December 3, 1998 / Volume 18, Number 11
News Bureau | Calendar | II Info | II Archives
- Program results in increase in greater prairie chicken population
- In the Nov. 27 issue of the journal Science, nine researchers report that an isolated group of the birds is making a comeback. The potential recovery is the result of an experimental conservation-management program, in which birds from other states were added.
- Common type of aircraft wing susceptible to hazardous icing
- Researchers at the UI have identified an aircraft wing that may be hazardous to your health.
NCSA part of RiverWeb consortium
Children's holiday party provides fun for all
Trustees vote in tuition increases, consider new football facility
Renovations create spacious offices for student services
UI Library, schools, histroical societies to build histroical database
Tree lighting, Carol Concerts are Dec. 6 ... Software evolution to be lecture topic ... Renowned singer will be WILL-TV guest ... Second Sunday features vocal quartet ... PAC welcomes new provost ... O & M offers holiday cleanup ... New MTD route to Bielfeldt ... Holiday high tea is Dec. 6 ... Award concert honors composer ... Holiday schedules and services
Booming mating calls rocked the Illinois prairie in the mid-1800s, announcing that colorful greater prairie chickens were near and abundant. As pioneers moved west, the birds were hunted for food. They fell to predators, their habitats shrank, and, scientists say, even the birds' declining genetic diversity brought their near extinction.
In the Nov. 27 issue of the journal Science, nine researchers report that an isolated group of the birds is making a comeback. The potential recovery is the result of an experimental conservation-management program, in which birds from other states were added. The program was based on genetic findings and 35 years of population monitoring.
The greater prairie chicken (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) is estimated to have numbered in the millions in Illinois when pioneers moved west. The birds were "shot by the wagonload for food," said Ronald Westemeier, a recently retired scientist with the Illinois Natural History Survey and lead author of the Science article. As the prairie diminished, so did the birds' habitat -- from more than 60 percent of the state to less than 0.01 percent and in just two isolated populations in Jasper and Marion counties. From 1962 to 1994, in Jasper County alone, their numbers fell from 2,000 to less than 50.
Among those 50, Westemeier said, only six were resident males, which are known for the colorful orange sacks that inflate on each side of their necks during their mating call. According to this year's count, not covered in the study, males number 84 in the Prairie Ridge State Natural Area in Jasper County in southeastern Illinois, where Westemeier had directed the comprehensive greater prairie-chicken monitoring program since 1966.
"Right now, it looks very good," Westemeier said. "I feel like I am going out on a high note. Rather than seeing this population of Illinois birds lost altogether, we are seeing a recovery. I am very glad to see this."
The findings of the paper, Westemeier said, indicate "the need for grassland habitat and for sufficiently large populations," and it raises a bigger question of just what makes a viable population to assure a species' survival. Co-author Jeffrey D. Brawn agrees: "Viability is really the key word," he said. "This is how we gauge how self-sustaining a population is. If it is viable, it means it is producing enough young to persist.
"We're cautiously hopeful that they are making a comeback," said Brawn, a scientist with the Illinois Natural History Survey and an affiliate of the UI department of ecology, ethology and evolution. "The message of this paper is that fragmentation and habitat loss can really lead to a number of problems in conserving species. In this case, these factors led to genetic problems. What was interesting is that the people who manage the population did their best, going to extraordinary measures to preserve this population over the years, yet it kept going down and down, owing to the fact that it was just a small relic population that had low genetic diversity.
"What we did by bringing in the other birds for genetic management is a classic case that importation of birds from healthy populations elsewhere can work," Brawn said. "It may not work every time. We were able to base the effort on an immense amount of information collected by Ron Westemeier. Mixing stocks depends a lot on the adaptations of different populations elsewhere. If we had brought in prairie chickens from Texas, which had adapted to the hot climate there, we may not have had the same success."
The success -- in which more than 500 birds were brought in beginning in 1992 from larger populations in Minnesota, Kansas and Nebraska -- could serve as a model to save dwindling populations of wild species from extinction, the researchers say. The 35 years of data represent one of the most detailed sets of data ever collected from an isolated and declining wildlife population.
The research began in 1963 and involved the work of 29 teams of two to 15 researchers and field assistants from numerous jurisdictions. Each year researchers methodically documented yearly changes in prairie-chicken numbers and nesting success.
The nine authors of the paper, in addition to Westemeier and Brawn, were Scott A. Simpson and Terry L. Esker of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Newton; Roger W. Jansen of the Douglas-Hart Nature Center, Mattoon; Jeffrey W. Walk and Eric L. Kershner , UI department of natural resources and environmental sciences; and Juan L. Bouzat and Ken N. Paige, UI department of ecology, ethology and evolution. Simpson and Esker directed the transfer of nonresident birds into Illinois.
As part of the project, Paige and Bouzat determined by genetic analysis, including that of museum specimens from the 1930s, that the isolated Illinois birds had been part of a much larger population, and they concluded that a lack of genetic diversity resulted from population decline. Specifically, they found that 95 to 100 percent of the alleles -- alternative genes that provide the codes for particular characteristics -- present in the Illinois birds also were in the birds in other states, and that the other populations contained additional alleles that provide for greater fitness. Somewhere in time, perhaps in the 1970s, the Illinois birds lost about one-third of that diversity in their genetic makeup.
The Paige-Bouzat findings, Brawn said, possibly explained a decline in hatching rates of eggs, from a 93 percent success rate in the 1930 to just 38 percent by 1990. By 1996, with the importation of birds, fertility had risen and the hatching rate rose to 94 percent. "We don't have absolute smoking-gun evidence, but this is an unusually strong case where everything seems to corroborate it," he said.
Researchers also had documented that no major environmental or climatic events could have accounted for the increased hatching rates in recent years.
"These genetic findings are important, because no other studies have been able to show precisely what was lost, leaving alternative possible interpretations such as they were always depauperate [lacking] in genetic variation. These alleles are merely markers of overall genetic diversity and the alleles lost over time. But it can be implied that a loss in genetic variation was a factor because the introduction of new genetic material by these outside birds bolstered fitness back to original levels," Paige said.
Greater prairie chickens once occupied the prairies from Canada to Texas. They are considered virtually extinct in Canada; their southern cousin, the Attwater prairie chicken, is endangered on the Texas coastal prairie. An eastern relative, the Heath Hen, has been extinct since 1931. The current range of the greater prairie chicken is from northwestern Minnesota south to northeastern Oklahoma, and from southeastern Illinois to northeastern Colorado.
