The last regular meeting of the 2025-2026 University Senate will be held at 3:10 p.m., Monday, April 27, in Illini Room A (First floor, Illini Union). View meeting materials online. We look forward to seeing you at the meeting.

We're pleased to share that Chancellor Charles L. Isbell, Jr. has signed the 2026 Illinois Climate Action Plan, reaffirming the university’s long-term commitment to sustainability, stewardship, and innovation. The iCAP is a campuswide framework that guides Illinois in reducing emissions, strengthening campus operations, and advancing research and education in sustainability. As a 21st-century land-grant institution, Illinois continues to use its campus as a living laboratory to test and scale practical, data-driven solutions. Learn more: go.illinois.edu/icap.

Mobile unit services include: issuances of the REAL ID, 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.

The Office of the Provost provides limited funding assistance to full-time, specialized, and tenure system faculty who are interested in participating in NCFDD’s Faculty Success Program. Up to eight recipients will be selected to receive matching funds. Applicants may receive these matching funds only once.

Ted's Cafe at the Beckman Institute offers a weekly menu email, so you can track when your favorite dishes are being served. Sign up here. The email sends at noon Sundays and includes the entire week's specials and soups.

The Faculty Entrepreneurial Leadership Program empowers faculty innovators to enhance the commercial and social impact of their research by transforming ideas into marketable ventures. This highly selective professional development initiative brings together exceptional faculty from across the University of Illinois System, enhancing entrepreneurial knowledge and self-efficacy. Four Friday workshops are held alternately in Champaign (at EnterpriseWorks) and Chicago (at Discovery Partners Institute). Learn more and submit an application at the FELP Website. Application Deadline: May 3, 2026.

Allerton's Concert Series, now it its 14th year, brings generations together to enjoy live music in nature with concerts on the Gatehouse Lawn (6 p.m. to 9 p.m.) Join us: June 5: LOVE FOR ALLerton | July 10: Reds, Whites, and the Blues | Aug. 7: Irish Fest | Sept. 11: Summer’s End.

The 2026 Campus Space Survey reporting period is Monday, May 4, to Thursday, July 2. Once the survey opens, facility liaisons and business managers may complete the annual required inventory through the ARCHIBUS Web Central portal. Please update departmental floor plans and occupancy/room usage data to support an efficient survey process. Additional Web Central user accounts may be requested by emailing F&S Facilities Information Resources.

The Writers Workshop is here to support your students' end-of-semester writing! Encourage them to reserve an appointment or drop-in to brainstorm, revise, and refine final papers, personal statements, ICT application essays, and more. They can check out our upcoming presentations, like Making Your Sources Work for You (April 29) and The Final Check: Proofreading and Editing (April 30). Each presentation provides tips and strategies for honing writing skills and also discusses appropriate use of tools like Grammarly and generative artificial intelligence technologies.

Want a new way to practice your speeches? Try out Ovation! Work on presentations, speeches, interviews, and more with a realistic simulated environment using artificial intelligence to practice with an interactive audience and get useful feedback. Through Speakers Workshop, you will also receive personal human feedback from a speech consultant. Work on upcoming projects and presentations with confidence! Available in the CITL X3 Studio in Armory Room 156.

Explore how community‑supported enterprises help small towns retain essential businesses and strengthen local vitality. This webinar examines several cases and discusses key factors important to their success. Register here.

Hosted by the IMMERSE Center for Immersive Computing, step into an interactive world of light, sound, and data and discover how public VR can transform shared spaces. Join visiting lecturer Ruth West, professor and director of the xREZ Art and Science Lab at University of North Texas, for Beyond the Headset: Social and Spatial Design for Public VR, followed by a reception and a chance to experience the installation firsthand in Moonlight Bay at Siebel Center for Design.

Clear, accessible communication is essential when working across languages and cultures. This interactive workshop introduces Plain Language as an intercultural and inclusive communication practice, with a focus on reducing linguistic and cultural barriers for diverse audiences. Participants will examine how word choice, sentence structure, organization, and design affect understanding, particularly for international students and scholars and others navigating U.S. systems in a second language. Open to faculty, staff, and international scholars.

