.

This article appeared in the Illinois Times on September 10, 2020.

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Mulan, a Most Adaptable Heroine: There’s a Version for Every Era

When rumors of a live-action, nonmusical version of “Mulan” began to trickle out a few years ago, many hard-core fans of the 1998 Disney original groused. No big musical numbers and soaring ballads? No Mushu, the wisecracking dragon, or Li Shang, the movie’s clearly conflicted love interest? No “Reflection”? Many felt that the filmmakers were being unfaithful to the Mulan legend — or at least to Disney’s own version of it.

But Mulan has always been the most adaptable of heroines. Long before fans criticized Disney for taking liberties with their beloved animated heroine, poets, writers, playwrights and filmmakers had been creating scores of wildly different versions of the legendary woman warrior. In some, she’s a hardened army general; in others, she has magical powers; in yet others, she’s a crack shot with a bow. In one animated version, she’s a bug.

After the original poem, subsequent versions of the Mulan story added plotlines and details to flesh out the tale. In the 16th-century play “The Heroine Mulan Goes to War in Her Father’s Place,” she has bound feet. “At the time, women in the upper classes would bind their feet, and the playwright wanted to make sure Mulan was seen as the ideal icon of femininity,” said Lan Dong, author of “Mulan’s Legend and Legacy in China and the United States” and an English professor at the University of Illinois Springfield. “She had to be perfect.”

In the 1695 novel “The Romance of Sui and Tang Dynasties,” Mulan meets a fellow female warrior who becomes her sworn sister; in the end, Mulan takes her own life when the Khan summons her to be his concubine. “Many versions emphasize her virtue,” Professor Dong said. “Even after all those years and everything she’s put herself through, she kept herself untouched.”

This story appeared in The New York Times on September 3, 2020..

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Spit test: U of I begins COVID-19 saliva testing

University of Illinois Springfield saliva testing for the new coronavirus is up and running as of Aug. 11. Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign developed the so-called SHIELD test. The tests are being used at all three U of I campuses. The university system said it wants to supply the tests throughout the state and nation.

Starting Aug. 17, anyone spending time on the UIS campus as a student, faculty or staff member must be tested once per week. "We're going to do surveillance testing, not symptomatic testing," said Karen Whitney, interim UIS chancellor, during a webinar last month. The conversation was about education and COVID-19. Whitney told attendees of the coming school year, "It's gonna be a roller coaster."

On Aug. 10, the University of Illinois System announced a new "university-related organization" that will make the technology available nationally. The test has rapid results and costs less than nasal swabs, according to a news release. Results are ready within six hours. According to the release, "The quick turnaround time for test results is a key in curbing the virus, allowing isolation early enough to limit spread of the infection as well as narrowing down past exposure to allow more effective contact tracing. It also identifies and isolates people with asymptomatic cases who would otherwise spread the virus unknowingly."

This story appeared in the Illinois Times on Aug. 13, 2020.

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UIS offers detailed plan for students returning to campus in fall

The University of Illinois Springfield on Wednesday detailed how it hopes students might safely return to the campus for fall semester classes in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 18-page plan, “Return to the Prairie,” addresses how the campus will offer “on-ground,” or in-person classes as well as blended classes, that combine face-to-face and remote instruction.

It also spells out plans for student living arrangement and on-campus activities.

Of note is that the university will go remote with all classes beginning Nov. 25 until the end of the semester, which is Dec. 12.

Face coverings that cover the nose and mouth will be required on campus when a six-foot physical distance from others is not possible. Face coverings are required in all common areas, which includes classrooms.

“It is our best intention to unite us in public health and safety, and we are committed to providing a high-quality experience regardless of the circumstances in which we may find ourselves,” said UIS Interim Chancellor Karen Whitney. “Whether our Prairie Stars are learning via on-campus instruction or remotely, UIS is committed to and capable of providing a high-quality university experience to everyone who calls UIS home.”

Classrooms and laboratories, along with common, meeting and event spaces will be set up and organized to facilitate appropriate social distancing. They will be cleaned and disinfected daily by building service workers.

Students will be allowed to live on campus in single and double occupancy residence halls, townhouses and apartments, however, guests will not be allowed in residence halls.

Carry-out options will be encouraged at the UIS Student Union Food Studio and no self-service options available. Seating in dining areas will be arranged to encourage social distancing.