Efforts to save the Illinois population must continue, the researchers say. "Illinois is the prairie state; 60 percent was once prairie," Westemeier said. "We've lost all that. I guess it's a matter of atonement that we owe something to the prairie chicken. This bird probably numbered in the millions in the 1800s. It fed the early settlers. The species epitomizes the characteristics of the state. Besides, efforts to preserve prairie chickens benefit a wide array of other endangered, threatened and watch-list species in the state."
The prairie chickens' recovery, Brawn said, may be temporary, and it may be necessary to bring in more birds in several years to revitalize the population's diversity. A good sign, he added, is that the Illinois Department of Natural Resources has been protecting and developing grasslands to expand the Prairie Ridge park.
"I think the prognosis is guardedly optimistic," Brawn said. "This is one of the few populations of prairie chickens east of the Mississippi River. Every time we let a population go, or allow a regional extinction, it's just one more ratchet on biodiversity. We lose something. I think Illinois has a real vested interest in this. I think it would be a real loss in our identity, in our heritage, if we didn't have wild prairie chickens in our state."
Funding sources varied widely in the 35 years of work. In their study, the researchers recognized the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Federal Aid Wildlife Restoration Project, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Illinois Natural History Survey, The Nature Conservancy, Illinois Nature Preserves Commission, Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board, UI, Illinois Wildlife Preservation Fund, Natural Areas Acquisition Fund, and the Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research.
Researchers at the UI have identified an aircraft wing that may be hazardous to your health. The wing -- similar to the kind used on some commuter aircraft -- is highly susceptible to certain icing conditions thought to be linked to some fatal accidents.
"Because of its design, this particular airfoil is very sensitive to large-droplet ice accretions," said Michael Bragg, professor of aeronautical and astronautical engineering at the UI. "These accretions can form when the aircraft flies through freezing rain and drizzle."
Using simulated ice accretions, Bragg and his students have examined the sensitivity of ice shape, size and location on airfoil performance. Their goal is to better understand how ice accretions affect the aerodynamics and control of small commuter aircraft.
"The current 'hub and spoke' system used by the airline industry has created the need for many more commuter flights," Bragg said. "And because commuter aircraft fly at lower altitudes -- where icing conditions are most likely to occur -- we are seeing an increased number of icing-related accidents."
While large jetliners can use hot air from the engines to prevent ice from forming on the wings, "smaller aircraft lack the power required for these systems," Bragg said. "Instead, pilots of commuter aircraft rely upon inflatable rubber boots along the wings' leading edges to 'pop' off accumulated ice."
Ice can rapidly form on wings when planes fly through clouds of supercooled water droplets, but the size of the impinging droplets makes a huge difference in their effect upon the aircraft. "The vast majority of icing encounters have occurred with droplet sizes of 2 to 50 microns," Bragg said. "These strike the wing close to the leading edge, where any ice buildup can be removed by the de-icing boots."
Larger droplets -- such as freezing rain and drizzle -- strike farther back on the wing surface, in a region currently unprotected by the boots. A ridge of ice can quickly form, which increases drag and decreases lift, with potentially deadly consequences.
"On this particular airfoil, we saw an 80 percent loss in the maximum lifting ability of the wing due to an ice accretion that was only three-quarters of an inch high," Bragg said. "This type of airfoil is very leading-edge forward-loaded; the presence of the ice shape essentially destroys the vast majority of this leading-edge lift."
To avert the threat that icing poses to aircraft built with this wing design, the de-icing boots should be extended back along the wing surface, said Bragg, who presented his preliminary findings to the Federal Aviation Administration. In addition, pilots should take other precautions -- such as increasing their air speed to enhance lift -- when icing conditions appear imminent.
"We have made significant progress in understanding the types of wing designs that are more sensitive to certain kinds of icing," Bragg said. "This information will be used by the FAA to improve the certification process, and by aircraft designers to design safer aircraft."
NCSA part of RiverWeb consortium
A group of agencies has been awarded a federal grant that will allow them to use computer technologies in museum exhibits so that the public can better comprehend the Mississippi River's physical and biological systems.
The UI's National Center for Super-computing Applications, the St. Louis Science Center, the Illinois State Museum in Springfield, and the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul announced Nov. 30 the confirmation of a three-year, $1.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation to establish the Mississippi RiverWebSM Museum Consortium. NCSA's share of the grant will be about $722,000.
Each of the three museums brings to the consortium expertise in communicating scientific information to the public through interactive exhibits and other educational tools. NCSA brings its expertise in computer visualization and simulation technologies and advanced computing, giving the public a chance to experience technologies usually restricted to research settings. The consortium partners will demonstrate how advanced computing applications can enhance hands-on learning in science museums.
In collaboration with consortium partners, a team of environmental scientists, visualization specialists, interaction design experts, display technologists, computer programmers and education researchers at NCSA will design and create computer simulations and combinations of 2-D and 3-D displays at each museum. The exhibits, which will employ technology developed for NCSA's virtual reality (VR) display systems, will be integrated into each museum's existing river exhibits. Some exhibits may incorporate surround sound and a hand-held device to control interactions in the VR environment.
The local exhibits will serve as entry points from which audiences will be able to understand the river as a large, complex and integrated system. The consortium also will develop a shared Web site, which will invite users to learn more about the river and its ecosystems.
Consortium exhibits will emphasize river hydrology, geomorphology (long-term changes in shape and direction of flow), ecology and navigation. Museum visitors also will be able to try their hands at "virtually" piloting a towboat on the Mississippi. They also will be encouraged to explore how the river has changed since the last Ice Age, how the lock-and-dam system is influencing river ecology, and how human activities in the Mississippi River watershed affect the health of the Gulf of Mexico. Exhibits also will educate the public about new technologies used to study the river and its ecosystems -- including the computer technologies used in the exhibits themselves.
Larry Smarr, the director of NCSA and the National Computational Science Alliance, an NSF-funded partnership of more than 50 research institutions led by NCSA, said the project is a good example of how the technologies being prototyped by the Alliance can benefit entire communities.
"RiverWeb marks a watershed -- the pun is intended -- in making the advanced computational and visualization facilities being pioneered by the alliance in the field of environmental science, accessible to, and usable by, broad audiences in the Upper Mississippi River Basin," Smarr said. "Through the Web resources, it will be accessible to an even larger, global audience."
As one of the world's major natural systems, the Mississippi River is a rich subject for multi-disciplinary exploration. The beauty and complexity of ecological principles and the laws of physics can be discovered in its flow. The transforming power of technology and engineering can be seen in human-made structures that regulate and control its movement.
