OVCDEI is hosting focus groups designed to understand experiences with discrimination, harassment or retaliation based on shared ancestry. All Illinois students and employees are invited, but space is limited. Input will inform future campus efforts to address discrimination on national origin, including shared ancestry. Click the link to sign up. Questions? Contact diversity@illinois.edu.

The Illini Union Tech Zone, now located inside the Bookstore, is having a clearance sale where you can save up to 80% off selected items. This sale will feature previous generation items, open box items and more. Stop by and stock up on your tech needs.

Stop by the Illini Union Bookstore for the Dads Weekend Scratch Off Ticket Sale! Shop in-store and then at the register you will be given a scratch off ticket to see if you will save 15%, 20% or 25% OFF your entire purchase! No matter what, you will save this weekend. Stock up on all the orange and blue - we even have specific Illinois Dads items - and cheer on the Fighting Illini! 

Developed by Professors Fei Du and Mark Peecher, "Sustainability Reporting: From Regulation to Implementation" provides a comprehensive understanding of sustainability reporting and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) practices. It emphasizes the integration of sustainability within business operations and effective communication. Enroll for free with Illinois on Coursera.

Live on Coursera! Fundamentals of Dairy Nutrition: Forages and Feed. Join world renowned experts in this online course to explore feedstuffs, forage growth, byproducts, nutrition techniques and more!  Developed by Dr. Josh McCann, Dr. Phil Cardoso and the Dairy Nutrition for Udder Success graduate certificate team, this course will transport you on the farm at Illinois with immersive footage. 

Consider donating your unused bicycles! The Campus Bike Center is looking for bicycles of any size and any condition to repair and give away to teens and kids in the community. Contact us at 217-333-0241 to arrange a drop-off and deliver to the Campus Bike Center at 51 E. Gregory Dr., Champaign, during our open hours. 

Our campus is an institutional member of the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity. Faculty, post-docs, academic professionals and graduate students can SIGN-UP for a free NCFDD membership to access online resources on writing productivity, time management, mentor relationships, securing external funding and more. Activate your NCFDD membership today!

Subscriptions for the 2025 Supper Club at Allerton Park are now on sale. Five area chefs will create unique, artisan menus and interact with diners at meals served in the Allerton Mansion. Supper Club membership includes all five dinners, early-access cocktail hour and other perks. To become a Supper Club member and receive access to all five dates, call us at 217-333-3287. Get more info here.

Apply to be part of the Allerton Park In-Residence Program as a spring 2025 resident. Residencies of two to six weeks will allow uninterrupted time for artists and naturalists to explore their ideas, immerse themselves in the serene surroundings of the Park and engage with our central Illinois communities. Interested parties can apply here until Nov. 8.

Mobile unit services include: driver’s license and state ID card (renewal, replacement, corrections), vehicle stickers; passenger, B-truck, motorcycle and collegiate license plates; vehicle title and registration; organ/tissue donor registration; and parking placards for persons with disabilities.

Attend the U.S. premiere of the “1923 Kanto Massacre” documentary at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, at the Spurlock Museum. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 became subject to political manipulation that incited rumors and violence against colonized Koreans amid physical chaos. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the film’s creative producer, U. of I. alum Dr. Jinhee Lee. Register here.

Join Japan House interns on an interactive exploration of Onigiri (Japanese rice balls) and their history, culture and preparation methods. You will learn to make your own onigiri, try out onigiri from different parts of Japan (all vegetarian). Your presence and participation will directly support OnigiriAction, a campaign to give school meals to children in need around the world!

It is time for the annual Thanksgiving Meal Drive in support of the Big Give. Each year we call on our University community to support local families during the holidays. We are looking to provide families with all the items necessary, including gift cards to purchase a turkey. Donations will be collected until Friday, Nov. 15. 

From 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, at University YMCA Latzer Hall, join Dr. Moore-Vissing, a civic engagement designer and researcher, who will explore what civic health is, why it matters, how to measure it and how students, faculty and staff can contribute to their own community’s civic health outcomes.

The Civic Café is a conversation series by scholars, educators and community advocates to advance pillars of democracy and civic education. Join Dr. Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, and Will Creeley, legal director of the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, for a discussion on the landscape of campus free speech.

Join us for an engaging in-person workshop exploring how tools like ChatGPT and Adobe Firefly can help generate ideas, inspire new approaches for discussions or kickstart creative projects. Learn the importance of prompt crafting and human intervention, underscoring that while AI aids efficiency, the true value comes from adding a human touch to refine and elevate the results.