COVID-19 testing will be available to all students on campus through Campus Health Services.

The “Return to the Prairie” plan was created by two teams focused on academic planning, student affairs and community engagement.

Classes at UIS begin Aug. 24.

UIS professors receive grant to assess pesticide risks near agricultural communities

Two University of Illinois Springfield professors have received a three year grant from the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture to assess the risk of pesticide use and air dispersion in urban agricultural communities.

The study is being done in collaboration with professors at Tuskegee University in Alabama.

UIS Assistant Professor of Public Heath Egbe Egiebor and Associate Professor of Public Heath Dorine Brand will get about $168,000 from the overall $500,000 grant awarded to Tuskegee University.

The study will evaluate methods for monitoring and modeling the atmospheric spread of pesticide pollutants under different weather conditions, identify hotspots, and assess the vulnerability of affected communities as greater populations are now at the edge of agricultural land due to urban growth.

Egiebor said, "We are really excited to conduct this study. It is the first time a project like this will be facilitated in two different agro-ecological zones with different production systems." The study will be conducted in both Alabama and Illinois.

This story aired on WAND on May 14, 2020..

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People in the News: David Racine

David Racine, executive director of the Center for State Policy and Leadership at the University of Illinois Springfield, recently received the annual Rail Splitter Award at the UIS Department of Public Administration’s 2020 annual Spring Rail Splitter banquet and awards ceremony.

The award honors Racine’s work in public administration at the center where he oversees the university’s public affairs organization, which includes the Institute for Legal, Legislative and Policy Studies/Survey Research Office, the Institute for Illinois Public Finance, NPR Illinois, the Graduate Public Service Internship Program, the Illinois Legislative Staff Intern Program, the Office of Electronic Media, Innovate Springfield, the Illinois Innocence Project and the Child Protection Training Academy.

This story appeared in The State Journal-Register on April 25, 2020.

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UIS professor: Illinois’ economic recovery after COVID-19 recession depends on government, consumer sentiment, experts say

The COVID-19 recession is already expected to be deeper than the Great Recession that ended in 2009, but the recovery could be quicker. While economic recovery is expected after the COVID-recession, how fast the economy picks back up depends on several factors.

University of Illinois Springfield Professor Kenneth Kriz said there are two possible economic recoveries once the state lifts the government-imposed economic shutdown that was implemented to slow the spread of COVID-19.

“A V-shaped recession would be an immediate bounce back, that’s what the National Association of Business Economists see,” Kriz said. “Some other forecasters have looked at a U-shape, which would be a slightly longer recovery period.”

Ultimately, Kriz said the longer the COVID-19 recession lasts, the greater the toll on state and local government revenue.

UIS professor Beverly Bunch said when the stay-at-home orders are lifted, not everything will get turned back on in a day. “Clearly the governor has asked people not to plan large events,” Bunch said. “Conferences that are being scheduled for the fall are still in limbo whether they’re going to happen or whether they’re going to go online.” She said a lot of it will also depend on the advice being given out by public health officials.

This article appeared on The Center Square on April 10, 2020.

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Susan Koch: A look at the COVID-19 response at UIS

The following is an excerpt from a column by University of Illinois Springfield Chancellor Susan Koch. This column appeared in The State Journal-Register on April 4, 2020. 

The COVID-19 pandemic is presenting unprecedented challenges around the world. With the number of cases accelerating across Illinois and the U.S., higher education institutions, including the University of Illinois Springfield, are making proactive decisions almost daily -- prioritizing the health and safety of students, faculty, staff and visitors while at the same time continuing to deliver on the educational mission of the university.

How does a university prepare for such an exceptional situation? What assets are most important for successfully navigating such an emergency? How are priorities determined and decisions made?
Today’s UIS Perspectives provides a brief window into the UIS response.

As is the case with any emergency, the first critical asset is preparedness. Long before the first case of COVID-19 disease was reported in December 2019, UIS had a well-developed Emergency Response Plan. A public health epidemic is one of 15 primary hazards identified in the plan, which provides operational guidance and recognizes responsibilities and duties to be assumed in order to protect the health and safety of members of the university community and continue essential operations.