It is now part of a vast commercial network of global proportions. Reflecting its vast and varied watershed, it is home to a wealth of biological diversity, despite a highly industrialized society that has greatly altered it along with its basin.
"The Mississippi River is such a huge story that it is beyond the scope and means of any one institution to interpret," said Patrick Hamilton, director of the Science Museum of Minnesota's Mississippi River Gallery. "Telling its story requires telling many stories; the river must be interpreted in pieces before it can be understood as an interconnected whole."
Once the initial simulations and displays are developed, Web-accessible components will be integrated into a new Mississippi RiverWeb Museum Consortium Web site. The site will connect the exhibits at all three museums so they can be accessed as a unified learning resource from schools, libraries and other educational settings.
The Mississippi RiverWeb Consortium will begin design work late this fall. For more information, visit the RiverWeb Web site: http://riverweb.ncsa.uiuc.edu.
The National Center for Supercomputing Applications is the leading-edge site for the National Computational Science Alliance. NCSA is a leader in the development and deployment of cutting-edge high- performance computing, networking, and information technologies. The National Science Foundation, the state of Illinois, the UI, industrial partners, and other federal agencies fund NCSA. The National Computational Science Alliance is a partnership to prototype an advanced computational infrastructure for the 21st century and includes more than 50 academic, government and industry research partners from across the United States. The alliance receives core funding from the National Science Foundation and cost-sharing at partner institutions.
Feeling like Scrooge because the stores have been promoting Christmas since Halloween? The Faculty/Staff Children's Holiday Party can chase away that bah-humbug feeling for UI faculty and staff members and their children.
Sponsored by the Illini Union Faculty/Staff Social Committee, the party is from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Dec. 13 in the Illini Rooms at the Illini Union.
The party offers something for everyone. Bring your own camera if you want a photo of your child visiting with Santa Claus (his beard is guaranteed to not come off). Featured performers are puppeteer Ginger Lozar (whose puppets will perform "The Nutcracker") and a magician. Clowns will provide balloon animals, and model trains will be displayed. Grandma's kitchen will serve refreshments; a craft room will offer hands-on activities. Each child will receive a small gift. (Any remaining gifts will be donated to the Crisis Nursery.)
Barb Leisner, chair of the children's holiday party committee, believes the party offers a great time for young and old. "Some people bring their very young children just to see Santa, but children up to 10 to 12 years old really enjoy it, too. It's really nice because the children and adults have a fun time."
She's speaking from personal experience. She and her daughter, Cassie, now 9, have attended the event since Leisner began working at the UI in 1993. "She was just enthralled by it," Leisner said. "We both really enjoyed the magician and the storyteller."
There are no records to trace the history of the event, but it is estimated the Illini Union has hosted the children's holiday party for at least 50 years.
And attendance is good. Last year 332 children were accompanied by 320 adults. In spite of the high attendance, it never seems too crowded, Leisner said. The activities are set up in different areas so that children are spread out throughout several rooms.
For many faculty and staff members and their children, the party has become an annual holiday tradition they don't want to miss. And this year will bring new meaning to Leisner and her daughter as Cassie becomes one of Santa's elves and helps hand out gifts.
Tickets for the children's holiday party are $2 for adults and $1 for children. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Assembly Hall or at the Illini Union's ticket central. If tickets are still available, they also may be purchased at the door. The party is limited to the families of students, faculty, staff and retirees of the UI. You will need to present your university ID when purchasing tickets.
When students return home for their holiday break, they'll carry the news that the price of a UI education will cost more next year.
And though some may wince at the thought of paying more, the hikes have not caused a groundswell of complaints. In fact one of the students who sits on the UI Board of Trustees said that he'd heard only two complaints about the increases.
Sam Gallo, the only student trustee who may vote, called the increase fair and justified. Another student trustee, Michael Clark of UIC, said that the students expect excellence at the UI and that they must bear part of the financial responsibility for that.
University administrators said one reason for the need to raise tuition was to be able to offer competitive salaries to the premier teachers and researchers at Urbana-Champaign. Faculty salaries have not kept up with those offered at other major universities and some department heads and deans said some of their best faculty members were being lured away.
"If the UI at Urbana-Champaign is to remain one of the nation's premier universities, it is imperative that we continue to work toward closing the salary gap between us and our peers -- the 12 private and nine public institutions as defined by the Illinois Board of Higher Education,'' said Chancellor Michael Aiken.
"We have one of the best and brightest faculties in the nation and our students tell us that is one of the main reasons they chose Illinois,'' he said. "We simply cannot afford to lose the intellectual advantage that our faculty provide our students and our constituents throughout the state and nation.''
Tuition at the Urbana campus will go up 4 percent, increasing from $3,408 to $3,546 a year for undergraduates. Graduate students will pay $156 more for a total of $4,040 a year, and professional programs such as the MBA, veterinary medicine, law and library science will increase tuition too, with amounts ranging from $156 to $400 a year. All increases are effective next fall.
"These modest increases will allow the university to maintain its status as one of the most affordable top-tier universities in the nation while increasing its investment in programs, faculty and students,'' said President James J. Stukel.
The board of trustees also raised tuition at the UI-Chicago and UI-Springfield campuses, and hiked student fees and room and board charges at all three campuses as well. The new "sticker price" for a UIUC undergraduate education, including the new tuition, fees and room-and-board increases, will be $9,686; at UIS it will be $5,174; and at UIC it will be $10,014.
The trustees, who met Nov. 18 and 19 on the Springfield campus, voted unanimously for the raises.
The tuition increases also will help offset the costs of upgrading and expanding educational technology, remodeling classrooms and labs, and improving libraries. Some money will go toward enhancing undergraduate research and expanding the living-learning classrooms, like that offered at Allen Hall, to other residence halls.
Trustees also approved reinstating a $1 per semester student fee to go toward running the Illinois Student Government. In October, students voted 821-643 in favor of the fee, which is refundable, and will be assessed all undergraduate, graduate and professional students.
Buildings go up
The Urbana-Champaign campus could be getting a new $8.3 million indoor football practice field near Memorial Stadium and the Intramural Physical Education building.
Clad in university brick and limestone, the exterior of the building would not look much different than traditional campus buildings, and its location at the southwest corner of Fourth Street and Peabody Drive would not block the view of the historic facade of the stadium.
The UI Board of Trustees may approve the building plan at its January meeting, especially since money for the building will come entirely from gifts to the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics. If so, construction could begin by July.
Trustees raised few concerns about the facility, although one trustee did question why the practice field will be 80 yards long instead of 100. And another suggested that the aging Astroturf from the stadium be re-used in the new facility.
