The 2025-2026 University Senate will meet at 3:10 p.m. Monday, March 9, in Illini Room A (First floor, Illini Union). View meeting materials online. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

Volunteers are needed at the universitywide Commencement ceremony at Gies Memorial Stadium from 7:30 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 16. Please register here by April 13 to volunteer. An orientation and grab-and-go lunch will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, May 14, at Gies Memorial Stadium. If you have any questions, please call the Commencement Office at 217-333-8834 or email commencement@illinois.edu.

Interested in developing your leadership, communication and problem-solving skills? Applications are open for our neighborhood assistant positions for the 2026–2027 academic year! The deadline to apply is noon on Monday, March 16. Neighborhood assistants are part-time paraprofessional staff members who live in an assigned apartment in one of three complexes: Ashton Woods, Goodwin-Green or Orchard Downs. NAs serve as valuable campus resources and have many different responsibilities throughout the apartment community. Both undergraduate and graduate students invited to apply!

New Course — Foundations of Internal Auditing and Organizational Risk, taught by Andrew Dahle and Edward Rogowski, prepares learners to lead internal audit functions as strategic partners in governance and risk management. The course covers risk-based audit planning, evaluation of controls using frameworks, such as COSO, and effective communication of audit findings to support organizational decision making. Enroll for free with Coursera for Illinois.

The College of Education is launching a Disabled Student Accessibility Taskforce and invites students who identify with a disability to participate (DRES registration not required). Members will provide feedback on course accessibility, help inform accessibility trainings and initiatives and build community with other students. Meetings will be held every other week on Zoom, with asynchronous options available. For more information, contact professor Emily Tarconish at ejt@illinois.edu.

In recognition of National Library Week and National Library Workers Day, the University Library will feature an April exhibit celebrating our library employees and spaces. To honor the theme “Find Your Joy,” we invite you to complete a short form (link above) and share a joyful moment you experienced with a library employee or in one of our library spaces.

The U. of I., in collaboration with the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute and University of Illinois Extension, has developed the Springtime Science 2026 webinar series as part of the Community Seminar Series. Community members will be able to explore current health research, gain dependable information and engage directly with U. of I. researchers. 

Illini Union Event Services will implement a phased rate increase for event services and multimedia rentals from FY27–FY31. This advance notice supports multi-year budgeting and planning. The last major increase occurred in 2015. Learn more and view future rates: https://union.illinois.edu/eventservicesnewrates.

The Illini Union Bookstore is currently having a blowout Clearance Sale in-store only. Stop by the second floor and check out the selections with clearance prices as marked. It is also Merch Madness time as fans get ready for the basketball postseason. Grab the official basketball bench shirt and a wide selection of orange and blue.

Courtesy winter enforcement hours conclude with the return of daylight savings time. Unless otherwise posted, rental lot and lot meter enforcement hours will return to 5 p.m. starting Monday, March 9. If you're uncertain of the rules or regulations, please contact the Parking Department for additional assistance at 217-333-3530.

Join us for an engaging session on "Illinois as an Age-Friendly University," part of the Redefining Retirement Series. The Age-Friendly University Global Network promotes healthy, purposeful aging through higher education. Learn how Illinois supports faculty through lifelong learning, mentoring, research and engagement. We’ll introduce the AFU framework, highlight campus initiatives and share ways to stay connected and explore new opportunities. Register here by March 13.

Engineering IT, the Graduate College and ATLAS have created a short survey for LaTeX and Overleaf users on campus. This data is intended to identify trends in preferred LaTeX workflows, and will aid Illinois' ongoing digital accessibility efforts. If you use LaTeX and/or Overleaf, please take a moment to complete the survey.

This is the final reminder to submit proposals for the BRIDGE Seed Fund, which provides funding to advance Illinois’ research and engagement missions in collaboration with the University of Birmingham. Permanent faculty and research staff are eligible to apply. Proposals in the social sciences and humanities are encouraged. Proposals must be submitted by March 13. Application information is available on the BRIDGEPartnership website.