By early February, both the University of Illinois System and UIS had activated another critical asset ... people -- creating COVID-19 response teams that include decision-makers as well as communications and public health experts who have the knowledge and experience to help guide the ongoing response. With the leadership of Associate Chancellor Kelsea Gurski, UIS quickly developed a communications plan and created a COVID-19 website – an important platform to deploy messages, provide trusted information and respond to questions and concerns.

As everyone now knows, the COVID-19 virus is highly contagious and is spread mainly between people who are in close contact with each other and via frequently touched surfaces. Social distancing is an essential strategy to limit spread of the disease. Given the social distancing imperative, UIS made the decision in early March to migrate all courses from face-to-face instruction to remote teaching for the remainder of the Spring semester.

According to Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Clarice Ford, one asset that has served students well during this challenging time is trust. “We rely on the people we trust to get things done,” she says, “and during this uncertain time students have looked to those they trust -- including Student Affairs staff -- to guide them through.” Like many others,I’ve been social distancing and working often from home – using Zoom, email and phone to continue work with colleagues. But as I turned off 11th Street a few days ago for my daily swing through campus, I heard the unmistakable sound of a bat against a ball – something I thought I wouldn’t hear for the rest of this year since spring sports have been suspended. Pulling into the baseball complex, I found two UIS student-athletes, members of the Prairie Stars baseball team, each in a separate batting cage, hitting balls. “Online classes are going fine,“one of them told me in answer to my question. “We’re going to get through this and we’re going to be back next season – better than ever.”

The COVID-19 pandemic is most certainly presenting unprecedented challenges. But I’m proud to say we’re deploying our assets effectively and, to quote two resilient young members of the UIS community, “We’re going to get through this and we’re going to be back next season – better than ever.”

Read the entire column online.

UIS Puts Its Hands-On Learning On Remote

Like many colleges, University of Illinois Springfield classes have transitioned to an online-only format to comply with the state’s efforts to combat the new coronavirus.

The transition has not been without difficulty for instructors. Some professors, by the very nature of what they teach, have run head-long into plenty of online obstacles.

Shane Harris is an associate professor of ceramics at UIS. He said teaching his ceramics course remotely is something he was a little apprehensive about. “I’ve been asked multiple times to teach online, but the reality is it’s a hands-on course,” Harris said. “You learn by making and doing and interacting, and, so, virtually it’s a lot more challenging to do that in my field.”

To keep it hands-on, Harris has had to figure out how to send physical art supplies to his students. His director told him to use department funds to pay for it. “So I ended up, with my student workers, called every single one of my students and asked them, ‘are you going to be back on campus? Can you pick up the clay? If not, then I am going to ship it to you,’” Harris said.

Harris said he’s not tech-savvy and says he never used the teaching website Blackboard before last week, but he said his students are helping him learn the ropes.

COLRS Director Vickie Cook said her department anticipated teachers quickly having to convert classes into a different medium. “Having that collapsed time to take what normally they would have several weeks to prepare, and in the middle of the semester, try to change tracks for modality is very difficult,” Cook said. Cook said the center has been helping teachers with the transition by introducing faculty to a bunch of different online teaching methods. ”And they’re doing that primarily through readings, interactive activities online that they’ve pulled together, videos that they have done or pulled together from other faculty in those same disciplines that have allowed their videos to be used,” Cook said.

Brian Chen is an assistant professor of public health at UIS. He attended the two workshops COLRS set up for faculty members to help prepare teachers for the transition. He said he learned how to connect to a VPN from his home when conducting class “[If] the faculty or instructor needs to work from home, they need to connect their office computers, then this is the knowledge they need to learn,” Chen said. He said instructors now have the choice to gather with students and interact in “real time” or to prepare course materials for students in advance. Now it’s in the students’ hands.

This story appeared on NPR Radio on April 2, 2020..

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Preparing for a Fall Without In-Person Classes

Let's give a full-throated shout-out to America's colleges and universities, their professors and staff professionals, and their students. Collectively, they pulled off a remarkable transition this spring, shifting instruction they had previously been delivering predominantly in person for most students to an almost entirely remote experience for pretty much everybody.

It may not have been seamless or pretty, and it certainly wasn't painless -- either for instructors having to deal with the anxiety of new tools or for students worrying about good internet access or where in their homes they could find a quiet place to study. But instruction continued to happen remotely, en masse.