Architects explained they kept the building at 80 yards to keep down costs, and to keep from blocking the expansive view of the stadium from Fourth Street.
Plus, it is not unusual for indoor fields to be built shorter than 100 yards, according to the architects from Severns, Reid and Associates of Champaign. Iowa State and West Virginia universities, for example, are among the schools that also have 80-yard facilities.
"One-hundred yards would have been ideal,'' conceded Chancellor Aiken. "But there are constraints because of the location. If we had made it 100 yards, we would be taking up a lot of land used as an outdoor practice field,'' located just east of the stadium, he said. And moving to another location would be inconvenient because of the distance between the practice field and weight and locker rooms at the stadium. Trekking back and forth from a far- removed facility cuts into practice time, too.
"The coaches are very comfortable with its size,'' Aiken said.
The interior of the building will be a single large room with smooth wall surfaces -- not even a doorknob will protrude -- and the roof will be tall enough to allow kicking practice. Indirect lighting and clerestory windows will ensure players won't be looking up into the glare of lights.
The "bubble," which now encloses the stadium's playing field, has outlived its usefulness and likely will be junked. It was purchased in 1985-86 with a life expectancy of 10 years, according to Robert Todd, associate vice president of administrative and human resources.
"If we can nurse it through this year and one more, we'll have gotten a lot more than we expected from it,'' said Todd.
The stadium's Astroturf is in bad shape as well, and will need to be removed within a few years but it cannot be removed and reused, according to the architects. A natural grass field is planned for the stadium in the future.
The private money to pay for the facility was raised from several sources, but the major donor is the Irwin Foundation, which gave $7.5 million. Architects estimate the facility will be completed by late fall 2000.
Stukel emphasized that the facility will not be used strictly for football, but also will allow indoor baseball practice, intramural soccer and other sports.
South Campus expansion
Trustees again heard of plans to buy land farther south of the South Farms for the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES). The college needs to replace many of its crop and animal facilities and acquire more land for crop experiments and research. Todd said those needs are being assessed now within the ACES departments and agriculture organizations. Todd said he expects to come before the trustees with a plan in March, and that the board may adopt it in June.
The area being considered goes as far south as Church Street, Savoy, and as far west as Neil Street, Champaign, and as far east as Philo Road, Urbana.
The project could cost as much as $200 million, though that money has yet to be found. Plus, Aiken reminded the board that the whole process of identifying ACES needs, then buying land, putting up buildings and moving programs could take as long as six to eight years. It's premature to make plans about how the existing ACES land will be used, he said, although DIA and the Division of Campus Recreation have suggested a new university golf course, women's softball field, soccer fields and other sport facilities.
Parking garage questioned
A proposed 800-slot parking garage and fire substation raised concerns from trustees because of its location on Gregory Drive between the Morrow Plots and Bevier Hall. Although architects assured the trustees they designed the building so that it would not cast shade on the corn in the historic Morrow Plots, some trustees worried the garage would bring too much traffic too close to the center of campus.
"It concerns me because this is the first major parking structure that we would be allowing to get that close to the Quad,'' said Trustee William Engelbrecht. "The thought of 800 cars arriving there at the same time of day, leaving at the same time of day, almost sounds like a wreck waiting to happen to me. I'm very troubled with it.''
Architect Steve Rebora said studies show that instead of generating more traffic through an area, parking garages get vehicles off the streets. The garage would replace a 250-space lot on the existing site.
Todd said several sites were studied, but the largest demand for parking is in that area. He will return with a final plan in January, and he agreed to bring information about other possible sites for the garage-substation.
Grad students seek benefits
Graduate students want vision insurance added to their benefits, according to Charles Allen, president of the Graduate Employee Organization.
Allen told trustees during the public-comment period that graduate students routinely have eye strain because of all the computer and paperwork they do. He said the vision plan would cost $36 a year per student, or the equivalent of three large pizzas, and he said that the more than 8,000 grad students should not be excluded from receiving that benefit.
Other board business
After an executive session, the board agreed to settle a $6 million lawsuit that claimed negligence at the UI Hospital had resulted in permanent brain damage to a child; also agreed to settle a $200,000 suit claiming that a UI Hospital doctor failed to diagnose and properly treat a patient's carcinoma.
· The Urbana campus's Gaseous Electronics Building will be renamed the Optical Physics and Engineering Building.
· At Urbana, the undergraduate major in liberal arts and sciences international studies will be established as well as the Bachelor of Science in aviation human factors.
Looking around the semicircular lobby, Elliott Klug liked what he saw. "It creates an unusual space with a comfortable feel to it. " The UI sophomore in architecture from Champaign was commenting on the airy new financial aid office that greeted him and other undergraduates this fall.
Gone is the cramped fourth-floor waiting room at the Turner Student Services Building on John Street. Now students can enter a ground-floor lobby around the corner with a band of windows and considerably more space.
"Hey, if you're going to have to wait, this is a whole lot better place to do it," joked junior Michael Risik of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., who was part of the first-semester rush of financial aid recipients. Added senior Gleezel Lee of Northlake, Ill.: "At least there's room to breathe."
The facilities are part of the new Student Services Arcade Building, which opened in August. The $4 million effort offers "one-stop shopping" for undergraduates seeking career information, veteran services, employment opportunities as well as financial aid at a convenient campus location.
So convenient that three landmarks are within eyeshot. "You can see Altgeld Hall, the Alma Mater and the Illini Union from our front windows," said Orlo Austin, director of financial aid. "We're delighted to be here and we think it will mean much better customer services for students."
Planning for renovations to the historic Arcade Building began after the Illini Union Bookstore moved out of the property in 1994, said Patricia Askew, vice chancellor for student affairs.
"The idea came from student leaders in discussions I had with them about student needs and facilities renovation," she said.
Originally, the property was slated as the home for the Office of Admissions and Records, but administrators felt the space was too small and lacked enough parking for prospective students and their parents.
They decided to move financial aid and career services to the building from the overcrowded Turner Building. Students agreed to pay a $5 fee increase for the renovation, which fit in with the university's commitment to improve the business district around Wright and Green streets. "The renovation supported Chancellor Aiken's vision for Campustown 2000," Askew said.
Ross, Barney & Jankowski, the architectural firm, took pains to restore the original character of the Arcade Building, which was opened in 1912 by William Bradley, son of a pioneering Champaign County family as a "sort of early mini-mall," Austin said. The arcade contained ice-cream, candy and curio shops, plus a second-floor ballroom.
