Join us for a campuswide conversation with Dr. Annmarie Caño as she explores how mentorship can foster environments where all individuals are empowered to thrive. This conversation is open to anyone engaged in mentoring, teaching, leadership, or supporting others in any role. The lecture will be followed by an optional Mentoring Matters Summer Institute for in-depth mentor training. Additional details and registration information will be shared in early fall.

The Ninth Senate Review Commission (SR9) seeks feedback about the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Senate and its committees. SR9 has been charged with conducting a comprehensive review of the Senate’s size, organization, structure, and operations and will report its findings and recommendations to the Senate Executive Committee. Members of the university community are invited to provide anonymous feedback through a survey. The survey will remain open until May 1, 2026. Take the Feedback Survey.

Reading Day, May 7, is the last day to add or drop (with a "W") a Semester or POT B course (Late Registration Change via the Graduate College Student Portal). May 7 is also the last day to withdraw from ALL semester courses with "W's" recorded (Withdrawal Form and dept approval required; International Students need ISSS approval). Forms must be submitted to the Graduate College before 5pm, May 7. Students enrolled in non-standard part of term courses should refer to their program for deadline information. Questions about deadlines or submitting a form? Click here for an advising appointment!

May 1 is the last day to submit a Late Registration Change via the Graduate College Student Portal to drop a Part of Term B course without a grade of "W" recorded; and the last day to submit a Credit/No-Credit election via the Graduate College Student Portal for a Part of Term B course. Have questions about registration deadlines or submitting a form? Click here for an advising appointment!

Friday, May 8, at 5:00pm, is the deadline for masters students to complete their thesis deposit, if required, for Spring 2026 degree conferral. This deadline is firm and cannot be waived. Because all corrections and all required deposit materials must be received no later than 5:00pm, the Thesis Office strongly encourages students to submit the thesis for review one week prior to the deadline. For further information about the process visit the Thesis Office website.

Friday, May 1, at 5:00pm, is the deadline for doctoral students to complete their dissertation deposit for Spring 2026 degree conferral. This deadline is firm and cannot be waived. Because all corrections and all required deposit materials must be received no later than 5:00pm, the Thesis Office strongly encourages students to submit the dissertation for review several days prior to the deadline. For further information about the process visit the Thesis Office website.

The NIH Career Symposium is a virtual event highlighting the diversity of career choices available to biomedical researchers. Whether you're just beginning to explore your career options, seeking guidance for your next steps, or already on the job market, this event is designed to propel you toward success. Join four days of panels, networking opportunities, and interactive workshops. Learn more and register at https://www.training.nih.gov/me/cs/.

Become a Dementia Friend by attending this interactive training on April 27th from 12:15 PM to 1:15 PM at McKechnie Family LIFE Home (75 Bailey Dr, Champaign, IL 61820). This session will build your awareness and practical skills for supporting individuals living with dementia in your professional or community role. Learn how dementia affects communication, decision-making, and daily functioning, along with simple strategies to better recognize and respond to those needs. Register at go.illinois.edu/Dementia-Friends. 

This session will explore both overt and subtle forms of microaggressions in workplace communication, including those that happen consciously as well as those that occur unconsciously. Participants will gain insight and develop strategies for fostering more respectful and inclusive workplace environments. Pre-registration required.

Cancer Voices performs true stories from survivors, doctors, family members, nurses, and researchers. Watch the trailer here. The  45-minute script shares how different people move through cancer research and treatment. Our performances and following community discussions work toward effective, just healthcare for all. This project is made possible by a Research Award from the Chancellor’s office, and by contributors who shared their stories. Performances are free and open to all. April 29: 6:00 pm at Lincoln Theater in Lincoln Hall. May 1: 6:00 pm at Station Theater in Urbana.

Join us for an engaging experience highlighting the rich cultures, histories, and vibrant communities of the African regions. This session will take participants on a cultural journey across African countries, showcasing the diversity that defines the continent. Through storytelling, music, visuals, and activities, attendees will explore traditional and modern aspects of African life, including cultural attire, languages, cuisine, art, and social traditions. Enjoy authentic African rich music while gaining insight into the region’s global influence, cultural values, and everyday life. 

Students of professor emeritus Kimiko Gunji's class, ARTJ199 Ikebana: Japanese Flower Arranging, will be displaying their final arrangements at a free exhibition in the main room at Japan House. The Student Ikebana Exhibition at Japan House is free and open to all to view from 4:30-6:30pm. The paid ticket is only if you'd like to pre-order for the Matcha Cafe. Walk-ins are welcome!

The Courtyard Café is closing out the semester with a bang! Mark your calendar for an unforgettable performance by magician John Cassidy. Blending hilarious comedy, jaw-dropping magic, and mind-blowing balloon artistry, John delivers a high-energy show filled with incredible tricks, audience participation, and nonstop laughter. Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind experience that will keep you on the edge of your seat. All Courtyard Café events are free and open to the public - come be part of the fun!

Come plant a pocket forest with us—be part of a Sunrise May Day forest-planting parade with Unreliable Bestiary artists Deke Weaver and Jennifer Allen, Landscape Architecture students and faculty members Brian Deal and David Hays, and musician Jason Finkelman. Meet in Japan House parking lot (F32). Presented in conjunction with Another Place: Storymaking the Entangled Prairie exhibition at Krannert Art Museum (on view through July 2). Rain date: Saturday, May 2.