If you'd asked most people months ago whether a higher education enterprise that many write off (often unfairly) as hidebound and change-averse was capable of a wholesale pivot in a matter of days or weeks, they'd have laughed. And yet it happened. Amazing.

So take a bow -- and a deep breath. Because now comes the hard part. You read that right, I'm afraid. Depending on how things go -- what the arc of COVID-19 is nationally or in certain regions of the country, whether physical distancing rules are still in place, etc. -- college campuses may remain off-limits to students come September. Whether that's a 5 percent likelihood, or 25 percent or 50 percent, I have no idea (I'm no Tony Fauci, and even he can't say for sure). But it's almost certainly not zero. 

Vickie S. Cook, executive director for online, professional and engaged learning at the University of Illinois at Springfield, says her institution has "started planning" for the possibility that "we're going to be forced into a virtual fall."

Cook raves about her university's emergency pivot to remote instruction this spring -- but she acknowledges that "teaching remotely is really different from teaching online." Will the expectation be higher in the fall than it was this spring? "I don't see how it couldn't be," Cook said. "By fall, students and parents have the right to expect a high-quality education, in whatever modality it's delivered," she said. "If it's online, it shouldn't 'less than,' especially when there's time to address it." 

Not that it will be easy, Cook acknowledges. Faculty buy-in for virtual instruction will remain an impediment, although she and others say they believe many professors will have emerged from this spring with a better appreciation of how challenging technology-enabled instruction can be.

Cook said she is less worried about equipping Illinois Springfield's instructors with whatever technology they might use to deliver courses in the fall than preparing them to teach effectively.

"Online learning is a type of teaching that requires very specific pedagogical skills," she said. "The pedagogy is more important than the technology." And like others interviewed for this article, Cook worries that institutions forced into online instruction this fall will shortchange a virtual transition for the noncurricular elements that can make or break student success, especially for the most vulnerable students: tutoring, writing centers, career counseling and good library resources.

This article appeared in Inside Higher Ed on April 1, 2020.

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UIS Prof Publishes Encyclopedia Of LGBTQ Politics

University of Illinois Springfield professor Jason Pierceson recently published an encyclopedia detailing LGBTQ politics. It includes profiles on candidates, officials and activists; a timeline of events; government documents; speeches; and court cases.

Pierceson, a political scientist, is the author or co-author of several books, including “Same-Sex Marriage in the Americas: Policy Innovation for Same-Sex Relationships,” “Courts, Liberalism and Rights: Gay Law and Politics in the United States and Canada,” “Same-Sex Marriage in the United States: The Road to the Supreme Court” and “Sexual Minorities in Politics: An Introduction.

This story and interview aired on NPR on January 23, 2020.

Listen to the story online.

UIS Professor pens book: 'Fake News Battle' makes case for regulation

Ha Jae-sik's book "Fake News Battle" is a fresh update about fake news and its irreversible, devastating consequences on the community. The fallout of fake news goes far beyond what we can possibly imagine and what's worrisome is that the entire globe is grappling with the phenomenon, according to the author.

Ha, an assistant professor at the Department of Communication at the University of Illinois Springfield, voices his concerns about social media, claiming it has become a conduit for misinformation, and encourages those who are involved in the media to stand up against fake news. "It's regrettable that social media has become the epicenter of fake news," he wrote. "Conspiracy theories are rampant on social media and they are out of control. It seems inevitable that all members of society, including policymakers and journalists, start a debate about how to regulate disinformation and draw up measures to redress the victims."

According to him, content creators are not the only people to be held accountable. "I think social media companies are not directly responsible for fake news," he told The Korea Times in a recent interview. "Broadly speaking, I think there are three groups of people who are responsible for manufacturing and disseminating misinformation ― social media users who created and uploaded misinformation, internet users who selectively choose information they are to consume in favor of their political orientation and some media outlets that are trying to profit from fake news.

This story appeared in The Korea Times on December 6, 2019.

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A block away, Child Advocacy Center gets new home

Years ago, Betsy Goulet stood in a courtroom with her husband, Joe, as advocates trying to deal with a small child who had been sexually abused. As they were trying to get the child ready to testify, the girl crawled under the prosecutor’s table, curled up and wouldn’t come out, Goulet recalled. “We used every skill we had, which, at the time, wasn’t much,” Goulet said. “We didn’t have a clue whether she would be able to testify to what happened to her.”

