Whether to change the school athletic teams’ nickname isn’t the only burning issue on the University of Illinois Springfield campus.
An email went out Nov. 11 to UIS students, faculty and staff asking them to participate in an online survey on the campus smoking policy, which currently bans smoking indoors in compliance with state law and allows smoking otherwise only in designated areas.
Surveys also are being taken at some on-campus events, and three public forums are scheduled to get more feedback on the issue.
A bill proposed in the legislature last spring would have banned smoking on all state university campuses. The bill didn’t get far, but UIS Chancellor Susan Koch decided the university should begin looking at the issue.
The University of Illinois Chicago’s campus went tobacco-free July 1, and the Urbana-Champaign campus is scheduled to go smoke-free Jan. 1, said UIS spokesman Derek Schnapp.
The story was reported by The State Journal-Register on November 23, 2013.
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Monday, November 25, 2013
Balanced UIS earns second straight men's basketball victory
Everyone got in on the action for the University of Illinois Springfield in its 88-73 victory against Missouri Western in a non-conference men’s basketball game Saturday.
Of the nine players who took the court for UIS, six scored in double figures. But another eye-catching statistic stood out and impressed UIS coach Ben Wierzba.
“We had 22 assists on 32 field goals,” he said. “That’s what we’ve got to do to be successful.”
For the first time since February 2012, UIS (2-2) has back-to-back wins. It defeated Cedarville 72-63 last Saturday.
UIS’ Regan Bruenger led all scorers with 18. Jacob Williams contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds. Dylan Sparkman, who was on the bench for a large portion of the first half with two fouls, added 16 points.
“That’s really good,” Wierzba said. “We shot 50 percent (from the field). We shot 53 (percent) from 3.”
The win was featured by The State Journal-Register on November 24, 2013.
Read the article online
Of the nine players who took the court for UIS, six scored in double figures. But another eye-catching statistic stood out and impressed UIS coach Ben Wierzba.
“We had 22 assists on 32 field goals,” he said. “That’s what we’ve got to do to be successful.”
For the first time since February 2012, UIS (2-2) has back-to-back wins. It defeated Cedarville 72-63 last Saturday.
UIS’ Regan Bruenger led all scorers with 18. Jacob Williams contributed 14 points and 12 rebounds. Dylan Sparkman, who was on the bench for a large portion of the first half with two fouls, added 16 points.
“That’s really good,” Wierzba said. “We shot 50 percent (from the field). We shot 53 (percent) from 3.”
The win was featured by The State Journal-Register on November 24, 2013.
Read the article online
Thursday, November 21, 2013
UIS athletic director Kim Pate keeps her eye on the ball
Three years ago, the athletic department at the University of Illinois Springfield faced criticism from several angles.
But those scandals faded after the new athletic director, Kim Pate, took the helm of the athletic department in June 2011. Pate and her team have improved participation, strengthened ties with the community, and set high expectations for themselves and their athletes. While Pate is quick to share the credit for the department’s improvement, her leadership seems to have been the catalyst for change, and she seems to have alleviated the concerns of even the department’s most vocal critic.
As Springfield’s largest institution of higher learning, UIS produces numerous graduates each year who stay in Springfield after college to live and work. Countless UIS graduates work in state government, health care, insurance and other industries that are vital to the capital city, so the success of UIS is tied to that of Springfield. A strong university athletic program is always a boon to the growth and prosperity of its host city, and Pate says college athletics is as much about learning life skills as it is about playing a sport.
“It’s an incredible opportunity for us to provide a comprehensive learning experience for students, where they get the classroom piece, but they get to learn beyond that,” she said. “They’re learning discipline and balance. We want them to go and do things beyond college and be leaders in the community.”
Pate was featured by the Illinois Times on November 21, 2013.
Read the article online
But those scandals faded after the new athletic director, Kim Pate, took the helm of the athletic department in June 2011. Pate and her team have improved participation, strengthened ties with the community, and set high expectations for themselves and their athletes. While Pate is quick to share the credit for the department’s improvement, her leadership seems to have been the catalyst for change, and she seems to have alleviated the concerns of even the department’s most vocal critic.
As Springfield’s largest institution of higher learning, UIS produces numerous graduates each year who stay in Springfield after college to live and work. Countless UIS graduates work in state government, health care, insurance and other industries that are vital to the capital city, so the success of UIS is tied to that of Springfield. A strong university athletic program is always a boon to the growth and prosperity of its host city, and Pate says college athletics is as much about learning life skills as it is about playing a sport.
“It’s an incredible opportunity for us to provide a comprehensive learning experience for students, where they get the classroom piece, but they get to learn beyond that,” she said. “They’re learning discipline and balance. We want them to go and do things beyond college and be leaders in the community.”
Pate was featured by the Illinois Times on November 21, 2013.
Read the article online
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