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.

Ruth West is a transdisciplinary researcher, professor, and director of the xREZ Art + Science Lab at the University of North Texas. Her work sits at the intersection of big data and immersive technologies, creating aesthetically-impelled scientific inquiry and immersive XR experiences that are multi-modal, social, spatial, and collaborative. Attendees will hear from Ruth about the design of her public VR data installation and following the talk the installation will be running in the adjacent Moonlight Bay in the Siebel Center for Design.

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

The Center for Research and Innovation in Technology-Enhanced Learning will be hosting Mina Johnson-Glenberg. She will be giving a talk titled: "Designing for and Assessing Learning across the EXtended Reality (XR) Continuum." 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 artificial intelligence 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 campuswide 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.

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.

Join us for the inaugural AImpact Workshop, co-organized by the Department of Economics, the Siebel School of Computing and Data Science, and the School of Information Sciences, and focusing on the following theme: How Artificial Intelligence Shapes How We Think, Learn, and Work. Please register here: https://aimpact.illinois.edu/events/aimpact-workshop-2026.html.

Global Relations invites Illinois faculty and administrators to an information session about the Fulbright Specialist Program.Through the Fulbright Specialist Program, U.S. citizens who are established faculty, administrators, or professionals can engage in programs for periods of two to six weeks. Fulbright Specialists come from a wide range of disciplines and may work in higher education institutions in more than 150 eligible countries. We invite you to join us for this special online info session with IIE to learn more.

The Fulbright-Nehru Program offers U.S. students, scholars, and professionals a unique opportunity to engage deeply with India’s leading institutions, collaborate across disciplines, and contribute to strengthening international partnerships. We invite staff and faculty to join Global Relations on April 30 for a brief virtual informational session to learn more about Fulbright India and how you can apply to join a distinguished network of Fulbrighters advancing knowledge in a rapidly changing world. You can register for the event using the link above.

Join Marsha Anderson Bomar, president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, as she presents the Spring 2026 Kent Seminar Distinguished Lecture from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 29.  Her presentation will review the 2025 U.S. Infrastructure Report Card and highlight examples of advocacy with legislators and engagement with students and faculty. A reception will follow in the Kavita and Lalit Bahl Smart Bridge.

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 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The paid ticket is only if you'd like to pre-order for the Matcha Cafe. Walk-ins are welcome!

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 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 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!

Get outside and express your creativity at Plein Air Painting from noon to 4 p.m. Friday through Sunday, May 22-24. Instructor Deb Marett will guide students in this unique opportunity to capture the true colors, light, and atmosphere of the Park as it changes in real time. Not only will students grow in their technique, but plein air painting often lends itself to a restorative and calming practice. Learn more and register here.

The workshop provides an overview of mainstream materials characterization techniques, including advanced microscopy, spectroscopy, thermal and microstructural characterization, with an emphasis on practical applications. The event features presentations by MRL staff and industry experts with a large vendor exhibit. Registration (only $80, including lunch) and program: https://go.illinois.edu/amc2026.

Generative artificial intelligence challenges journalism's authority and identity in ways that demand critical examination. What's happening, why, and with what consequences? Seth Lewis, the Shirley Papé Chair in Emerging Media at the University of Oregon and soon-to-be the Elcan Jefferson Scholars Foundation Distinguished Professor of AI and Media Studies at the University of Virginia will discuss what AI means for journalists, audiences, and the future of news and, more broadly, existential concerns about the roles of humans and machines in media production, distribution, and consumption.

Attend "Game of Democracy," a live, participatory performance framed as a game show, at 6 p.m. Sunday, May 3, in the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts Studio 2 Rehearsal Room. This free event invites audience members into a post-apocalyptic scenario where they join opposing factions, using smartphone polling to explore how algorithmic systems shape identity, reinforce division, and influence polarization. Led by researchers from Purdue University and Indiana University, the project is currently touring to Big Ten campuses. Sign up to participate.