Goulet said she thinks about the Sangamon County Child Advocacy Center when she recalls that little girl. At the time, the center didn’t exist. Goulet was then the rape victim advocate at the Rape Crisis Center in Springfield and her husband, Joseph, was then the sexual assault detective with the Springfield Police Department.

“We were trying to use an adult-centered agency to deal with these kids, and we were making stuff up as we could,” Goulet said. “But the door kept opening and children were coming through because there were no other services for kids.”

That eventually prompted “a nervous phone call” from Goulet to then-Sangamon County State’s Attorney Don Cadagin and led to two years of meetings before the Child Advocacy Center was set up in 1989.

Marking its 30th anniversary, the center held its official opening Thursday at its new location at 1101 E. Monroe St. It was previously located in a building on Monroe Street across the 10th Street railroad tracks from the county complex for 27 years after initially starting out in the Mini O’Beirne Crisis Nursery.

The CAC coordinates the investigation, prosecution and treatment of child sexual abuse cases, but it also deals with children who are physically abused, witnesses to violent crimes, caught up in sex trafficking or were involved in child pornography, said current executive director Denise Johnson. 

The goal is to sensitize the system to the needs of young victims by reducing the number of interviews they have to go through, limiting the number of professionals with whom a child has contact and expedite the cases through the judicial system.

This story appeared in The State Journal-Register on October 24, 2019.

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Susan Koch: UIS employees’ lives in the community

The following is an excerpt from a column by University of Illinois Springfield Chancellor Susan Koch. This column appeared in The State Journal-Register on August 3, 2019.

Each of the more than a thousand faculty and staff at the University of Illinois Springfield contributes in myriad ways to providing pathways of opportunity for students that prepare them for success. But as musical artist Dolly Parton once said: “You should never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.“

As Chancellor of UIS, I’ve found it fascinating to discover the many ways valued employees “make a life” outside their work.

This UIS Perspectives column provides a glimpse into some of their stories.

The performing arts is a passion for many UIS employees including Linda Schneider and Steve Marvel. Schneider, whose day job is office administrator in Academic Affairs, has been involved in community theater for many years — combining her acting talent with her love of history. Schneider has portrayed many historical figures including Nellie Grant Jones (daughter of Ulysses S. Grant) for the annual Oak Ridge Cemetery Walk sponsored by the Sangamon County Historical Society. “My most memorable experience thus far,” says Schneider, “was portraying Mary Lincoln for an appearance on Conan O’Brien’s late night talk show.”

In his off hours, Marvel is rocking out as keyboardist and vocalist with “Off the Wall,” one of the most popular pop/rock bands in Central Illinois.

Not many can claim to have a national champion in the family — but Doug Brackney, administrative aide in the UIS Career Development Center, has several! Brackney has been showing champion Persian cats for more than 20 years. His silver Persian named Romeo is not only a national champion but has also been “spokes-cat” for Royal Canine Persian cat food — landing him and his human companions an all-expense paid trip to New York City that included a limousine, a stay in a posh Madison Avenue hotel and a photo shoot with international fashion photographer Platan.

It is a privilege to work with so many talented and dedicated faculty and staff every day at UIS. With their many contributions both on campus and off, they’re not just making a living. They’re making a difference ... and making a life.

Read the entire column online.

UIS faculty, students to tackle asylum issues at Texas border

In May 2018, Deborah Anthony spent a week hearing cases at the largest family detention center in the United States.

The women and children mostly from El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras told Anthony, an associate professor in the legal studies department at the University of Illinois Springfield working in Dilley, Texas, about 75 miles from the Mexican border, horrific stories of severe domestic violence, rampant gangs who extorted money and family members who “disappeared” in their homelands. 

They had presented themselves to U.S. Border Patrol agents for asylum, but even on this side, Anthony recalled, they endured threats of sexual abuse and violence. They were also called names, kicked and spat upon, they told her.

Anthony sometimes worked 15-hour days, all without pay, and watched colleagues, frazzled by the experience, go to other parts of the facility and break down emotionally. So Anthony did the only logical thing she could do in her mind: she committed to working another week at the facility in August.

This time, Anthony will take another legal studies colleague, assistant professor Anette Sikka, whose background is in immigration law and international human rights.