Join us Wednesday evening for a special Diwali celebration dinner at three locations –  ISR, IKE and LAR dining halls. University Housing, the Asian American Cultural Center and the Salaam Middle East and North Africa Cultural Center will host special celebratory dinner programming on Main St. at ISR! Guests can enjoy a meal in University Housing dining halls by using Illini Cash or credit card.

Join us at Riggs Beer Company at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3, to hear Dr. Marianne Alleyne discuss her work examining biological structures in insects and how they can be adapted to create novel technologies. Hope to see you there! 

The Senate seeks information regarding establishing the Departments of Oncology, Surgery and Digestive Health, Cardiovascular Medicine and Surgery, and Neurology and Neurosurgery in the Carle Illinois College of Medicine. A public hearing will be held at 4 p.m. on Nov. 5, 2024. Follow this link for Zoom link and more information, to RSVP to the hearing or to provide comments.

Celebrate the biggest campus Diwali in USA with IGSA! Join us for a night of festivities. Experience live performances, henna, rangoli and much more. Indulge in authentic Indian food and dance to our DJ party.  Don't miss this unique opportunity to celebrate the triumph of good over evil! Click on the link to secure food presale. Come light up the Quad with us! All are welcome to this free event.

Gies Business Office of DEI is launching a "Seen, Heard, Valued Speaker Series" with a session from Cecilia “CC” Suarez, PhD, senior manager of DEIB at Pixar Studios. Her session, To Inclusion and Beyond: Unlocking the Power of Inclusive Organizational Change, will discuss the critical role of inclusion during periods of organizational change. Faculty, staff and students are welcome. Register here

The Senate Committee on Educational Policy is collecting information regarding a Proposal to Establish the Center for Research and Innovation in Technology-Enhanced Learning in the College of Education.  A public hearing will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 4, 2024, in room 232 of the English Building. Follow this link to get more information, to RSVP to the hearing or to provide written comments.

The Safety for Emerging Robotics and Autonomous Agriculture workshop aims to bring together representatives from groups including farm operators, academia, industry and governmental interests to distribute current information and discuss gaps in knowledge and research needs related to risks, insurability, regulations, policy, workforce and societal implications. More details here.

Please join us for a lunchtime conversation with the Vice Chancellor’s Faculty Fellow, Ilana Redstone, about some of the underlying assumptions that distance us from one another and how we can engage each other with more openness and curiosity, from noon to 1 p.m. on Nov. 1, 15 and 22. Register at go.illinois.edu/DEIFacultyFellow.

"Disorder and Diagnosis: Health and the Politics of Everyday Life in Modern Arabia" offers a history of medicine, disease and public health in the Persian Gulf from the late nineteenth century until the 1973 oil boom.

Professor Schwinn of the UIC School of Law will explore the Supreme Court and its role in our democracy through Court rulings and trends relating to voting rights; the Court's approach to fundamental rights, including speech, abortion, religion; Court rulings on institutions of democracy, including separation of powers; Court rulings on the presidency and, particularly, former President Trump. 

Join us for lunch as we honor our brave veterans and welcome keynote speaker Matt Ballinger, a former U.S. Army Ranger and current executive director of public safety and chief of police at the University of Illinois. His leadership in law enforcement and commitment to community safety make his insights invaluable. 

While November is nationally recognized as Native American Heritage Month, it is also National Scholarship Month. The Native American House at Illinois will deliver a month-long program series around the theme, “Supporting Equitable Outcomes for Native Students in Higher Education.” Click on the following link for more information: https://nah.illinois.edu/events/native-american-heritage-month

Join us for an interdisciplinary panel examining how media and emerging technologies are transforming the political landscape in America. Each panelist will share brief insights from their research, followed by a moderated discussion on the broader implications of media, election advertising and political communication. RSVP here: https://forms.illinois.edu/sec/442824332

Seventy years after Brown v. Board of Education was decided, there remains ongoing debate about the basis for the case and the full implications of the decision. A panel of faculty experts will discuss how best to read Brown and how to apply it to some contemporary problems of racial inequality. Free and open to the public, with a limited number of lunches provided.

Dance at Illinois alumni gather in Chicago to present choreographic works, featuring Laura Chiaramonte, Esteban Donoso, Mark Kater, Mya McClellan, Laina Reese Werner-Powell, Chris Johnson, Melissa Pillarella, Isabella Saldana, Kaleigh Dent, Christine Betsill, Johannah Wininsky, Alyssa Motter, Alex Kinard, Skylar Males, Anna Sapozhnikov and Bevara Anderson.

