UIS begins planting 1,000 Japanese maple trees

The University of Illinois Springfield is planting Japanese maple trees on its campus.

UIS plans to place the first 100 near the UIS-LLCC bike trail.

The trees were donated by Davidsan's Japanese Maples, a business in New Berlin.

The donation is being made to honor more than 30 years that Springfield has had a sister city relationship with Ashikaga, Japan.

This story aired on WICS Newschannel 20 on April 27, 2021.

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Lynn, Moore honored by UIS at 50th anniversary celebration

UIS Chancellor Emerita Naomi B. Lynn and retired U.S. Marshal Robert Moore were honored by the University of Illinois Springfield with awards for service and alumni achievement during a virtual 50th-anniversary celebration.

Lynn was presented the 2021 Distinguished Service Award for extraordinary commitment, dedication and service to the advancement of the University of Illinois. Lynn served as president of Sangamon State University and then was the first chancellor of UIS. She retired in 2001 and continues to live in Springfield.

Moore received the 2021 Alumni Achievement Award for outstanding success and national or international distinction in one’s business, profession or life’s work.

Over a career spanning nearly 50 years, Moore has become a distinguished and nationally recognized leader in the practice of law enforcement, facilitator of community policing initiatives and historical research of African Americans in law enforcement.

This story appeared in The State Journal-Register on April 25, 2021.

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University of Illinois Springfield holds 'take back the night' march

April is sexual assault awareness month and the University of Illinois Springfield is working to bring that awareness to the community.

UIS held its 'Take Back the Night' event tonight, bringing supporters together to march around campus and learn how to help survivors.

Organizers say the theme of this year's ten-day event is light out of darkness.

"With this event, we really try to impart a sense of hope and feeling, like you know, there is light for the survivors," said Rexann Whorton, Director of UIS' Women's Center.

This is the 13th year that the university has done this rally.

This story aired on WICS Newschannel 20 on April 16, 2021.

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UIS’ Twelfth Night Goes Live This Friday

A production originally slated for last year will premiere in just a few days.

Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night has a plot so familiar, you probably don’t realize how much it has been adapted into other works, contemporary and classic.

University of Illinois Springfield Department of Theatre’s Production will blend both live and prerecorded elements. The show will be performed live (virtually) and that performance will be recorded and played back for the subsequent nights.

Director Missy Thibodeaux-Thompson discussed that and more on Let’s Talk Arts and Entertainment.

This story aired on WMAY on April 14, 2021.

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Flag display raising sexual assault awareness at UIS

The University of Illinois Springfield is observing Sexual Assault Awareness Month Day of Action.

The UIS Women's Center and Civic Engagement Center created a display of 1,000 flags.

The flags represent the 433,000 Americans who are sexually assaulted each year. Each flag represents 433 Americans.

This story appeared on WICS on April 6, 2021.

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University of Illinois system will not require ACT, SAT for admission for 2 years

The University of Illinois System announced Thursday that three state universities will not require students to submit standardized test scores for admission applications.

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois Chicago and University of Illinois Springfield will allow high school students to apply for admission for the two upcoming academic years without taking the ACT or SAT.

The request to the University of Illinois System Board of Trustees was made in response to restrictions on large gatherings that limited students' ability to take standardized tests.

This story aired on WAND TV on April 2, 2021.

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