tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88123072009-07-04T04:19:09.054-05:00From Chancellor Richard Ringeisen - thoughts on the University of Illinois at Springfield, higher education, and other items of interest.Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-86122604787288641792008-04-07T10:20:00.005-05:002008-04-08T10:44:46.363-05:00

We were fortunate to have Dr. David Ward, president of the American Council on Education, at UIS last week to talk about major changes in higher education during the past several decades. He stressed that public higher education is now in a global setting where competition is very rigorous. At the same time, tuition has risen dramatically due to declines in state funding. "It is hard to find a

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-50885916061250075412008-04-03T12:42:00.009-05:002008-04-08T14:28:07.166-05:00

UIS is honored to have Justice Anne M. Burke of the Illinois Supreme Court's First District as our graduation speaker this year. Throughout her many years in public service, Dr. Burke has provided a voice for society's most fragile citizens -- especially children. She was appointed to the Illinois Supreme Court on July 6, 2006 after serving 11 years as a justice of the Illinois Appellate Court.

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-25285795048628751742008-04-03T12:22:00.009-05:002008-04-08T10:32:23.493-05:00

Dr. Karl McDermott, a vice president at National Economic Research Associates, has been named the first Ameren Endowed Professor in Business and Government at UIS. The professorship was established through a $500,000 gift to UIS from the Ameren Corporation and will be located within UIS' College of Business and Management. Dr. McDermott, who began his duties here on April 1, will teach, conduct

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com57tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-60175660733380291882008-04-03T11:46:00.007-05:002008-04-08T10:29:25.036-05:00

Here's a great combination: an art exhibit, music recital, theater, and good food. That's what Arts Night has in store on Friday, April 11. It's a wonderful opportunity for UIS to show off its talent in a variety of ways. The evening will begin with the opening of a juried alumni art show at 5 p.m. in the Visual Arts Gallery, followed by a wine and hors d'oeuvres reception in the gallery. That

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com57tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-82364449758909764242008-04-01T16:03:00.009-05:002008-04-09T10:23:45.314-05:00

UIS' new Emiquon Field Station is now complete and ready for a grand opening on Friday, April 25. That's the day when the station, located at The Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Preserve near Lewistown, will be dedicated and open for tours. Under the direction of UIS Biology Professor Mike Lemke, the station will study, research and document the restoration of the Illinois River floodplain, one of

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-10361629111741775842008-03-31T15:56:00.005-05:002008-04-08T10:15:34.056-05:00

Fall 2010 will mark 40 years since this university began offering classes. That's an opportunity to celebrate our past, honor our traditions, and measure our progress. The SSU/UIS history is truly fascinating and involves many stories, some even true. An exploratory group headed by Joan Sestak has already begun thinking about how to observe the 40th Anniversary. They expect that the celebration

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-41828621206069765462008-03-31T15:12:00.007-05:002008-04-08T10:13:00.477-05:00

"Founders Hall" is really beginning to take shape despite a winter that created construction challenges. The main structure appears to be two weeks ahead of schedule, and the brick work is proceeding rapidly. Will the project schedule to complete construction in the next four months be met? Steve Roeschle, president of Core Construction Co., is confident that the 200-bed hall will be open for

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-55795018519158017522008-03-28T16:52:00.007-05:002008-04-08T10:08:54.525-05:00

The annual Faculty & Staff Campaign celebration, which lasted throughout March, would have made Dr. Suess proud. We rhymed our way through the month using the book "Oh the Places We'll Go" as our inspiration. And the result was gratifying: a total of 37% of our employees made a gift to UIS, an increase over last year's 35.6%. In numbers, 270 individuals have given (46.6% of academic professionals

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-87672681691959180552008-03-28T16:27:00.010-05:002008-04-08T10:06:36.426-05:00

Dr. Richard Judd, UIS' National City Professor of Business Administration, received an exciting and important honor recently. He was invited by the Wall Street Journal to serve on its Opinion Leaders Research Panel, which is comprised of an elite group of business leaders from throughout the nation. The panel will be asked three or four times a year to provide opinions and advice on a host of

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-5670655190443635362008-03-28T16:08:00.009-05:002008-04-08T10:05:09.378-05:00

UIS is among 11 institutions in the U.S. and Canada recently selected as 2008 Centers of Excellence by Elluminate, Inc., a leading provider of live eLearning and web collaboration solutions. The Center of Excellence program recognized this university's "progressive approach to change" by implementing Elluminate Live! in creative ways. Specifically, UIS has brought online and on-campus initiatives

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com84tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-86328661361443307732008-02-21T16:22:00.006-06:002008-02-26T12:18:34.913-06:00

An installation called "The sunshine of our last day" is now on display in UIS' Visual Arts Gallery. The award-winning artist, Michael Jones McKean, is here at UIS as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar in visual arts. He is an assistant professor of sculpture and extended media at Virginia Commonwealth University. His exhibit is well worth a visit to the gallery. It is comprised of six new

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-59600763608319254682008-02-21T15:54:00.006-06:002008-02-26T12:19:23.122-06:00

Both the men's and women's basketball teams have wrapped up their seasons and are getting ready for the conference tournaments. Both teams have been a bit disappointed this year with their conference standings. The women's team is currently in fifth place in the conference and could improve a spot, and then would host one game. The men's team is currently third in the conference and will almost

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com51tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-87451397010477713232008-02-15T08:58:00.015-06:002008-02-26T12:20:34.369-06:00

