IN THIS ISSUE: Economic interest forms due April 22 | Stock photography art on display | Operations research discussed March 31 | Petals & Paintings benefit is April 8 | Children's musical presented April 1-2 | Free retirement planning seminars | Enroll in UPS by March 18 | Symposium to focus on electronic waste | Work by MFA students featured | Summit promotes collaborative research | Wansink to talk about eating better April 6 | Film features Congolese refugees | Gargoyle Gala to raise funds April 2
April 27-May 1
Ebertfest to feature romance, murder, award-winning guests
A restored silent classic will open the 13th annual Roger Ebert’s Film Festival or “Ebertfest,” coming April 27 to May 1 to Champaign-Urbana. A documentary about Chicago’s youth poetry slam will close it. (Full article, including the film schedule.)
In between will be fools in love, as well as adulterous love; Orson Welles and his ego; murder mixed with philosophy, and two different stories in different forms about an old man and his dog. Also: seven months in the life of a small Midwestern town; a post-college story staged in the director’s childhood apartment, with her mother and sister in leading roles; and two stories from Africa, one about AIDS and family strife, the other about a “small act” of kindness with big results.
Among the guests on hand will be Oscar-winning actress Tilda Swinton, Oscar-nominated director Norman Jewison (“Moonstruck,” “In the Heat of the Night”), and director/actor Tim Blake Nelson, perhaps best known for his role in “O Brother, Where Art Thou.”
The 12 screenings will take place at the 1,500-seat Virginia Theater, with other events (to be announced later) at the UI. The festival is an event of the College of Media. Partial support is provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Champaign County Anti-Stigma Alliance.
Ebert is a Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for the Chicago Sun-Times. He returned to television this year with “Ebert Presents at the Movies.” Ebert also is a 1964 Illinois journalism graduate and adjunct journalism professor.
Ebert selects films for the festival that he feels have been overlooked in some way, either by critics, distributors or audiences, or because they come from overlooked genres or formats, such as documentaries.
Guests connected with the selected films are invited to attend, and many appear on stage for informal Q-and-A sessions after the screenings.
Ebert’s wife, Chaz, will again act as the emcee. Ebert, unable to speak as a result of throat cancer and related surgery over recent years, says he once again plans to play a role through his “computer voice.”
Also available on the website will be live streaming of the panel discussions and the post-film Q-and-A sessions.
Tickets for individual films will go on sale April 4 through the theater box office: phone 217-356-9063 or fax 217-356-5729. The price will be $13 each for regular admission and $11 each for students and senior citizens. Sales will be limited to four per person.
University Ethics Office
Economic interest forms due April 22
The Office of the Secretary of State recently sent notification letters and forms to UI employees required to file a Statement of Economic Interests under the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act.
All completed forms must be submitted to the University Ethics Office by April 22 for review. The ethics officer will review and forward all completed forms to the Office of the Secretary of State.
Send forms through U.S. mail to University Ethics Office, Human Resources Building, Room 20, One University Plaza, HRB 20, Springfield, IL 62703-5407.
Forms should not be sent through campus mail.
Employees with questions about the criteria for filing may call the Ethics Help Line at 866-758-2146 or visit the University Ethics Office website: www.ethics.uillinois.edu/statements/.
Questions about the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act should be directed to the Office of the Secretary of State at 217-782-7017.
Figure One
Stock photography art on display
Portraits by photographer Ben Aqua and School of Art and Design students will be displayed through April 1 at Figure One, 116 N. Walnut St., in downtown Champaign.
Aqua, the inaugural artist-in-residence at Figure One, is coaching photography students at the UI in the art of stock photography. Resident artists are asked to give a public lecture, run a workshop with students and produce new work while in Champaign.
Since February, Aqua has been working with the students at locations around Champaign and Urbana on an assignment to shoot portraits. Jimmy Luu, a professor of graphic design who is the coordinator of Figure One, says the students are assigned a different theme each week – aging, or beauty or people being active, for example. Each photographer shoots 500 images, and the designers edit the photographs. Aqua is encouraging them to think beyond conventional catalog-style images, to explore what he sees as new trends in stock photography.
The exhibition space is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and 6 to 9 p.m. Fridays. For more information, go to www.seefigureone.org.
Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering
Operations research discussed March 31
Ralph Tyrrell Rockafellar, a professor emeritus of mathematics at the University of Washington and an adjunct research professor at the University of Florida, will speak on “Optimization and Statistics” as part of the Illinois Distinguished Lecture Series in Operations Research, hosted by the department of industrial and enterprise systems engineering. The presentation will be from 4-5 p.m. March 31 in the NCSA auditorium with a reception following in the atrium.
Rockafellar, a winner of the Dantzig Prize, given jointly by the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics and the Mathematical Programming Society, has gained international recognition for his work. The Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences awarded him and Roger Wets the 1997 Lancaster Prize for their book “Variational Analysis,” and in 1999 he was further honored by the institute with the John von Neumann Theory Prize for his fundamental contributions to the methodology of optimization. His interests span convex and variational analysis to problems of optimization and equilibrium.
Krannert Art Museum Council
Petals & Paintings benefit is April 8
The UI Krannert Art Museum Council will host its 19th annual Petals & Paintings benefit April 8 in support of the museum’s upcoming exhibitions and related educational programming. Champaign floral designer Rick Orr is guest curator.
The exhibition will feature floral arrangements created by regional floral designers in response to works of art selected by Orr from the museum’s permanent collection.
The gala is from 7 to 9 p.m. at Krannert Art Museum. Guests may preview the floral displays and meet the florists at 6:30 p.m. The evening will include music by the Darden Purcell Quartet and cocktails and hors d’oeuvres by Michael’s Catering. There will be a raffle for original art by Gordon Hartshorne. (Hartshorne’s art will be on display at the museum March 29-April 8 and featured at www.kam.illinois.edu.)
Tickets for the opening reception are $75 each. Reservations are due April 1. For more information about the event, reservations or membership, call 217-244-0516.
Pacifica Quartet/WILL-FM (90.9)
Children’s musical presented April 1-2
Members of Pacifica Quartet – the UI’s Grammy-award winning faculty quartet in residence – will partner with WILL-FM (90.9) at noon on April 1 to present a live broadcast of a new musical for children, “Introducing Wolfgang Amadeus Schmutzinberry,” composed by music educator Rami Vamos. The concert, which will take place at the Orpheum Children’s Science Museum, 346 N. Neil St. in downtown Champaign, will be broadcast on “Live and Local,” hosted by Kevin Kelly, who will narrate the musical.
The concert is the first performance of a weekend-long chamber music festival called DoCha (short for Downtown Champaign), begun last year by Pacifica violist and UI professor Masumi Rostad. The musical will be performed again on April 2 at noon, this time narrated by New York-based film, television and stage actress Nurit Monacelli.
The festival will include evening performances at the Orpheum, as well as “pop-up” concerts in “surprise locations” that will be announced on Twitter and Facebook. To stay in tune for these events, follow @DoChaFestival.
All DoCha concerts are free and open to the public. Drinks and gourmet snack plates from Jim Gould restaurant will be sold at evening performances; audience members also may bring their own alcohol-free “indoor picnics.”
Human Resources / Benefits Services
Free retirement planning seminars
University Human Resources and Benefits Services are offering free retirement planning seminars to UI employees.
Representatives from Fidelity and TIAA-CREF, the vendors for the UI Supplemental 403(b) Retirement Plan, and representatives from the State Universities Retirement System will lead the seminar discussions.
Upcoming events:
“Building a Portfolio for Any Weather” (Fidelity), Music Room, Levis Faculty Center
• 1:30-2:30 p.m. April 4
• 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. April 5
“Preparing Your Savings for Retirement” (Fidelity), Music Room, Levis Faculty Center
• 3-4 p.m. April 4
• 9-10 a.m. April 5
“Preparing for Retirement” (SURS), Room 66 Main Library
• 9-10:30 a.m. April 8
For descriptions of these seminars and future seminar announcements, visit NESSIE at http://go.illinois.edu/retirement_seminars. Registration is required and can be completed online.
These seminars are approved events under Civil Service Policy and Rules, Rule 11.12. Employees may be released from work to attend these events, university operations permitting, and subject to prior approval from their supervisor.