Six UIS students — Graciela Popoca, Vanesa Salinas and Sonia Hernandez, all of Chicago; Maria Zavala of Carpentersville; Yuli Salgado of Evanston; and Alex Phelps of Washington — are also going on the trip and will serve as English-Spanish interpreters.

The Dilley Pro Bono Project, formerly known as The CARA Project, is a partnership among several agencies.

Attorneys, like Anthony, are helping the women prepare for the initial phase of their asylum application, called the “credible fear interview.” It amounts to, Anthony said, hearing their stories and situations and helping them identify the parts that are going to be relevant to their cases legally.

“In order to get past the issues, we have to learn to discuss the (difficult) issues,” Phelps said. “I want to be able to get out of my comfort zone and confront these issues.”

“You can sit for 1,000 hours in a classroom,” Anthony said,” and not develop the same type of understanding from going there, talking to the people, understanding their experiences and witnessing government procedures: how (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) is operating, how the detention center is operating, how the legal aspects of the asylum process work. “We’re a public affairs (institution) and we have a mission of engaged learning and engaged citizenship, and the university has been really great in helping us get this to happen.”

This story appeared in The State Journal-Register on June 23, 2019.

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For Charlie Wheeler, 50 years watching what happens in Springfield as a reporter, educator is enough

Charlie Wheeler has forgotten more about the Illinois Legislature than most reporters will ever know — and he hasn’t forgotten much, least of all the time an ill-tempered state senator purposely dumped a bowl of hot soup on him.

Longtime readers of the Chicago Sun-Times might remember Wheeler by his elegant byline, Charles N. Wheeler III, matched by the equally elegant writing style he used to explain the legislative complexities in a way everyone could understand.

More recent readers might know him for his insightful comments, offered from his perch as director of the public affairs reporting program at the University of Illinois Springfield, where he has helped mold a generation of top young journalists.

Wheeler, 77, is retiring this summer after an amazing 50-year run as a close observer of the Springfield scene — the first 24 years with the Sun-Times, the last 26 running the reporting program. 

More than 700 students have come through the program since it was started in 1972 by the late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon between stints in public office. Many former students went on to distinguished careers in newspaper, radio and television newsrooms across the country, creating an accomplished alumni roster I won’t even try to list to avoid leaving somebody out.

The hands-on experience and training under the close supervision of professional journalists have made the PAR program so successful.

When Wheeler joined academia in 1993, the Illinois Senate passed a resolution in his honor. “Throughout the course of his reporting on the General Assembly, one thing you could always say: Charlie reported it accurately because he actually did read the bills, more than what we do sometimes,” former state Sen. Emil Jones of Chicago observed that day. It is indeed one of Wheeler’s golden rules: Read the bill. It seems simple. But you would be amazed how often reporters and lawmakers alike don’t do that in the crunch of a legislative session.

Wheeler says the reporting program he’s leaving will continue. A search for his successor is underway.

This article appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times on May 31, 2019.

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Keeping Online Courses Fresh: Valuable, but Costly

Mary Niemiec, associate vice president for distance education at the University of Nebraska, hears all the time from faculty members and others who believe online courses must cost less to produce than face-to-face classes because they can be left untouched after launch. She wants everyone who still believes that to understand why they’re wrong.

“That’s like telling a faculty member, once you develop a syllabus, don’t worry about updating it,” Niemiec said.

At the risk of a tortured analogy, maintaining online courses is like raising children: they need consistent care and attention, and plenty of grooming and upgrading as they mature. Within a few years, depending on the complexity of the course and the capacity of the institution, the cost of those efforts can outstrip the original launch cost. (To be clear, in this article we're talking about the cost of producing a course, as opposed to the price charged to take it.) Online program administrators and observers believe those investments are just as essential as the initial one -- but they don’t often come up in conversations about the cost of online production.

Some factors out of an institution’s control play a role in cost as well. Turnover among administrators or faculty members involved in online course development can lead to longer and more costly processes for keeping courses in shape, according to Vickie Cook, executive director of the Center for Online Learning, Research and Service at the Univeristy of Illinois Springfield.

Increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity infrastructure can also drive up costs for online courses as they grow, Cook said.

This article appeared in Inside Higher Ed on July 18, 2018.

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