The February 14 tragedy at Northern Illinois University was a sobering reminder that all universities are vulnerable to such acts of madness, no matter how well prepared they may be. Here at UIS, we are maximizing the safety of our students, faculty and staff by augmenting our response plan with a new emergency notification system. It allows us to reach the members of the campus community more

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com244tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-49887267180049208152008-02-12T16:18:00.006-06:002008-02-26T12:20:50.482-06:00

The federal Department of Commerce has granted public radio station WUIS a coveted $137,000 grant to rewire the station from top to bottom and link all the studios using a digital routing system. This grant will bring more news, music and programs to our community and beyond. This is a rare opportunity for WUIS -- one that shouldn't be lost. But to receive the federal matching grant, the station

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com58tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-5823783600350738422008-02-12T15:43:00.002-06:002008-02-21T15:44:43.742-06:00

UIS has always taken pride in providing access and opportunities for our students. One way in which we do so is with scholarships. They can make the difference in a student's decision to pursue a university degree or to continue to work toward that goal. Over the past few years, privately funded gifts have resulted in a 66% increase in scholarships at UIS with steady growth over a five-year

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com54tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-85471572909365606872008-02-11T15:40:00.000-06:002008-02-12T14:11:20.573-06:00

I recently began a show on the UIS Campus Channel (65) called "Chancellor's Chat." It's an opportunity to share some "straight talk" with students, faculty and staff about what's on my mind. It's also a chance for me to answer questions from the campus community. I never know what those questions might be, and I don't look at them until the cameras are ready to roll. That's part of the fun (a

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-63250182009114783602008-01-23T15:05:00.001-06:002008-02-12T14:51:29.311-06:00

Our faculty/staff campaign is coming up in March, and I wanted to tell you about a recent faculty gift that captures UIS' emphasis on Local excellence; global impact. Jan Droegkamp and her family have created a scholarship for UIS students taking part in the Global Experience Program here at UIS. The program offers students a chance to study abroad in a wide array of countries. Inspired by her

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-85770409429350285552007-12-28T16:40:00.001-06:002008-02-15T10:30:39.360-06:00

A course taught online at UIS -- Animals and Human Civilization -- has won an award from The Humane Society of the United States. Taught by Dr. Boria Sax, an adjunct faculty member in UIS' Philosophy Department, the course has garnered the Distinguished New Course Award in the Society's national Animals and Society awards program. Sax developed and teaches the course online as a Liberal Studies

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com56tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-44921442920920426652007-12-28T16:15:00.002-06:002008-02-15T11:17:41.861-06:00

Creating a campus climate in which every student is valued and accepted is a goal we are always striving to attain. No one questions the resolve necessary to untwist attitudes that marginalize others and compromise their wellbeing. Likewise, behaviors that hurt others by making them feel unwanted and unsafe have no place in the learning environment we seek here at UIS. In November, I invited Dr.

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-35837222483426984262007-12-28T14:36:00.002-06:002008-02-21T15:49:55.936-06:00

Illinois Issues magazine, published here at UIS, has attracted an award-winning journalist to its top position as executive editor. Dana Heupel began leading the prestigious magazine in January. Issues has reported on political trends, legislative issues, and the state's quality of life since 1975. A 30-year veteran of the newspaper business, Heupel was a reporter and Statehouse editor for

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com77tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-63960601573839449272007-12-04T10:06:00.000-06:002007-12-04T10:48:48.444-06:00

The UIS Music Fall Showcase Concert and UIS Theatre Student Directed Scenes are just two ways in which our campus culture has been enlivened and enriched during this pre-winter season. And we have the UIS Employee Holiday Party to look forward to on December 17. I hope all of you will attend. In the meantime, we've got a great matchup tonight in TRAC Arena with the #13-ranked Prairie Stars men's

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-46652195655385833752007-12-03T16:13:00.000-06:002007-12-03T16:34:53.116-06:00

I learned recently that six members of our Prairie Stars softball team have been named 2006-07 National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-American Scholar-Athletes. The honor is conveyed to those student-athletes who have an academic year grade point average of 3.5 or higher. Kristan Delafeld, Jessica Tittsworth, Allie Leight, Whitney Nelson, Rachel Canny and Brittany Schafer all received the

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-86783394552683324862007-11-30T14:21:00.000-06:002007-12-04T11:20:06.581-06:00

Millions of people throughout the nation have now heard of UIS thanks to a two-part report this week on National Public Radio. NPR Correspondent Larry Abramson interviewed several UIS faculty and students for the report about online learning and teaching. He decided to visit UIS after learning about the national award this university received in October for institution-wide excellence in online

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-34441019213596004362007-11-30T14:00:00.001-06:002008-02-15T10:31:50.150-06:00

UIS' new field station at the Emiquon Preserve is really taking shape and will soon be completed. The station is located on a hillside overlooking the Emiquon floodplain along the Illinois River near Lewistown. That's about 55 miles northeast of Springfield. Under the direction of UIS Professor Mike Lemke, the station will provide resources and space for teaching, learning and research about

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8812307.post-13659773322484979562007-11-30T09:59:00.000-06:002007-12-04T11:34:07.639-06:00

On a bright and sunny day in November, the Public Affairs Center lobby was filled with the hum of good conversation and the aroma of delicious food. The occasion was the annual luncheon program for 2007 scholarship recipients and the donors who make the scholarships possible. This event sets the mood for Thanksgiving -- we are, indeed thankful for every donor and grateful for every deserving

Chancellor Ringeisennoreply@blogger.com15