Become a Dementia Friend by attending this interactive training from 12:15 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. April 27, at McKechnie Family LIFE Home (75 Bailey Dr, Champaign, 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.

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, 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.

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 Robinson (graphic design), who are all on faculty in the School of Art and Design. *Parking nearby is free on weekends.*

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.

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 information.

This week, Technology Services is hosting two hands-on accessibility workshops to help you make your digital content more inclusive. On April 28, Make Your Math Accessible covers the major accessible math formats, tools like EquatIO and Desmos, and workflows for platforms, including Canvas, Jupyter Notebook, and Microsoft Office. On April 29, Make Your MS PowerPoint Documents Accessible walks through practical solutions for common accessibility challenges, from structuring slides for logical navigation to using PowerPoint's built-in Accessibility Assistant. Registration is required for both.

Mika Natif is a professor of art at George Washington University. She focuses on the intercultural exchanges and global connections that Muslim societies forged with the European sphere during the premodern period.

Join us to attempt to craft your own textiles out of the supplies we have provided for you. Whilst you craft, feel free to learn about, feel, and experience different textiles from all over the world that we will have out for everyone to experience.

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 health care 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 p.m. at Lincoln Theater in Lincoln Hall. May 1: 6 p.m. at Station Theater in Urbana.

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.

The 2026 Skornia Symposium will explore how public media can best engage with audience research to identify and meet community needs, strengthen audience relationships, and innovate content in ways that honor public media’s mission. Panelists include Joni Deutsch, senior vice president of podcast marketing and audience development at The Podglomerate; Seth Lewis, professor and Shirley Papé Chair in Emerging Media, University of Oregon; and Amy Mitchell, founding executive director of the Center for News, Technology, and Innovation. Free and open to the campus community.

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 artificial intelligence, 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.

The Illinois Mexican and Mexican-American student initiative invites you to the Precision Brain Health: Merging Genetic Insights with Nutritional Neuroscience online symposium. Join us to foster an interdisciplinary forum in which medical students and faculty collaboratively explore and critically appraise emerging evidence on how genomic variability and targeted nutritional interventions converge to optimize cognitive function and neurological resilience. Register for the event.

Join the Illinois FAST Center from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 28, for a free webinar on the reauthorization of the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. Learn what changed, what's coming, and what to do next. The Illinois FAST Center helps Illinois-based small businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs access non-dilutive federal funding and has helped clients achieve a 60% submission award rate, resulting in $66 million awarded to assisted companies. Register here: https://calendars.illinois.edu/detail/5115?eventId=33549829.

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.

Join CITL and Nic Flores (College of LAS) for May's Art of Teaching Lunchtime Seminar Series session at noon Thursday, May 7. Nic will lead a conversation on strategies for teaching controversial topics and facilitating difficult classroom discussions, drawing from his experience across interdisciplinary and community-engaged contexts. The focus will be on practical approaches and pedagogical decision-making, with time for collective reflection and exchange.

Geomembrane baffle curtains play a critical role in optimizing municipal and industrial water and wastewater treatment processes. By increasing hydraulic retention time and reducing short‑circuiting, baffle curtains enhance water quality and operational performance. These systems effectively eliminate dead zones and improve the removal of key contaminants such as BOD, COD, and TSS. This webinar will explore various geomembrane materials used in baffle curtain fabrication and common design configurations for ponds, reservoirs, underground clearwells, and above‑ground storage tanks. 1.0 PDH.

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 ICANS summer wellness program is a free, school-based enrichment initiative offered through the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Department of Health and Kinesiology, in partnership with the Champaign Unit 4 School District. The program will run from June 3 through July 17 at Booker T. Washington STEM Academy with Monday - Friday programming from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Bus transportation is provided for participating students. Visit https://publish.illinois.edu/ipals-program/ for more information and to register. Questions? Email ICANstudy@illinois.edu.

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!