The university purchased the property in 1938 and installed a bowling alley and billiard room. Big bands played in the upstairs ballroom, and scores of alumni lunches, dinners and other UI functions were held there over the years. Eventually the second floor was converted to offices for graduate teaching assistants.
Now the first floor again resembles an old-fashioned arcade with frosted-glass windows and blond wood lining the hallway. One big improvement is the checkerboard cork flooring from Portugal, which deadens noise. That's important when student traffic is already double the volume at the old Turner facility.
Restoration of the second floor exposed eight palladian windows that lined the original dance floor. The open-air balcony was restored and the decorative exterior trim was saved.
The modern financial aid wing boasts four customer-service carrels, which handled 2,701 walk-ins during its first week of operation, said Victor Martinez, assistant director of financial aid. Once the fall rush was over, the lobby was fitted with seven computer terminals to aid students in scholarship searches.
The facilities are part of long-range efforts to computerize financial aid so that most transactions can be handled without students having to come to the office. Some 49 percent of undergraduates receive financial aid.
But the university hopes to keep students coming to the Arcade and is seeking donors to create a courtyard behind the Turner Building.
Turner, meanwhile, is being rehabilitated with new windows and heating and cooling systems. Once that is completed, the Office of International Student Affairs will move into the fourth floor from a house on Daniel Street.
Barbara Kaye, visiting hypermedia communicator Administrative Information Systems and Services
"The winter of 1989-90 was my first winter in Illinois having moved from Richmond, Va., the summer before. We were desperately poor, living on my meager salary while my husband, Jordan, repaired our living quarters (a run-down mobile home, complete with mice and other critters) and watched our then 4-year-old son, Franklin, while I worked.
"My sisters, my parents and I are very close. And although I had lived away from my parents for many years, I always managed to make it home to Richmond for the holidays. This would be my first Christmas away from home.
"In the middle of an already cold and snowy December, it snowed more and the temperature plummeted to -25 F and stayed there. I had never been so cold and our shack of a trailer in the middle of the woods only had an antiquated furnace and wood stove to keep us warm.
"Twelve days before Christmas, the intake water pipes froze. We drank bottled water and had to melt ice and snow to wash with -- and to flush the toilet. Two days later the septic system froze so the toilet no longer worked and we had to use an outdoor privy. Fortunately, we were able to shower at my work and the Laundromat in town was open so we were able to maintain a certain amount of dignity. But we were certainly in a pickle on the domestic front and I would be away from my loving family for Christmas.
"On Christmas Eve, we went to bed early. It was very cold and we didn't have much Christmas spirit anyway. We had a few toys for our son, but not many other presents. There was simply no money for extras.
"Long about 3 a.m. I started to hear sounds. First it was little rattling sounds as if someone were rolling marbles across the roof of the trailer. I stirred a bit, thinking it was squirrels running across the roof. Then I heard music. It was my wind chime, but in the fog of deep sleep it sounded like music.
"Finally, I heard a WSHHHHHHHH sound from the kitchen. By then I was awake enough to recognize it as the sound of rushing water. Somehow the intake pipes had thawed in the middle of the night!
"Quickly I rose, filled the tea kettle and turned the water off. This was bizarre. Had this occurred in the middle of a sunny afternoon, I would have thought nothing of it. But this was in the early morning hours -- the coldest part of the day. The outside temperature was still below zero but somehow the water in my house was thawing -- and no pipes had burst!
"By Christmas morning, all the intake spigots were running; and by that afternoon, the septic tank had thawed and we were able to shower and clean and cook.
"That was one of the best Christmas gifts I could have ever received -- running water!"
Sharol L. Hanson, staff secretary Office of Student Financial Aid
"I have two vivid memories. As a child, no matter what else might be under the tree, the thing I knew would always be there was a giant apple and a giant orange. Both of these seemed to be as big as my head back then. The other thing was a small bowl of hard candy. One thing, though, as a child, it never occurred to me to ask Mom or Dad how Santa knew where our popcorn bowls were. They must have put them out for him -- yeah, that's it. How does Santa know stuff like that?
"As an adult, my memory centers on my parents. They were married on Christmas Eve in 1931 and every year the family gathers to celebrate their marriage. It was a major food experimentation fest. This is when I learned to eat oysters, pickled herring, pickled pig's feet, bacon rinds, my mother's drunken fruitcake and many other odd foods. This also was the time when, after we reached a certain age, we learned to handle alcohol; it was the one time a year it was allowed. Although both of my parents passed away this year after 66 years together, the family will gather this Christmas Eve and celebrate life, each other and them with our memories."
The UI Library has received a grant of nearly $158,000 from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services to build and test a model database of Illinois historical material.
The library was one of 41 recipients selected from more than 250 applications for the institute's first National Leadership Grant awards.
The two-year project aims to create an electronic database of historical information from museums, libraries and archives to meet the curriculum needs of elementary school teachers in East Central Illinois.
The project will be headquartered at the library's Digital Imaging Initiative. Partners will include the Rare Book and Special Collections Library, a regional Illinois library system, historical societies, a historical museum and three elementary schools from a two-county area.
"Users who want to find out about, for example, how the Illinois farmers' strike of 1978 affected Champaign need to go to several county libraries and the county historical archives to find the most complete information," said Beth Sandore, head of the Library's Digital Imaging Initiative and the principal investigator for the grant. "Finding that information in each place may require very different search strategies, depending on how the information is stored. This is where collaboration and digitization have the potential to greatly facilitate information identification and retrieval."
According to Sandore, elementary school teachers are the most underserved users of digitized information. By working with three outstanding local teachers, "We will be able to demonstrate the nationwide potential for collaboration among K-12 teachers, and museums and libraries," Sandore said.
The project will build on the work done by Sandore and her group in the Global Cultural Memory Project, a prototype repository of historical content from several libraries and museums in Champaign County.
In addition to the University Library, the partnering institutions include the Illinois Heritage Association, Champaign; Lincoln Trail Libraries System, Champaign; the library and museum of the McLean County Historical Society, Bloomington; the Early American Museum, Mahomet; Thomas Paine Elementary School, Urbana (Kay V. Grabow, fourth grade teacher); Lincoln Trail Elementary School, Mahomet (Linda Meachum, fifth grade teacher); and Oakland Elementary School, Bloomington (Janenne Scott, 3rd grade teacher).
"Right now teachers don't have any idea what museums have that they could use for teaching -- they don't even have a list," says Grabow. "But with this project, we'd not only know what's available, we would be able to pull up an image to show our students. I could show them what a grain cradle is or a storekeeper's diary. It will be really helpful."
The Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, established by Congress in 1996, is an independent federal grant-making agency that fosters leadership, innovation, and a lifetime of learning by supporting museums and libraries.