The deadline is less than a week away for undergrads to apply to present at the 2026 Undergraduate Research Symposium (scheduled for April 30 at the Illini Union). The URS is a daylong event where students can showcase their in-progress and completed research through posters, oral and creative presentations. Application deadline: March 13 at go.illinois.edu/URS. 

As announced on our homepage, all drop-in advising services, online resume reviews, mock interviews and the Professional Portrait Lab will be on hiatus for spring break from Monday, March 16, until Friday, March 20. Scheduled service hours resume Monday, March 23. One-on-one coaching appointments are still available during spring break. Students can schedule an appointment using their student Handshake account or by calling our office at 217-333-0820. Feedback for personal statement reviews will be delayed during spring break. Please plan accordingly.

Exhibitions on view include: Another Place: Storymaking the Entangled Prairie, Latina Voces: Student Art Exhibition and Memorias de la Mujer Lotina: Arpilleras, Women, and Coal in Chile. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday during spring break, and open until 8 p.m. Thursdays when classes are in session. Admission is always free. Parking access is easy during school breaks. kam.illinois.edu. 

Historian and material culture scholar Steeve Buckridge, a professor at Grand Valley State University, presents on dress among enslaved African women and their descendants in the early 19th-century Caribbean. He argues that dress functions as archive and visual language, revealing memory, identity, class, blackness, gender and resistance within colonial society. Buckridge is Jamaican-born the author of "The Language of Dress and African Lace-Bark in the Caribbean," and a recipient of Ford, Fulbright and Yale fellowships. His work joins fashion history to slavery, embodiment and diaspora.

Rain Garden Rumble is a fun way to learn more about native plants found at the Red Oak Rain Garden. To enter, send completed brackets to redoakraingarden@illinois.edu by Monday, March 16. Games begin the following day at 11 a.m. on Facebook and Instagram. Brackets, rules and more details are at the link above. The winning bracket receives a University of Illinois Extension-branded umbrella and bag!

Join us for a panel discussion exploring why understanding history matters for research and community impact. After viewing the Urbana Free Library's "Journey to Freedom: Illinois’ Underground Railroad" exhibit and hearing brief remarks from exhibit partners, panelists will discuss how historical awareness can shape research priorities, strengthen community trust and inform more equitable community-engaged scholarship. Participants will reflect on how historical context can guide research that advances social justice and meaningful community partnerships.

Join us for a special Names Across Cultures workshop focused on Mandarin Chinese names! This interactive session will explore the diverse linguistic and cultural influences that shape Mandarin Chinese names. You’ll gain insight into name structures, pronunciation tips and cultural context, guided by our presenter with lived experience and knowledge of Mandarin Chinese naming customs. Open to faculty, staff, scholars, students and community members. Register now for this virtual session!

Join us to hear about the processes of building constitutions in Arab countries following the popular uprisings of 2011. The Program in Constitutional Theory, History and Law and the European Union Center are pleased to welcome professor Francesco Biagi, an expert in comparative constitutional law and a regular advisor to emerging democracies. This event is free and open to the public, with lunch provided to attendees (on a first-come basis).

Thinking about using artificial intelligence for your qualitative project? In this workshop, we’ll explore examples of how AI has been used in qualitative data analysis and factors to consider as you decide whether to use AI tools in your own work based on relevant policies and audiences for your work.

Artificial Intelligence is no longer a future feature of academic research; it is already embedded in the library databases that many researchers use daily. This workshop provides a practical and critical introduction to how AI operates within platforms such as ProQuest and JSTOR, including how it shapes search results, generates summaries and suggests topics. Participants will examine how these tools influence research workflows and what the limitations of AI technology are.

MAXQDA is a robust software for analyzing qualitative data, including text, media, and survey data. The software is free for all U. of I. users via a license provided by Illinois Computes. This workshop assumes that you know how to work with codes and data files in a MAXQDA project. If you haven’t used MAXQDA before, you can see slides and a recording of an introductory workshop online.

