Ray Schroeder keeps up on educational technology trends

Keeping up with the latest educational technology trends is a key part of Ray Schroeder's job. Schroeder is the founder and director of the UIS Center for Online Learning, Research and Service (formerly the Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning.)

Schroeder was the subject of an April 23, 2009, feature article on eCampusNews.

Download a PDF of the article.
20090423-eschoolnews-RaySchroeder.pdf

UIS hosts Good as Gold Ceremony to honor local volunteers

The first ever Good as Gold Ceremony, a partnership between UIS and the Junior League of Springfield, drew about 275 people to honor more than 50 local volunteers who have made an impact on the community.

Members of the UIS community were among those being honored with UIS Student Star Award, UIS Staff Star Award, Heart of Gold Awards and awards for outstanding community service.

The ceremony was featured in an April 24, 2009, article in the State Journal-Register.
20090424-SJR-goodasgoldceremony.pdf

Student-athletes at UIS defend athletic department

UIS student-athletes stood up and defended the athletic department and chancellor during a meeting of the Campus Senate in which the Senate voted for an investigation of the athletic department.

The meeting was the subject of an April 18, 2009, article in the State Journal-Register.

Download a PDF of the article
20090418-SJR-studentathletes.pdf

Campus Senate votes for athletic department investigation

The Campus Senate of the University of Illinois at Springfield on Friday ordered an independent investigation of the athletic department and decided to table a vote on a resolution of "no confidence" in the Chancellor.

The Senate meeting was reported on in an April 18, 2009, article in the State Journal-Register.

Download a PDF of the article

20090418-SJR-senateinvestigation.pdf

Government jobs are cut less quickly than private businesses

Big government employers usually provide a degree of security that can be rare today as governments tend to react more slowly to economic downturns than private businesses. This is true today of cities like Bloomington, Champaign-Urbana and Springfield, where UIS and other state departments and agencies are located.

The topic was the focus of an April 9, 2009, article in the U of I's Daily Illini student newspaper.
20090409-DI-govtjobs.pdf

Redfield comments that state purchasing reform will likely take place

In an opinion column of the Peoria Journal Star, editors discussed changes in the way the state operates.

Comments from Dr. Kent Redfield, professor emeritus of political science at UIS, were featured in the April 9, 2009, column. Redfield noted that the state has a "status-quo-oriented, risk-averse Legislature."

Download a PDF of the column
20090409-PJS-stategovt.pdf

Faculty members meet to discuss athletics

Faculty members at the University of Illinois at Springfield will meet Monday afternoon to discuss athletics at the school, as well as concerns surrounding the recent resignations of three coaches, in a meeting led by Pat Langley, chair of the UIS Campus Senate and a professor of women and gender studies and legal studies.

The meeting was the subject of an April 10, 2009, article in the State Journal-Register

Download a PDF of the article
20090410-SJR-facultyathletics.pdf

Three athletics coaches resign

UIS head softball coach and head volleyball coach Joe Fisher and Roy Gilmore, the head women’s basketball coach and assistant softball coach, resigned on March 20, and on March 26, men’s and women’s golf coach Jay Davis resigned after he was placed on administrative leave.

UIS administrators are not able to comment on the resignations because they are personnel matters.

The story was covered in the April 10, 2009, State Journal-Register.

Download a DDF of the article
20090410-SJR-coaches.pdf

UIS' production of "As You Like It" will be opening April 17

Opening night has been set - April 17 - for UIS' production of William Shakespeare's As You Like It, and rehearsals are in full swing. It’s the first time UIS Theatre has attempted to stage Shakespeare.

The production was the subject of a feature story in the April 10, 2009, State Journal-Register.

Download a PDF of the article
20090410-SJR-AsYouLikeIt.pdf

Former UIS administrator still does work in Springfield while living in Wisconsin

L. Christopher “Chris” Miller, previously an administrator at the University of Illinois at Springfield, left Illinois last year to become vice president for student affairs at Marquette University in Milwaukee, although he is still serving in a role to recruit minority applicants for the police and fire departments of Springfield.

Miller's role was discussed in an April 10, 2009, article in the State Journal-Register.

Download a PDF of the article
20090410-SJR-ChrisMiller.pdf

Professors explore appropriate dress for teachers

Two professors in Carbondale are exploring what makes the clothing of teachers considered appropriate and if teachers need a dress code like students do, according to an April 10, 2009, article in the Southern Illinoisan

Download a PDF of this article
20090410-SouthernIllinoisan-dresscode.pdf

Local economy is better than national, though growth is slow

An economic-outlook survey by UIS shows that while the local economy is still above normal, it is expected to grow slower relative to a year ago, until about May, according to UIS professor Patty Byrnes.

The survey and comments by Byrnes were featured in an April 10, 2009, article in the State Journal-Register.

Download a PDF of the article
20090410-SJR-economicoutlook.pdf

State 529 program launches incentive program

Starting today, College Illinois!, the state's only 529 prepaid tuition program launches its
"57 Reasons" Incentive Program, which helps to makes the decision to enroll easier by giving qualifying purchasers money.

The program was discussed in an April 9, 2009, article on PRNewsWire.

Download a PDF of the article
20090409-PRnewswire-collegepayment.pdf

Cost of Illinois government corruption to taxpayers is high

Charges against former Gov. Rod Blagojevich reinforce taxpayers' belief that the Illinois government has been spending residents' hard-earned money on patronage hires, wasteful contracts and inefficient bureaucracies for years.

Though the actual dollar cost to taxpayers is hard to pinpoint, experts like UIS' Kent Redfield, professor emeritus of political science, say the costs are substantial.

Redfield's comments were featured in an April 5, 2009, article in the Daily Herald.

Download a PDF of the article

20090405-DailyHerald-costofcorruption.pdf

U of I trustees consider future of online campus

After investing more than $10 million in a program that only currently has a few hundred students, University of Illinois trustees are considering whether to shut down the university's 2-year-old online campus.

The challenges of the U of I's Global Campus were the focus of an April 5, 2009, article in the Chicago Tribune.

Download a PDF of the article
20090405-ChiTrib-GlobalCampus.pdf

Sloan Foundation will close online education grant program

Though the Sloan Consortium will continue to promote online learning, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation announced that it is closing its online-education grant program, which leaves many colleges with online learning focuses without support.

The remarks of Ray Shroeder, director of the Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning at UIS, were featured in an April 6, 2009, article about the Foundation's announcement in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Download a PDF of the article
20090406-ChronofHigherEd-SloanFoundation.pdf