The only sure thing about the future of electricity in Illinois is propulsive change.
In the wake of the Electric Service Customer Choice and Rate Relief Act signed by Gov. Jim Edgar last year, energy firms will come under the same fierce competitive forces that have altered telecommunications, airlines and other once rigidly controlled industries. One difference is that deregulation of electricity will affect everyone.
"As a measure of the complexity of the task, the Illinois law is 261 pages long," said George Gross, professor of electrical and computer engineering at the UI. "Reliability of the system must be foremost in the minds of utility executives and regulators as the business changes dramatically."
The Illinois law, one of a handful in the country, will let consumers pick their own power supplier no later than May 1, 2002. Industrial users will have free access by Dec. 31, 2000.
While Gross believes that deregulation will ultimately save consumers money, there will be short-term costs. Although utilities were required to lower their rates 15 percent last August, the law also permits them to include various fees for specific expenses, including ones for nuclear power plants and other high-cost facilities.
"How to handle nuclear plants will be a key issue because these plants are not competitive in the new environment," Gross said. For example, Commonwealth Edison has closed its twin Zion nuclear plant and re-engineered the facility to help maintain voltages within the system. While a positive development, the cost of the Zion shutdown must be absorbed by ComEd customers.
Gross, who also is on the faculty of the UI Institute of Government and Public Affairs, predicted four likely scenarios of deregulation:
· The vertical structure of the utility industry will shatter under the pressure of competition.
· Technological innovation will accelerate as companies find cheaper ways to generate electricity, including use of renewable energy and ultra-clean coal-fired plants.
· Illinois will eventually become competitive with low energy-cost states like Indiana and Wisconsin, especially in serving industrial users "who look at three things -- price, price, price."
· Pre-packaged deals and other complex marketing schemes will become commonplace, similar to those offered by phone carriers. "The need for programs to educate the public about power choices will be critical to the success of the law."
The UI professor added: "I think we're all going to be surprised when we realize that, come 2002, we can walk away from the utility company we love to hate. But then again the company might not look and act like it does today."
A piece of the pie: Faculty/Staff members invest in UI
The reasons are as varied as the donors, but the numbers show that more than 30 percent of UI faculty and staff members have contributed millions of dollars to the UI.
"We have a broad base of support," said Pat Justice, assistant chancellor for development and associate deputy director of the UI Foundation. "We're able to show that the people who work here believe in the place and are investing in it."
In fact, faculty and staff giving is helping to fill in the gaps between revenue and the actual cost of programs and positions, she said.
Faculty and staff members donate for professorships, scholarships, building campaigns such as the ACES library, concerts, WILL programs, the Sinfonia da Camera, areas within their departments, and research.
"Rarely do employees give back to their employers," Justice said. "But here, they have a stake in the reputation of the institution. They believe in the pure ideals of creating knowledge, transmitting knowledge, teaching and public service."
This month we begin a periodic series that faculty and staff members who give to the UI and why.
Lois Pausch, geology librarian
Graduated from the UI in 1952. Met and married her late husband, Robert Pausch, on campus. They returned to the UI in 1964 when he started working at the Natural History Survey. She returned to school in 1968 and began working at the UI in 1972. Although she plans to retire in another year and a half, she expects to continue at the UI as extra help.
Lois Pausch values the services offered by WILL radio and television and the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, so she has chosen to support them.
"I never thought of it as donating to the UI," Pausch said. "I'm giving to support the arts."
As with most people, her decision is a personal one. "I've given to WILL for many years," Pausch said. "I simply can't wake up in the morning without [WILL-FM]. I have the timing of the morning programs down so well that if they changed them, I'd probably be late for work."
She speaks of the stations as a good companion and says she even prefers to stay at home some nights so as not to miss some of her favorite shows. "I don't like to go out Thursday or Sunday nights because I don't like to miss 'Mystery!' or 'Masterpiece Theater,' " she said. "And I just love those off-the-wall [British] comedies and 'Classics by Request.' You can't get those anywhere else."
Her decision to support Krannert Center is more clearly aimed at sharing that service with others. "I give to Krannert to keep named artists coming here and to keep the prices low enough so that we can get some of the young people to attend," Pausch said. "It worries me when I look out at the symphony audience and see all that gray hair. I would like to keep the symphonies coming in the hopes that more of our younger faculty would come."
"For a town of this size, it's quite extraordinary to have a concert hall that is nationally recognized like the Great Hall. If the Krannerts can give all that money to build the place, we can support it," she said.
Jim Sinclair, professor of plant pathology
Came to the UI in 1968 and began contributing to UI programs in the 1970s.
Jim Sinclair considers his financial and in-kind contributions to the UI for nearly 30 years a big 'Thank You.'
"This is one way for me to thank the university and the people of the state for allowing me to have a productive career," Sinclair said.
His thanks are spread out across the university, however, as he gives money and time to Krannert Art Museum, where he also serves as a docent; the agriculture library and the main library [where he is also a Friend of the Library]; the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, which has also received his donations of vintage clothing; and the Spurlock Museum, where he now serves on the board of directors. Sinclair also made a contribution of a Memorial Bench in the Arboretum's sunken gardens.
"I think the university does so much for the students, the faculty and community, I think it's my duty -- although I give because I want to -- to give back to the system. I think the university is a great university and in order to keep that status, I believe all of us, including the faculty, need to contribute to all the programs in order to keep us in that status."
Tree lighting, Carol Concerts are Dec. 6
In keeping with tradition, the combined choirs of the UI School of Music pay tribute to the holiday season with their annual Carol Concerts at 2 and 4 p.m. Dec. 6 in Krannert Center for the Performing Arts' Foellinger Great Hall. At 5:30 p.m. that same day, the Krannert Center Student Association hosts a tree-lighting ceremony in the Krannert Center lobby.
The Carol Concerts feature the Gustav Holst work "Christmas Day," written for chorus and orchestra, along with carols from around the world, seasonal music and a sing-along. The School of Music choirs participating in the Annual Carol Concerts include the Black Chorus, Ollie Watts Davis, director; Concert Choir, Chester L. Alwes, director; Illini Women, Diana Nordlund, director; University Chorus, Allison Entrekin, director; Varsity Men's Glee Club, Barrington Coleman, director; and Women's Glee Club, Joe Grant, director. These ensembles also will be joined by instrumental students from the School of Music. Tickets may be purchased at the Krannert Center ticket office or by e-mail at kran-tix@illinois.edu or through the KCPA Web site: www.kcpa.uiuc.edu/kcpa/.