Looking for a new way to conduct your research? Tired of getting zero results in your database searches? This workshop will break down how the professionals identify resources and search for articles, books and other scholarly works. We’ll cover chasing citations, creating optimal keyword searches, using built-in database functions to improve your searches and other strategies to make you a more efficient researcher.

Every month, experience the fellowship of communal dance with professionally trained dance instructors Laura Chiaramonte (Dance at Illinois) and Kate Insolia. If you or a loved one is living with Parkinson’s, join us to explore gentle movement in a safe and welcoming environment. No dance experience needed! Set to uplifting music, provided by accompanist Beverly Hillmer, this class may assist with the preservation and improvement of balance, flexibility and strength. Please dress comfortably for this full-body workshop. Questions? Please email krannertcenter@illinois.edu or call 217-244-3963.

Attend a public mansion tour to view inside Robert Allerton’s 1900s-era mansion and hear the unique history of the creation of his estate. Upcoming dates include: 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday, March 14, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, March 29, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, April 17 and 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, April 26. Register and find additional dates here.

Celebrate the birthday of Robert Allerton by learning dances from around the world at Historical Dancing: Robert’s Birthday Ball from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, March 20. Since Robert Allerton was an avid traveler, we are hosting a birthday party featuring music and dances from around the world. Festive dress is encouraged. A bar will be available. Register here.

Create a handmade paper replica of a cherished object at Sculptural Papermaking from noon to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, March 29. Instructor E Ainsley will guide students through making a mold of their chosen object. Students will then create a new sculpture with their mold using pulp from meaningful papers, journal pages, photos or old documents. Learn more and register here.

Discover how predictable, responsive home environments shape healthy child development. This session examines how everyday home environments and responsiveness foster youth development throughout childhood, from the early years through adolescence. Register here.

Explore the emerging risks and opportunities shaping the next era of U.S. business transitions. This session will explore demographic trends in business ownership and their relationship to the transition of U.S. businesses as well as a range of considerations that can positively or negatively impact business succession. Register here.

Students who are undocumented, DACA or other temporary protected status experience unique challenges in higher education. Join university staff, administration and faculty to learn to better support undocumented students at Illinois. This training is an opportunity to hear from undocumented students and join a network of campus allies. Register to attend at the link above. For more information, visit open.illinois.edu.

Please join Academic Women in STEAM for our monthly seminar series, Science Uncorked. Our next event will be 6 p.m. Thursday, March 12, at The Literary in downtown Champaign. Our presenter will be Manasi Inamdar, a Ph.D. candidate in molecular and integrative physiology at the U. of I., who will present "Too loud to ignore: Understanding sound sensitivity in neurodevelopmental disorders." All are welcome! Interested in presenting in the future? Contact a-wis@illinois.edu.

Join the East Central Illinois Master Naturalists as we explore how early people procured and processed food in Illinois and how archaeologists reconstruct ancient diets and cooking practices. We’ll also touch on how some of the animals people encountered as they moved around the landscape became beloved pets. The speaker is Sarah Wisseman, a retired expert from the Illinois State Archaeological Survey. More details and registration in title link.

Professional development workshop for instructors on our campus who teach international and multilingual students. As our classrooms become increasingly global, even well-intentioned interactions can be shaped by differing cultural expectations around communication. This session focuses on how those differences show up in everyday teaching practices, such as feedback, classroom participation, interpersonal interactions, office-hour conversations, etc., and how small shifts in communication can make expectations clearer and interactions more productive. Limited to 35 seats.

Richard Rose will introduce the Therapeutic Life Story Work, a structured model for supporting children with past histories of trauma to understand and process their life stories using arts-based, expressive and relationally attuned activities. The audience will walk through the model using a case example that includes information gathering, use of wallpaper, activities from the book and videos. REGISTER.