360 ALLSTARS is a high-octane urban circus celebrating all forms of rotation with BMX, breakdancing, acrobatics, basketball, and drumming. Featuring World Champion and World Record-holding artists, the show fuses street style with elite skill in a mind-blowing spectacle. With a powerful live soundtrack from award-winning musicians and stunning video projections, it's a bold, colorful, and exhilarating expression of street culture that redefines live performance. The 360 ALLSTARS will leave you breathless and inspired. VISIT KRANNERTCENTER.COM FOR MORE INFO 🔥🔥🔥

Join us for a special tour led by exhibiting artists from Another Place: Storymaking the Entangled Prairie. Gain insights into their creative practice and research. Today's tour features Ryan Griffis (video), Melissa Pokorny (sculpture) and Stacey A. Robinson (graphic design), who are all on faculty in the School of Art & Design. *Parking nearby is free on weekends.*

In many Indigenous worldviews, home is not defined by a single structure or fixed location. Rather, home-places emerge from a constellation of relationships (land-based, kin-based, ancestral, and cosmological) that both ground one’s identity and shape one’s responsibilities. Within this framework, the Native American House (NAH) becomes more than a physical space: it is animated through the cultural understandings and daily practices of its professional and student staff, who collectively expand what it means for NAH to serve as a “home away from home.” 

The Center for Research and Innovation in Technology-Enhanced Learning (ITEL) inaugural Future of Learning Technologies (FLT) Showcase, highlights transformative work at the University of Illinois that is redefining how people learn with and through technology. This showcase brings together people from across U of I for multidisciplinary sessions, demos, and discussions on visions of the future of learning. Our aim is to highlight innovative and diverse happening at U of I at the intersection of learning and technology, and to spark meaningful interdisciplinary conversation and collaboration.

The Game Studies and Design Spring 2026 Showcase features a day of play-testing for students to share their new games, designs, and game components.

Ross Douthat, New York Times columnist and host of the podcast Interesting Times, posits that under the influence of digital technologies and in the shadow of AI, human civilization is entering a period of sustained pressure that threatens cultures, communities, and individuals with obsolescence and extinction. Douthat argues that nothing human can be taken for granted, and survival will increasingly depend on people who are somewhat fanatical in their belief in the value of the human person, and deliberate about making sure that human things survive the cull. 

To celebrate Earth Month, the Facilities & Services Diversity and Inclusion Committee is hosting University Landscape Architect Bridgette Moen, who worked for both the Champaign County Forest Preserve District and the Champaign Park District before joining F&S. She will explore the “importance of access to nature and parks, recommendations for access, and how Champaign County meets (or in some cases does not meet) those recommendations,” in her interesting and informative talk, "Equitable Access to Open Space." Sign up for the meeting link at https://go.fs.illinois.edu/NoontimeKnowledge.

The Center for Research and Innovation in Technology-Enhanced Learning (ITEL) will be hosting Dr. Mina Johnson-Glenberg. She will be giving a talk titled: Designing for and Assessing Learning across the EXtended Reality (XR) Continuum. Dr. Johnson-Glenberg specializes in creating and assessing educational content that is embodied. She will present on several principles related to designing across the XR spectrum, and she will discuss several on-going research projects with a focus on how to assess comprehension of generative content.

The University Library invites you to a panel discussion on teaching about AI across disciplines. Panelists will share how they address AI in their courses—through instruction, policy-setting, guided use, or intentional non-use—and how those decisions reflect disciplinary values and student needs. The event aims to foster campus-wide conversation and explore how the Library can support these efforts. Open to all interested in AI and teaching. Hybrid format; light snacks provided. Registration encouraged for in-person planning and required to receive the Zoom link.

Join the Neuromusculoskeletal Seminar Series for a talk by Illinois' Mariana Kersh and Carle's Adam Kahn. The title will be, "Clinical biomechanics: applications in orthopedics and rehabilitation." Want to be added to the NMSK group's list of members? Email nmskAtCI@gmail.com. 

Hyungji Park (Yonsei U), "From the Nile to the Han: Nineteenth-Century Korea, Egypt, and the Limits of Orientalism."  This talk traces how Chaillé-Long's comparisons between Egypt and Korea expose the limits of Orientalism as a framework for understanding East Asia, and what those limits mean for how we think about early Korean-American diplomatic engagements. 

Hear a captivating presentation and Q&A with Professor Joyce Yen Feng, Professor Emerita in the Department of Social Work at National Taiwan University (NTU). A two-time graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's School of Social Work, she is widely recognized as the “Mother of Social Enterprise in Taiwan.” One of five honored recipients of the 2026 International Achievement Awards, she returns to campus to accept the 2026 Madhuri and Jagdish N. Sheth International Alumni Award for Exceptional Achievement. Optional RSVP: https://go.illinois.edu/2026ShethLectureRSVP

McKinley Health Center serves on-campus students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 

The University of Illinois Counseling Center provides mental health counseling and wellbeing education for students. 

If you or a student you know may need support with their basic needs or financial stressors, please reach out.