The tree-lighting ceremony is free and open to the public; tickets are not required. UI student ensembles will provide musical background for a visit from Santa Claus and for a community sing-along.
Software evolution to be lecture topic
The Program in South Asia and Middle Eastern Studies is hosting a lecture titled "Information Technology in India: Beyond the Millennium" at 4 p.m. Dec. 7 at 404 Illini Union. N.R. Narayana Murthy, CEO of Infosys Technologies (IT) of Bangalore, India, will be the featured lecturer. A reception will begin at 3:30 p.m.
Murthy will discuss the evolution of the software industry in India. In particular, he will look at the challenges for the IT industry in India beyond the year 2000. The event is co-sponsored by the Computer Systems Area of the department of electrical and computer engineering, the Indian Cultural Society, and the Program in Arms Control, Disarmament and International Security.
Renowned singer will be WILL-TV guest
Acclaimed mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves will appear live as a studio guest on WILL-Channel 12 at 7 p.m. Dec. 3. Graves will be hosting breaks during her televised Christmas special, "Denyce Graves -- A Cathedral Christmas."
Graves presents a recital at 8 p.m. Dec. 4 in the Foellinger Great Hall at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
In 1995, Graves opened in the title role in "Carmen" at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and opera critics now say she is one of the greatest performers ever to sing the role of Carmen. In her television special, Graves performs amid the majesty of Washington's National Cathedral. The program includes traditional carols and hymns, international holiday songs and contemporary carols and songs.
Second Sunday features vocal quartet
The vocal quartet, Camerata IV, will perform a program of traditional and new Christmas carols and songs during WILL-FM's Second Sunday Concert at 2 p.m. Dec. 13.
The free concert, to be held at the Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion, also will be broadcast live on WILL-FM (90.9/101.1 in Champaign-Urbana) with host Brian Mustain.
Members of Camerata IV are Sandra Chabot, who sings alto and directs the group; Lorain Trzyna-Baker, soprano; Jay Rogers, tenor; and Michael Snider, bass. The group will be accompanied by pianist Kerry Heimann and flutist Barbara Duncan.
On the program are English, Spanish and German traditional carols in contemporary arrangements, along with "A Little Christmas Music" (King's Singers Edition) which is a spoof on Mozart, with flute and piano.
PAC welcomes new provost
The Professional Advisory Committee (PAC) invites UI academic professionals to a reception in honor of the new provost, Richard H. Herman. The reception will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Dec. 16 in the Colonial Room at the Illini Union.
O & M offers holiday cleanup
The Division of Operation and Maintenance's Building Operation Section will again provide cleanup following departmental holiday parties at no cost to the department. Departments are asked to allow for sufficient notice of one to two weeks when requesting this service and also should complete an initial cleanup of major items prior to building operation staff arrival. Requests can be sent to Randy Kornegay on the second floor of the Garage and Car Pool Building, MC-821 or faxed to 333-3711.
New MTD route to Bielfeldt
The Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District is now offering regular bus service that stops in front of the Bielfeldt Administration Building on Fourth Street. The #24 "Scamp" route will stop in front of Bielfeldt every 15 to 20 minutes on weekdays and will run as far north as Sixth and Armory. For more information, contact the MTD at 384-8188 or visit its Web site at www.cumtd.com.
Holiday high tea is Dec. 6
A holiday high tea will be from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Dec. 6 in the Illini Union's Pine Lounge. Hosted by the Illini Union Faculty-Staff Social Committee, this year's tea offers a taste of England as well as holiday music. The menu includes fancy tea sandwiches, small scones, and assorted cookies and teas. Tickets are $5 per person and are available at the Assembly Hall box office or at Ticket Central in the Illini Union. Sales are limited to the first 100 guests.
Award concert honors composer
The Martirano Composition Award Concert will be at 8 p.m. Dec. 10 in the Colwell Playhouse Theater at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.
The award is an international competition in memory of Salvatore Martirano, who was a UI professor of composition from 1963 to 1995. The UI School of Music established the award in memory of Martirano who was an internationally acclaimed composer.
This year's concert features the 1997 award-winning composition String Quartet by Karim Al-Zand, a doctoral student at Harvard University. Al-Zand's piece was selected from 95 entries from 22 countries. The program also will feature compositions by Martirano and Zack Browning, UI composition professor, as well as works by Krzysztof Penderecki and Akiro Nishimura.
In addition to a concert featuring the winning composition, the award includes a $500 prize.
Browning said the music school launched the annual award to support the professional development of young composers and to keep alive the memory of Martirano, who died in 1995.
"Sal was one of the most inspirational teachers you'd ever run into," Browning said. He also "was one of the original crossover artists," combining jazz, traditional, classical and other musical styles in his compositions, Browning said. "But always his emphasis was on being original."
Contributions to the Salvatore Martirano Memorial Fund may be made to the UI Foundation, Harker Hall, MC-386.
- One-half day excused holiday (p.m.)
Dec. 28 and 29 are work days. Campus functions are expected to operate normally on these days. Campus employees will be expected to work unless specifically excused.
Paycheck distribution
Academic employee payroll checks will be distributed Dec. 21. Staff employee payroll checks will be distributed Dec. 23. To provide additional security during the holiday period, departments are to return all undistributed paychecks to Check Distribution in 100 Henry Administration Building by Dec. 30. Check Distribution will be open 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Dec. 30. Departments must notify Campus Mail by 11 a.m. on that day if they have any paychecks to be returned. Employees picking up returned paychecks at Window A in 100 Henry Administration Building must present their i-card.
Campus and U.S. mail delivery
Museum of Natural History
Closed Dec. 20 through Jan. 18. Resume regular hours Jan. 19.
Libraries
Parking
University parking meters or rental lots will not be enforced from 7 a.m. Dec. 24 through 6:59 a.m. Jan. 4. During these times, meters and rental lots will be available for unrestricted use. This does not apply to 24-hour departmental and handicapped rental spaces, which will continue to be enforced for the exclusive use of the renter. During this time, the Motorist Assist Program will not be available.
Krannert Art Museum
Krannert Art Museum galleries will close at 5 p.m. Dec. 20 and will reopen at 10 a.m. Dec. 26. Galleries close again at 12:15 p.m. Dec. 30 and reopen at 10 a.m. Jan. 2. The Palette Cafe will be closed from 3 p.m. Dec. 18 through Jan. 10; it will reopen at 8 a.m. Jan. 11.