Representatives from Fidelity and TIAA-CREF also offer free one-on-one counseling sessions. Visit http://go.illinois.edu/retirement_investment_plans for further information and to set up a counseling session.
Additional information about the university’s retirement and investment plans can be found on NESSIE’s website or by contacting the Benefits Services office at 217-333-3111.
University Primary School
Enroll for fall by March 18
University Primary School is now accepting enrollment applications for the 2011-2012 academic year. The deadline is March 18. For more information, call 217-333-3996 or visit www.ed.illinois.edu/ups.
Printed copies of the application are available in Room 95 of the Children’s Research Center or the information may be downloaded from the UPS website.
The school is an early childhood program that serves preschool, kindergarten and first-grade students in a project-based curriculum. Children must be 3 years old on or before Sept. 1 for the preschool classroom and 5 years old before Sept. 1 to be considered for kindergarten enrollment.
Electronics and sustainability
Symposium to focus on electronic waste
People who get a new smart phone, tablet computer, e-book reader or MP3 player rarely focus on the outdated devices they replace. But those discarded products represent a significant waste of energy and materials, and, if improperly disposed of, serious environmental risks.
The second annual Electronics and Sustainability Symposium March 22-23 will address these challenges and others, along with possible solutions. John Pflueger, principal environmental strategist at Dell, will deliver the keynote address at a luncheon at 11:45 a.m. March 23 at the I-Hotel and Conference Center, 1900 S. First St., Champaign.
Other speakers include William Hoffman, environmental scientist with UL Environment, based in Northbrook, Ill.; Andrew Steckl, Ohio Eminent Scholar in the University of Cincinnati’s College of Engineering and Applied Science, whose latest work could lead to the creation of a disposable paper e-reader; Charles Newman, founder of ReCellular, based in Ann Arbor, Mich., the world’s largest recycler and reseller of used mobile phones; Courtney Rushforth, of the city of Urbana; Bill Olson, the director of sustainability and stewardship at Motorola, producer of the first “green” android phones; Manish Mehta, of the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences, based in Ann Arbor; and Alex Lobos and Callie Babbitt, of the Rochester Institute of Technology.
For a full schedule: www.sustainelectronics.illinois.edu/symposia/2011/schedule.cfm.
Registration is $200 for both days, or $125 per day, and includes the opportunity to tour the National Center for Supercomputing Applications.
Chicago exhibition
Work by MFA students featured
Twenty-three student artists working in media ranging from traditional oil paint and photography to raw sugar and crochet will share their progress toward Master of Fine Arts degrees with an exhibition at Co-Prosperity Sphere, 3219 S. Morgan St., in Chicago, March 25 through April 3.
Aptly titled Artsplosia, the exhibition will showcase work by current Illinois MFA candidates in all disciplines – painting, sculpture, new media, photography and metals. The Art Graduate Student Organization is coordinating the show, with support from the School of Art and Design. The group chose the exhibition space because it’s large enough to accommodate all candidates’ work, says Kerianne Quick, the student in charge of organizing the exhibition.
“Because we work in a wide variety of scales, from miniature to monumental, we are confident that we can use the space effectively by allowing the works to share the space, and hopefully creating new and interesting conversations between the works,” she said.
For more information about the artists, visit artsplosia.com, which includes links to several artists’ websites.
A closing reception will be from 6 to 10 p.m. April 1.
International business
Summit promotes collaborative research
A new collaborative center aiming to provide research leadership in the study of complex international competitiveness issues is hosting a summit to promote large-scale, team-based interdisciplinary research generating breakthrough knowledge for major advancement, particularly on topics that have public policy implications.
The Center for Advanced Study in International Competitiveness, with support from the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, is hosting “Competing in the New Innovation-Driven Global Economy.” It will take place April 1-2 in Chicago. The latest findings on the international competitiveness of firms and nations by leading researchers from academia, industry and government will be presented.
Conference registration (www.cic.net/casicsummit) is open until March 25.
Joseph Cheng, a professor of international business and the director of the Illinois Global Business Initiative at the UI, is CASIC’s director and heads the research summit organizing committee.