CWS will be offering an online introductory Writing Across the Curriculum seminar for TAs from 1 to 4 p.m. Jan. 13 and 14. TAs from all departments will learn more about teaching writing, responding to writing, and using writing to support learning. Participants will receive a small stipend for attending. Space is limited. Faculty and staff can nominate TAs for the seminar here through Nov. 13.

Want to make a card for Parents Day? What about a fun holiday card? A birthday card? Come learn how to make simple pop-up cards that you can customize for any occasion. Templates for parent day and Halloween will be provided but don’t be afraid to get creative and crafty with us for this card making event!

Have a great Halloween costume you want to remember? Get free photos taken of yourself or a group at the media studio! Choose from various green screen backgrounds and have a blast making memories with your friends. Up to five photos per group. Walk-ins welcome!

Please join us for a group discussion of our first reading of the year: Richard Powers' new novel "Playground."  We will use this novel as a lens to discuss the roles of technology in society, and the dread, fear and awe that technology may inspire. Optional but recommended: Watch the film "Ex Machina" as an interesting juxtaposition. Free snacks provided!

Learn to make your own soap at a Soap Making Demonstration from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12 in the Greenhouse Auditorium at Allerton Park. Artist Sally Walsh will lead students through the process of making soap, including the science, safety, ingredients used and the herbal benefits. $35 per person. Register here by Nov. 5.

Adobe InDesign is a layout and design software program that allows you to create print and digital media. It is part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, which is available to all Illinois students for free! This workshop is designed for those with little to no experience with InDesign to help you learn the basics of using this document design program. We will create a sample flyer.

Join us for a lecture by Dr. Patricia Limerick who will share adventures in the adrenaline-saturated world of the Applied Historian, testifying to the unexpected value of humor (often conveyed in original limericks!) in earning the trust of audiences across a spectrum of opinions and points of view. 

Join us for an Applied History workshop with Dr. Patricia Limerick. If historians-in-training choose to acquire Applied History’s tricks of the trade, they could replace the fog of historical amnesia with the clarity of historical perspective. Join us to get acquainted with the superpower that the historical profession has ready to unleash! Email Dale Mize (dmize2@illinois.edu) to register. 

Explaining our methodologies, purpose and impact as teachers and researchers has never been more necessary. Focusing on research and teaching in languages and cultures, and on some artworks concerned with languages, this lecture calls for making a more pragmatic and assertive case for knowing and learning world languages. Rebecca Walkowitz is provost and dean of the faculty at Barnard College.

The Forum on the Future of AI in Education will host a discussion on recent developments in AI in teaching and learning in the field of education. The Forum will also highlight the policy implications for K-12 education, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Illinois State Board of Education. 

Join Philip Krein, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Grainger Endowed Chair Emeritus in Electric Machinery and Electromechanics, as he presents in person at the Fall 2024 Kent Seminar Series from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 31. Food and soft drinks will be provided beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the ICT Classroom. 

Join us for two talks by recent CAS Associates! At 11 a.m., Decker French (Astronomy) discusses "Supermassive Black Hole Laboratories," and at noon, Marius Junge (Mathematics) presents "Let's Talk About Noise."

We all have good ideas from time to time, but how can we intentionally ideate to develop innovative solutions to complex problems? Learn about and practice collaborative, intentional ideation to generate ideas, communicate them to others, receive feedback and keep iterating to generate groundbreaking solutions to real-world problems.

ISSS will host the highly demanded Chinese Names training during International Education Week from noon to 1 p.m. Nov. 18. This virtual training is open to all students, faculty and staff who would like to learn the native pronunciation of Chinese names as well as be culturally informed on the background and significance of these names. Register here: https://go.illinois.edu/ChineseNamesFall2024.

Join us for Writing in Life Sciences, an installment of online series "Writing in the Disciplines." Hosted by the DRSP and the Writers Workshop, this series connects doctoral students with faculty, journal editors and publishers to discuss writing styles and skills. Featuring Dr. Sulagna Chakraborty (Veterinary Clinical Medicine) and Dr. Surabhi Sonam (School of Molecular and Cellular Biology).

This workshop will teach you how to make word processing documents accessible for screen readers, and how to make presentations accessible. We’ll cover MS Word and PPT, Google Docs, PDFs and best practices for accessibility. You’ll leave with implementable strategies and checklists to ensure your research, teaching and presentations are more accessible to diverse audiences.