Join the Cancer Digital Insights Working Group for a community building session on March 25. The CDI Working Group is a collaborative initiative between the Cancer Center at Illinois and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications aimed at advancing cancer research at Illinois through data science, artificial intelligence and machine learning. Please register here.

The Center for Writing Studies will be hosting African American studies professor Bobby Smith for a brownbag talk! Smith will be giving a lecture titled "Writing the Forgotten Black Past: Brief Notes on Recovery." Please join us on this coming Thursday, March 12!

Graduate students from any discipline are invited to the 16th annual Gesa E. Kirsch Graduate Student Symposium, April 23–24. This student-led, interdisciplinary event features diverse presentation formats, professionalization workshops and a keynote by Kaia Simon, professor of English at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. The symposium encourages interdisciplinary exchange and welcomes proposals on writing, rhetoric, media and education in both traditional and experimental formats. Please submit a proposal by completing this Google Form by Friday, March 13.

Join R. John Hansman of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as he presents via Zoom at the spring 2026 Kent Seminar Series from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, March 12. Presentations this semester focus on topics related to innovation trends in aviation. Hansman’s lecture will examine how the hybrid-electric ultra-short takeoff and landing concept evolved from a capstone class project to Electra.aero. Food and soft drinks will be provided beginning at 1:30 p.m. in the Illinois Center for Transportation Classroom.

Join us for the Writers Workshop's spring break Write-a-Thon! On March 16-18, we'll host productivity groups, in-person and online, from 9 a.m. to noon. All writing groups consist of a short goal-setting conversation, quiet writing time and a concluding reflection and wrap-up. Ideal for graduate students seeking to create a writing routine, make progress and meet deadlines on long-term writing projects or jump-start a new writing project. Learn more about our writing groups here or sign-up for our full-semester Tuesday and Friday meetings.

Experience a performance in the galleries by Elliott Levin (saxophone, poetry, flute) and Damon Smith (bass). The Sudden Sound Concert Series presented by Krannert Art Museum and Improvisers Exchange features leading artists in avant-garde jazz and music improvisation. Curated by Jason Finkelman, director of Global Arts Performance Initiatives at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. *Parking nearby is free after 5 p.m. and on weekends.*

Join us for presentations by our recent associates and fellows. At 11 a.m., Ewa Maslowska (Department of Advertising) discusses how consumers interpret incentivized and fake online content, and at noon, Jacob Covey (Department of Physics) presents his research group's novel platform for interfacing neutral atom arrays with an optical cavity.

The Neuromusculoskeletal Seminar Series, which is a partnership between Illinois and Carle Health, presents, "Multimodal Approaches to Understanding Swallowing Control and Developing Plasticity Based Interventions for Dysphagia." Illinois' Georgia Malandraki and Brad Sutton will present. Save the date for future seminars at 4 p.m. April 8 and May 13. Want to be added to the group's list of members? Email nmskAtCI@gmail.com. 

The Intensive Language Instruction Program offers 30 hours of immersive, engaging language learning. Choose in‑person classes (two hours per day) or live Zoom sessions (three hours per day). Experienced instructors blend culture and communication to build real‑world confidence in 12 different languages. Program begins June 1. Non‑credit and just for fun! Learn more at go.illinois.edu/ilip. 

The Office of Research Security focus sessions on "Research FCOI Compliance: Disclosing Significant Financial Interests " will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, March 9, 2 p.m. Tuesday, March 10 and 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 11 (for students). These sessions will explain disclosure requirements and how to submit disclosures to ensure FCOI compliance on sponsored program and human subjects research. Investigators or any participant in federally sponsored research programs or a study reviewed by the Institutional Review Board should attend to learn more. Register to attend at Events.

Scientific machine learning is revolutionizing how we model complex physical systems by blending classical numerical analysis with the flexibility of deep learning. This workshop offers a deep dive into the core principles of SciML, specifically focusing on the power of neural operators.

