CDC announces changes to COVID-19 isolation guidelines. Applies to students, faculty and staff. (1) Isolate away from others until symptoms improve; (2) minimum of 5-day isolation no longer required, instead isolate until symptoms improve and you are fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing meds; (3) wear a mask when near others for 10 days from positive test or onset of symptoms.

Additional security is being added to the campus VPN. If you use Duo for multi-factor authentication, you’ll also use it to access the campus VPN and you’ll authenticate each time you connect. And there will be fewer options in the drop-down menu. Find out more at the cybersecurity website.

Scholarship applications for the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) are now open for graduating high school seniors to those pursuing a doctorate. USGIF will host a virtual informational session about this opportunity April 22. Register here or apply now! Deadline for applications is May 31.

The deadline for ECL@IL applications has been extended to Friday, March 15. If you’re interested in learning how to become more engaged with the nonprofit sector in our community, please consider this award-winning United Way program hosted on campus for university employees. For more information, click here. Questions? Contact Michelle Gonzales at mgonz28@illinois.edu.

The Faculty Entrepreneurial Leadership Program is a professional development program for faculty interested in entrepreneurship as a path to maximize the socioeconomic impact of their research. More information on our 2023 faculty cohort is available online. Submit a completed application form via your dean or institute director by April 1. Contact felp@business.illinois.edu for more information.

Know any students who want to catch up on their general education requirements? Encourage them to enroll in an online summer course. Summer Session 2024 runs May 13 to Aug. 3 with 4-, 8- and 12-week courses available. There’s a wide variety of courses to choose from, and students can take them from anywhere in the world. Priority registration begins April 1, and open registration begins April 18.

OLLI at Illinois is accepting proposals from current and retired faculty and area experts to teach courses (four or eight weeks) to engaged lifelong learners in Fall 2024. All fields of study welcome. For details about this public engagement activity, visit the OLLI course proposal website or contact the OLLI office (olli@illinois.edu, 217-244-9141). Proposal deadline: Friday, April 5, 2024. 

Biophotonics Summer School organized by the NIH P41 Center for Label-free Multiscale Biophotonics (CLIMB) will take place May 28 - June 7, 2024, at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology. Tuition and lodging are free for accepted students. Registration fee of $250 if accepted. Deadline for application is March 15, 2024. Apply at: https://forms.illinois.edu/sec/1488720399

Are you retiring or separating from the university? You may defer a portion of your vacation leave payout to your 403(b) and/or 457 retirement accounts. Deferral forms must be completed 60 days prior to your last day of employment. Contact University Payroll and Benefits to complete the necessary form(s). Create a UPB Service Ticket or call 217-265-6363 for more information.

Courtesy winter enforcement hours will END with the return of Daylight Saving time. Starting on Monday, March 11, unless otherwise posted, rental lot and lot meter enforcement hours will return to 6 a.m.-5 p.m. If uncertain of rules/regulations, please contact the Parking Department for additional assistance at 217-333-3530.

This symposium aims to illuminate the ways sports at times facilitates public conversations on past and present societal conditions, whether it is how sports reveal broader issues about culture, identity or history. View full symposium schedule and mark your calendars for keynote speaker David Maraniss, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, speaking at 7:30 p.m. on 3/28 at Alice Campbell Alumni Center.

Join the Writers Workshop for our Spring Break Writing Retreat! From March 11 to 14, we'll host hybrid productivity groups from 9 a.m. to noon. Each day will consist of a short goal-setting conversation, quiet writing time and a concluding reflection and wrap-up. Optional afternoon workshops provided as well. See calendar for more info and to register!

Come join us for free trivia at 25 O'Clock on 3.14. Test your knowledge of math, trilogies and all things circular. Maybe even walk away with some actual Pi(e). Participating teams can have a maximum of six players. Hope to see you there. 

Don’t miss the Italian contemporary dance company Artemis Danza as they perform “Corpi Violati’ (“Violated Bodies”) on Monday, March 18 at 7 p.m. in Lincoln Hall Theater. Inspired by stories of gender violence and aimed at highlighting the issue of violence against women, “Corpi Violati” is free and open to the public. For more information, see here. RSVPing is optional but highly encouraged.

Join the Beckman Institute's Imaging Technology Group for a Tech Talk titled, "Morphological Characteristics of Dragonfly Wings." Those who register by March 14 will receive a complimentary lunch. A Zoom link will be available as well.

The Senate Committee on Education Policy is collecting information regarding a Proposal to Create the School of Computing and Data Science in the Grainger College of Engineering.  A public forum will be held on March 20, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. in Room 104 of the Illini Union. Follow this link for more information, RSVP to the forum or provide written comments.

Are you interested in helping others handle burnout, work/life balance and general well-being? The Beckman DEI Committee and Counseling Center is offering “Life’s a lot – How to help others (and yourself) with improved mental well-being”. Lunch for those who register (https://forms.illinois.edu/sec/149629920) prior to March 18. Please encourage group members (post-docs and students) to attend!

The LAS Inclusive Excellence office is hosting a panel discussion on Negotiation in the Academy. This event is open to tenure and specialized faculty, postdocs and advanced graduate students. Topics will include how to effectively negotiate for salary and service, using leverage and addressing problems often faced by women in the ranks. Registration is required by March 13.

Sinfonia da Camera's 40th Season Finale From Ukraine to the Great Gate of Kiev comes to a triumphant conclusion with the world premiere of a new orchestration of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition by composer-in-residence David Canfield. Also featured on the program is Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 featuring Ian Hobson as soloist and conductor as well as works by Prokofiev and Polevá.

The Farms: An Allerton Folk School will host Cookie Decorating from 12 to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 23. Jennifer Holhubner will give instruction on how to decorate provided cookies that participants will take home! $65/person. Register here by March 16.  Cookie Decorating will also be offered from 12 to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 4. Go here for info.