Atlas.ti is a desktop and web-based software for analyzing qualitative data, including text, image and video, and survey data. You can code data by hand, automatically using keyword searches and via AI. You can view the results of your coding in different configurations, write memos about your developing analysis, create concept maps, quantify qualitative data and use AI to “chat” with your data.

"Where the Wild Things Are: North America's Cultural Influence Over the Brazilian Editorial Market" Isabel Lopes Coelho is the author of "The Representation of the Child in Children's Literature" (2020). For 12 years, Coelho ran the Children's and Young Adult Literature division at Cosac Naify publishing house. She is currently a postdoctoral student at PUC-SP and a publisher at FTD Educação.

The final talk in the College of Media series “Bridging Divides: Conversations on Media and Disagreement” will address “Engaging with People, Perspectives and Policies When You Don’t Agree: Lessons from Journalism.” Panelists include Journalism professors Leon Dash, a Pulitzer Prize winner, and Colleen King, Frank Center director. Register to join via Zoom. 

How is AI transforming aging care services? Are older adults ready to embrace this technological revolution? In this talk, we will explore the transformative role of AI-led Conversational Agents in aging care, dive into the acceptance of these emerging technologies among older adults and tackle ethical and privacy concerns. Presenter: Xiayu Summer Chen

Deanna A. Hence — professor in the Department of Climate, Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences at U. of I. — will discuss lessons learned from 20 years of experience in collecting field data for weather and climate phenomena including the recent efforts to shift towards community-driven, safe and equitable field science.

We are seeking participants ages 50 and older for a two-hour study ($35 compensation) to explore how people learn to use virtual reality and their training support preferences. Participants should have prior hands-on VR experience, be fluent in English and be willing to visit the U. of I. campus. For more info, please contact us at vrsupport@illinois.edu or 217-300-5445, or click here to sign up!

The Alcohol Research Lab is looking for social drinkers to participate in our study. Participation involves attending one 6- to 9-hour laboratory session and completing cognitive, social and communicative tasks while EEG brain responses are recorded. A referral of at least one same-gender friend is required at the time of sign up. Up to $100 in compensation. Fill out our interest form!

The Labs That Work For Everyone program, created in partnership with HHMI, is seeking piloting labs and research groups. This is an asynchronous online course with periodic full lab discussions. Early reviewers found the program useful and relatable. Support all in your lab in building communication and leadership skills with this interactive program rooted in a feature film about lab science.

We are seeking volunteers who had a stroke and movement difficulty in one side of upper body to participate in our study. You will receive a $50 for screening at Carle, $50 for MRI and a $100 per visit for movement exercises and assessments at the U. of I. Contact: carly.skadden@carle.com or 217-326-0102. Details.

We are examining the effects of complementary protein in a meal on the rate of building muscle proteins. The study requires three days of participation including two full-day trials with blood and muscle sample collection. You get $250 upon completion, information about your body composition (muscle and fat) and results of your lower body strength testing. Contact Zan for more information!

Help make the next Alcohol Fitbit! The Alcohol Research Lab is looking for participants for 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 $400 in compensation for participation.

The Infant Cognition Lab is looking for infants aged 10-14 months to participate in brief studies on early cognitive development. Come to our lab for a short, fun show and help us understand how young children reason about the world! Parking is provided. In thanks, choose $15 in cash or two books. If interested, email infantlab@illinois.edu or call 217-333-5988.

Undergraduate students are invited to participate in a study that aims to learn how undergraduate students define student success and what factors contribute to or hinder that success. Participation involves an interview of up to one hour. Participants receive a $40 gift card. If interested, complete the pre-screening survey by Nov. 12: https://forms.illinois.edu/sec/106057268

The PLAY Lab is looking for participants 30 and above to participate in our study. Participation involves attending two 2-hour laboratory sessions, spread across a minimum of seven days and completing some motor and cognitive tasks while brain responses are recorded. Up to $50 in compensation. PLAY LAB – Dept. of Health and Kinesiology, Freer Hall, 217-300-1977. Find our Interest Form here!

The Office of Community College Research and Leadership wants to improve the pre- and post-transfer experiences of students in Illinois and is seeking participants for two studies to do so. Participants will fill out a 10- to 15-minute Qualtrics survey and can enter a drawing to win a $50 Amazon gift card. Learn more about the pre-transfer and post-transfer surveys.

Looking for adults ages 60-75 to participate in a study into prolonged sitting and how adults think. The study's aim is to test the feasibility of interrupting sitting with short bouts of high-intensity exercise in older adults and measure brain and cognitive functions before and after sitting. Compensation for participation is $280. If you are interested, please click here.