Join us for a comprehensive three-part workshop series designed to introduce researchers and practitioners with disabilities to the NCSA Delta high-performance computing cluster. This hands-on series prioritizes command-line proficiency, clear verbal instruction and practical problem-solving approaches that work for all users.

Join two Quick Start Workshops this week (March 10 and 13) to learn how make your Powerpoint documents and Excel spreadsheets accessible! Additional workshops on various topics are available throughout the semester. Sign up and expand your accessibility skills.

Join the next Resources for Researchers Office Hours to explore the world of qualitative data analysis and campus-supported tools. Jess Hagman from the University Library and Dawn Owens from the CITL data analytics team will highlight resources such as MAXQDA and additional services available to support qualitative research across disciplines.

Children grow best in environments that feel predictable, responsive and supportive. This session examines how everyday home environments and responsiveness foster youth development throughout childhood, from the early years to adolescence. Sam Iwinski will share practical strategies families can use to promote regulation, connection and healthy growth, especially during times of stress or change. 

We are inviting adults (18 years or older) to participate in a study about how we understand speech when it is degraded, such as at a noisy restaurant. Participants must be native speakers of American English. Compensation is $15 per hour. Contact the lab to indicate your interest (speechperceptionlab@illinois.edu).

If you work with faculty in the Global South, we invite you to learn more about the Global South Fellowship during this virtual info session on March 13. Current fellows will share insights into the application process, what motivated them to apply and how they shaped their research careers at Illinois. We hope you can join us for this informational meeting and participate in an open Q&A, so you can learn you can learn how to collaborate with faculty from Global South institutions. You can register using the link above to receive a calendar invitation.

The University of Illinois System and the I-MMAS program, in collaboration with the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, have agreed to establish a seed funding research program for the 2026–2027 academic year. This program will fund projects in the following thematic areas: Food, Health, Water, Energy. A proposal can have a budget request of no more than $40,000 dollars jointly. Applicants should submit their proposals by April 15. Download proposal requirements and evaluation criteria.

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 at least two transdermal bracelets (on your non-dominant hand) and filling out surveys for two weeks. Up to $400 in compensation for participation.

Seeking participants (21-64 year olds) who had a sleeve gastrectomy 1-5 years ago or have not had any bariatric surgeries (control group). Participants must not smoke and drink alcohol at least once a month. There will be blood draws, body composition assessments, alcohol challenge tests and questionnaires. Compensation will be provided (up to $850 upon completion of four visits and free parking). Please fill out our online pre-screening form if you're interested, using the following link: https://illinois.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7R2VUEoOuh2cTXw or email here.

Healthy adults ages 18-40 with no hearing loss but significant difficulty hearing in noise are invited for a study on listening in noise. There is an online survey to determine eligibility followed by lab visits for those who qualify. Lab visits include hearing screening, listening to sounds and measuring ear and brain activity. There is a maximum of three lab visits, each lasting 2-3 hours. Compensation for lab visits is paid in cash ($15 per hour). Parking is covered, and mileage is reimbursed ($0.655 per mile, up to a maximum of 37.5 miles per visit). To participate, complete our survey.

The Nutrition and Exercise Performance Research Group is looking for participants to partake in a 2-day study to establish the utility of the indicator amino acid oxidation method in adults. Participation in this study involves 2-day habituation lead in with all meals provided, muscle biopsies and blood, breath and urine sampling during two all-day trials. Upon completion, you will receive $150 and information about your body composition and caloric needs. Contact Gena (NEPRESEARCH@illinois.edu) for more information! Male participants are strongly encouraged!

The Nutrition and Exercise Performance Research Group is recruiting recreationally active adults (19–40 years old) to participate in a 2-day study examining how food combinations affect muscle protein synthesis and whole-body protein utilization. Participation includes four free meals, resistance exercise, muscle biopsies and blood, breath and urine sampling across two lab visits. Participants who complete the study will receive $300 and information on body composition and caloric needs. Interested individuals may contact Calvin at (cw148@illinois.edu) to learn more and see if you qualify!