UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT SPRINGFIELD

The 'University of Illinois at Springfield' ('UIS') is a small, liberal arts university and the third campus of the University of Illinois. UIS was established in 1969 as 'Sangamon State University' by the Illinois General Assembly and became a part of the University of Illinois on July 1, 1995.
The picturesque, 746 acre (3.0 km²) campus is located on the southeast side of the state capital, Springfield, near Lake Springfield.
Known for its small classes, personalized learning environment, and focus on teaching, UIS serves 4,700 students in 20 master's degree, 20 undergraduate programs, and a doctorate in Public Administration. The academic curriculum of the campus emphasizes a strong liberal arts core, and array of professional programs, extensive opportunities in experiential education, and a broad engagement in public affairs issues in its academic and community service pursuits.
UIS was once one of the two upper-division and graduate universities in Illinois. In 2001, UIS switched to a full four-year undergraduate program, and now enrolls approximately 300 freshmen, including 100 honors students each year to the Capital Scholars Honors Program. Future facilities for this expanding university include a 4,000 seat gymnasium/performance arena, part of a new $16 million recreation center due to be completed in August 2007. Other projects include a new residence hall (opening Fall 2008), and more suite-style and townhouse-style residences. Renovations of existing buildings, especially those constructed in the 1970s, are in the works. These buildings lie mostly on the east quad of the UIS campus.
The campus offers many small classes, substantial student-faculty interaction, extraordinary internship and fellowship opportunities in state government and business, and an evolving technology-enhanced learning environment. UIS is also nationally known for its online programming, which offers dozens of online courses each semester and offers seven degree completion programs entirely online, reaching students all over the world, including members of the military serving in places such as Iraq.

Contents

Campus Diversity

Campus Buildings

Campus Housing

Campus Streets

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

External links

Campus Diversity

While UIS lies mainly in a city long perceived to be conservative, the campus itself is said to be a place of free thought and open mindedness, thus lending to the oft-used phrase "Private School Education at a State School Price." Since its founding this campus has been considered liberal compared to the city it is in.

Some notable campus organizations that exist are:


★ UIS Blue Crew


★ Christian Student Fellowship


★ Queer-Straight Alliance


★ Indian Student Organization


★ College Republicans

★ College Democrats


★ Campus Greens


★ Society of Conservative Students


★ Housing Residents Council

Campus Buildings

Most buildings are given a three-letter acronym based on the name.
'Upper Quad'

★ University Hall - UHB

★ Public Affairs Center - PAC

★ Brookens Library - BRK

★ Health & Sciences Building - HSB
'Lower Quad'

★ WUIS/WIPA Radio Station - WUIS

★ Student Life Building - SLB

★ Visual and Performing Arts Building - VPA

★ Student Affairs Building - SAB

★ Human Resources Building - HRB

★ Cox Child Care Center
'Elsewhere on Campus'

★ The Recreation and Athletic Center - TRAC (to be opened on September 12th, 2007)

★ Sangamon Schools Credit Union

★ Shepherd House

★ Spencer House

★ UIS Campus Police Dept.

Campus Housing

A diverse group of approximately 1,000 students live in campus housing, and many are actively involved with campus life and community events. Campus apartment flat, townhouse apartment, and family housing clusters are named after native Illinois plants.
'Residence Halls & Commons'

★ Lincoln Residence Hall - LRH

★ Homer L. Butler Commons - HLB

★ "Residence Hall at Eliza Farnham Drive" (Fall 2008)
'Apartment Flats'

★ Clover Court - CLV

★ Bluebell Court - BBL

★ Larkspur Court - LKR
'Townhouse Apartments'

★ Pennyroyal Court - PRL

★ Foxglove Court - FXG

★ Marigold Court - MGR

★ Trillium Court (Fall 2007)
'Family Housing'

★ Sunflower Court - SFL

Campus Streets

The streets that lie within the campus are all named after Illinois poets and novelists.

★ Vachel Lindsay Drive

★ Carl Sandburg Lane

★ Eliza Farnham Drive

★ Gwendolyn Brooks Drive

★ Nelson Algren Lane

★ William Maxwell Lane

★ Richard Wright Drive

★ University Drive

★ University Plaza

★ Shepherd Road

Notable alumni

★ Ward Churchill - former University of Colorado professor, social critic, activist (BA, MA Communication)

★ Gary Delsohn - Reporter, chief speechwriter for California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger ('77, MA Public Affairs Reporting)

★ Michael A. Dunbar - Sculptor ('76 MA)

★ Karen A. Hasara - Former mayor of Springfield, Illinois, Illinois State Senator, ('72 BA Psychology, '92 MA Legal Studies)

★ Lin N. Ezell - Director, Marine Corps National Museum ('74 BA Literature)

★ Dana Perino - White House press secretary ('95, MA Public Affairs Reporting)

★ Michael S. Schwartz - Chairman, US Railroad Retirement Board ('80 MA Educational Leadership)

★ Vince Demuzio - Illinois State Senator, 1975-2004 (2002, M.A. in Education and Public Policy)

★ Robert "Bobby" McFerrin Jr.- vocal performer and conductor (attended 1976-77, did not receive degree)

Notable faculty

★ Lynn Fisher, professor of anthropology/sociology - the leader of a historic archaeological dig in Germany's Swabian Alb to uncover migration patterns of ancient societies.

★ Michael Lemke, professor of biology - director of the Emiquon Field Station which is working with The Nature Conservancy in restoring 7,000 acres (28 km²) of wetlands along the Illinois River.

★ Ray Schroeder, professor emeritus and director of office of technology-enhanced learning - Sloan-C distinguished scholar in online learning 2003, publisher of highly popular blogs on online learning and educational technology

★ Ron Michaelson, visiting professor of political studies - former executive director of the Illinois State Board of Elections


★ Chris Mooney and Kent Redfield, professors of political science - among the most-often quoted state government pundits in Illinois media.

★ The late Philip Paludan, professor of history - nationally renowned Lincoln scholar, the recipient of the prestigious Lincoln Prize, and the Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair of Lincoln Studies.

★ The late Paul Martin Simon - Politician, United States Senator, First Director of Public Affairs Reporting Program

★ Charlie Wheeler, director of UIS' Public Affairs Reporting program, a nationally recognized graduate program for students preparing for careers on government and policy-making reporting.

★ Larry Golden, Director of Downstate Illinois Innocence Project - professor emeritus of political science and legal studies.

★ Cullom Davis, professor of history, nationally-known archivist, originator of Abraham Lincoln Legal Papers Project - which can now be found in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library

External links

★ Official website

★ Admissions website - arrange campus visits

★ Official athletics website

★ UIS MySpace Page

★ Campus map

★ From "Radical University" to Handmaiden of the Corporate State

★ SSU/UIS Timeline

★ The Journal: Weekly Student Newspaper of UIS

★ The Podcasting Resource at UIS

★ UIS on iTunes U