”This is a wonderful opportunity for those interested in working with CIC colleagues on innovative research that has both scholarly and practical significance,” Cheng said. “Our goal is to create new impactful knowledge through interdisciplinary inquiry and experimentation that will transform what we currently do and lead to greater progress and global prosperity.”
The summit is designed to provide a forum for CASIC faculty members and other participants from industry and government to meet and exchange research ideas, explore mutual interest for collaboration and form cross-institutional interdisciplinary teams to scale up their investigations for greater impact. The summit will include breakout sessions for groups to develop preliminary research proposals that CASIC will then combine into larger grant proposals for external funding.
The CASIC Research Summit is presented with support from seven CIC member institutions: the UI, Indiana, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Iowa and Michigan.
For more information about the CASIC initiative, visit www.cic.net/casic.
Nutrition symposium
Wansink to talk about eating better April 6
Former UI researcher Brian Wansink, now at Cornell University, will be the keynote speaker at the 2011 UI Nutritional Sciences Graduate Student Association Nutrition Symposium. Wansink’s lecture, “Modifying the Built Environment: From Mindless Eating to Mindlessly Eating Better,” will be from 4 to 5 p.m. April 6 in Room 103 of Mumford Hall. Wansink will explore the numerous causes of overeating.
In addition to directing the Cornell Food and Brand Lab, Wansink has written more than 100 academic articles and books including “Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think.” In 2007, he received a two-year presidential appointment as the executive director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.
In addition to Wansink’s lecture, a mini-symposium of UI faculty researchers will take place from 9 to 11 a.m.
Topics and lecturers: “Inflammation, Tryptophan Metabolism and Depression,” Robert Dantzer, animal sciences; “A Primer on How the Immune System Says Hello to the Brain,” Jeff Woods, kinesiology and community health; “Dietary Fiber to Remedy Behavioral Disorders Related to the Overweight/Obese State,” Greg Freund, pathology; “Can Dietary Flavonoids Restore ‘Old’ Microglia to Their Youthful State and Delay Cognitive Aging?”Rodney Johnson, animal sciences.
From 12:45 to 3:30 p.m., oral presentations by graduate students will highlight Division of Nutritional Sciences research, including bioactive plant components, cancer, gastrointestinal physiology, immunology, metabolic regulation, physical activity and public health. A poster session and hors d’oeuvres will take place from 5:15 to 6:30 p.m. followed by award presentations.
The Nutrition Symposium is sponsored by Abbott Nutrition, ADM Cares Foundation, Coca Cola, the Kellogg Co., Kraft Foods, Mead Johnson Nutrition, PepsiCo, Wrigley and Zinpro. Symposium supporters include the General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition, and the UI departments of animal sciences, food science and human nutrition, and kinesiology and community health. For more information, contact the Division of Nutritional Sciences at 217-333-4177 or nutrsci@illinois.edu.
Community Cinema
Film features Congolese refugees
When civil war came to Rose’s Congolese village, she was separated from her 5-year-old daughter, Nangabire. Rose managed to escape with nine of her 10 children and eventually settled in Phoenix. The documentary “Pushing the Elephant,” the third in Illinois Public Media’s Community Cinema series, shows mother and daughter reuniting in the U.S. where they must come to terms with the past and build a new future.
A screening and discussion of issues in the film will take place at 6:30 p.m. March 17, in Robeson Rooms A and B of the Champaign Public Library, 200 W. Green St. It is free and open to the public.
Every month through June, Illinois Public Media will join with the Independent Television Service to sponsor screenings of independent documentaries, followed by discussions coordinated by community groups with an interest in the topic.
All of the Community Cinema films will be shown with closed captions and a sign language interpreter.
“Pushing the Elephant” will be broadcast on WILL-TV at 9 p.m. March 29 on “Independent Lens.”
Uni High
Gargoyle Gala to raise funds April 2
University Laboratory High School will host the Gargoyle Gala on April 2 at Kenney Gymnasium in an effort to raise funds for additional pay for faculty and staff members.
The event is open to community members, alumni and parents. Four hundred tickets in several price levels are available.
Attendees are invited to browse and bid on auction items – including a lunch and tour of Google headquarters in California – while snacking on catered hors d’oeuvres. The auction will include items in a variety of price ranges.
For more information on auction items and the event, visit www.unigala.org.