Opportunities await at the Illini Career and Internship Fair! Explore and connect with 90+ employers eager to engage with talent like you. Open to all majors and class levels. This is the last career fair of the school year, so don't miss it. Registration is encouraged but not required. Visit Handshake to view the list of employers and to register.

Please join a documentary viewing and panel discussion of Dr. Asif Wilson's Towards Inquiry, Moving In Solidarity With Your Students. The 23-minute film follows a day in the life of Seth, a high school social studies teacher who uses inquiry as a method for his students to critically read and transform their worlds.Thursday, March 28, 2024 from 5 - 7 p.m. at Spurlock Auditorium. Please RSVP.

Registration is open for the Allerton Races: Half-Marathon, 10K & Trail-Glo 5K on Friday and Saturday, April 19-20. Options include a Trail-Glo 5K on Friday evening, and a 10K or half-marathon Saturday. Half-marathon and 10K competitors will run throughout the park, while Trail-Glo runners will follow illuminated trail markings under an evening sky through the Formal Gardens. Register here.

Get ready for gardening season at Allerton's 11th Annual Plant Sale, held May 3-5. Purchase annuals, herbs, veggies, perennials, natives, arranged hanging baskets, Allerton Bluebells and more. Hours will be 5-9pm Friday and 9-5 Saturday and Sunday. Master Gardeners will be available to answer your questions. The Plant Sale is also part of the inaugural Bluebell Festival: A Folk School Fundraiser.

This workshop will include two talks about optimizing, profiling and benchmarking input/output operations using HDF5 and DLIO. Optimizing Your I/O Workload: Techniques for Effective HDF5 Usage - Scot Breitenfeld, The HDF Group, and Deep Learning I/O: Benchmark and Profiling - Hariharan Devarajan, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Register and find more info with the link in the title.

Please join us for the March IGET meeting at 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 13. Our agenda topics for this month consist of: Keith Hays giving an overview of Title 2 ADA legislation focusing on implications for campus and how our campus will address this, and Adam King and Melanie Wiscount presenting on Peerceptiv, a tool for teammate evaluation and peer review assignments.

Reading is one of the most significant practices in the modern age of information, but it has a complicated history. Author Adrian Johns will discuss the science of reading that emerged in the 19th century, leading to the “reading wars” that are still occurring today. This virtual event is free and all are welcome to register and attend. Please pre-register at go.illinois.edu/AJohns.

If you are a camp director, counselor or other designated individual who will be assisting with hosting a camp this summer, please join us for a summer camp briefing March 19 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Microsoft Teams. The Protection of Minors policy requires reporting of any sponsored activities that include participants under 18. Visit the Public Safety website to get the meeting information.

Explore the evolving impact of AI on job searching and hiring, leveraging tools like ChatGPT. Delve into the current AI landscape, address challenges and discover best practices for ethical use in resumes, cover letters and interviews. Gain insights into employer perspectives and discuss the future of these tools. Join our virtual event on Zoom. Register on Handshake.

Join us for the March Web Conference Workshop! Charlotte Peloquin from the Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing in a workshop offering a comprehensive guide to understanding and implementing essential communication strategies--tailored specifically for working with designers. This workshop will help you gain insight into the terminology and concepts commonly used in the design field. 

Join expert imaging specialists from MILabs for training on the Molecular Imaging Laboratory's new animal preclinical PET-CT imaging system. This comprehensive training session aims to equip all interested researchers, technicians and assistants with the essential skills and knowledge required to operate and leverage the full potential of this cutting-edge PET/CT imaging system.

The Fulbright U.S. Scholar competition offers 400 individual awards globally. Join to hear about awards considered by staff to be Fulbright's "hidden gems". We will answer questions about award requirements and share tips for applying. If you're interested in Fulbright, this webinar is for you! It will be at 2pm EST on April 2nd. For more info, visit Global Relations.

We are exploring challenges encountered in daily activities for older adults (60+) with history of stroke. If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulty with thinking, memory or concentration, we would like to learn from your experiences to develop solutions. The study will be conducted using videochat. Participants will be paid. Contact KCH-HFA-ENACT@illinois.edu or 217-265-0885.

Is drinking causing problems in your relationship? The University of Illinois is conducting a research study for people with alcohol use disorder and their partners. Participants will receive 12 sessions of science-backed alcohol couples treatment and complete phone-based study assessments during their enrollment. Qualified individuals will be compensated for their time. 

Help make the Next Alcohol Fitbit! The Alcohol Research Lab is looking for frequent drinkers to participate in a validation study of transdermal biosensing bracelets. Participation involves attending three laboratory sessions, wearing a transdermal bracelet, and filling out surveys for two weeks. Up to $300 in compensation for participation.

Children ages 8-11 sought for a study on the impact of daily consumption of plant-based snacks on physical and cognitive development and health. If eligible, your child will visit our lab (6-8 times) for procedures, including bone density scans, measurements, blood draws and cognitive assessments as well as simple at-home procedures. Participants receive snacks and compensation ($500-$700).

We're seeking people who are thinking about making changes to their lifestyle or have just started a new habit for a four-week remote study. Participants will be compensated with a $100 Amazon e-Gift Card. Tasks include completing a baseline survey, four weekly surveys, attending three online meetings and engaging in self-initiated lifestyle change and web browsing over four weeks. 

Are you a Latina woman who had a planned cesarean delivery in the past 12 months? We are looking for women (aged 18-45) to help us develop a mindfulness intervention for Latina women who plan to deliver by cesarean. Eligible participants will complete a brief online survey and receive a $10 electronic gift card. Contact us today at (217) 244-9363 or mamidappstudy@illinois.edu