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts
The Krannert Center ticket office will close at 6 p.m. Dec. 23 and will reopen at 10 a.m. Jan. 4. Intermezzo closes at 3:30 p.m. Dec. 23 and reopens at 7 a.m. Jan. 4. The Promenade Gift Shop closes at 6 p.m. Dec. 23 and reopens at 10 a.m. Jan. 4. Tours end Dec. 18 and resume Jan. 4.
Indoor recreational facilities
Hours vary for campus indoor recreational facilities. Contact the Division of Campus Recreation or the specific facility for information about holiday hours.
Garage and Car Pool
Building opening and heating
Buildings will be heated and ventilated according to the usual vacation and holiday schedule.
The Office of Academic Human Resources, Suite 420, 807 S. Wright St., maintains the listings for faculty and academic professional positions. More complete descriptions are available in that office during regular business hours. Job listings are also updated weekly on its Web site at: webster.uihr.uiuc.edu/ahr/ahrjobrg.htm. Any other information may be obtained from the person indicated in the listing.
faculty
English as an International Language. Assistant professor, instructed second-language acquisition (SLA) related to English. PhD (in SLA studies, applied linguistics or related field) must be in hand at time of appointment; classroom ESL/EFL teaching experience required. Experience in task-based language teaching, fluency in a language other than English, and knowledge of computer applications to language teaching highly desirable. Duties include departmental teaching, advising, liaison with inter-departmental program in SLA studies. Available Aug. 21. Contact Fred Davidson, 333-1506 or fgd@illinois.edu. Closing date: Feb. 1.
Library and Information Science, Graduate School of. Faculty (open rank). PhD or equivalent required. Preferences given to the following areas: organization of information, cataloging and classification; information in organizations, information resources management and management of information systems and archives or records management. Available Aug. 21. Contact Leigh Estabrook, 333-3281 or leighe@illinois.edu. Closing date: Feb. 5.
academic professional
Admissions and Records. Associate director, registrar. Bachelor's degree and at least six years' experience directly related to increasing managerial responsibility required; master's or PhD preferred. Must have experience with records management issues related to the use of technology. For a complete job description, go to http://notebene.oar.uiuc.edu/dbdata/oar/staff/emploppl1.nsf. Available in May. Contact Search Committee for Associate Director, 333-2034. Closing date: Jan. 15 or when filled.
Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. Visiting coordinator, special programs. PhD in veterinary sciences, agriculture economics or related field and five years' related work experience in a university environment required. Must have knowledge of college research programs/foci. Strong background in statistical analysis and experience in using the Internet and other electronic communication and information systems desired. Available immediately. Contact Steven Sonka, 244-1706 or s-sonka@illinois.edu. Closing date: Dec. 11.
Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. Visiting project management coordinator (50-100 percent time). Master's degree in a business-related field, such as accounting, finance, etc. and five years' related work experience in a university environment required. Must have extensive knowledge of UI financial and administrative systems. Experience in using the Internet and other electronic communication and information systems desired. Available immediately. Contact Steven Sonka, 244-1706 or s-sonka@illinois.edu. Closing date: Dec. 11.
Business and Financial Affairs. Resource and policy analyst. Bachelor's degree in business or related field with three to five years' experience required. Should have experience working with computer operating systems such as Windows 95, NT and spreadsheet and database software packages such as Microsoft Excel and Access. Available immediately. Contact Janier Koss, 333-2497 or jkoss@uillinois.edu. Closing date: when filled.
Campus Recreation. Coordinator of marketing and promotion. Master's degree in marketing, advertising, communications or related field and three years' experience in a marketing position required. Should have experience in marketing research, working with print media, radio and publications and an ability to recommend and develop targeted marketing campaigns. Must have knowledge of pertinent computer systems. Available immediately. Contact Robyn Deterding, 244-6423 or rdeterdi@illinois.edu. Closing date: Jan. 8.
Commerce and Business Administration. Resource and policy analyst, Executive Development Center. Bachelor's degree in business or related area; master's and three years' experience in higher education administration preferred. Available immediately. Contact Carolyn Pribble, 333-4552 or edc@illinois.edu. Closing date: Dec. 18.
Counseling Center. Clinical counselor. PhD in clinical or counseling psychology or related field or master's degree in social work required. Previous experience in college preferred. Must have interest, expertise and experience in the area of alcohol and other drug intervention. Licensed in Illinois (or license eligible) as a psychologist, social worker, counselor or marriage and family therapist preferred. Available July 1. Contact Dennis Vidoni, 333-8360. Closing date: March 17.
Crop Sciences. Research specialist (maize genetics). Bachelor's degree in a biological or related science and knowledge in college-level course work in genetics, molecular biology and chemistry required. Experience working with maize preferred. Available immediately. Contact Martin Sachs, 244-0864 or msachs@illinois.edu. Closing date: Dec. 7.
Extension, UI. Associate regional director. Master's degree and five years' experience in a field closely related to financial management and human resources required. Knowledge of the history, objective, scope and methods of UI Extension and evidence of experience with unions preferred. Available March 1. Contact T. Gerald Correthers, (309) 792-8151. Closing date: Jan. 8.
Food Science and Human Nutrition. Visiting research specialist (life sciences). Bachelor's degree in animal, food or biological sciences required. Available immediately. Contact John Erdman Jr., 333-4177. Closing date: Dec. 7.
Foundation, UI. Annual giving specialist. Bachelor's degree required. Must have familiarity with database and data/report generation applications and working knowledge of WordPerfect and Excel. Familiarity with UI development activities desirable. Available immediately. Contact Ron Herman, 244-0471 or rrherman@illinois.edu. Closing date: Dec. 14.
Government and Public Affairs (Chicago or Urbana). Communications manager. Bachelor's degree in the field of communications, a social science or related field and five years' professional experience required; master's preferred. Available immediately. Contact Paul Quirk, 333-3340 or p-quirk@illinois.edu. Closing date: Dec. 11.
Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Properties director. Bachelor's degree and at least five years' work experience in professional theater prop shop required; MFA in theater technology or design preferred. Available: July 21. Contact Bruce Hoover, 333-6700. Closing date: Feb. 5.
Operation and Maintenance Division. Director. Bachelor's degree preferably in engineering, architecture or business and a minimum of 10 years' experience in a large diversified university or comparable organization with duties for facilities management required. Master's degree and appropriate professional certification desired. Available: May 1. Contact Robert Kelly, 333-0096. Closing date: Jan. 8.
Public Affairs. Media/communications specialist (design). Bachelor's degree preferably in art, graphic design, or design-related field and a minimum of two years' experience required. Must be knowledgeable in print production and have considerable expertise in the operation and support of a full range of desktop publishing tools, including word processing and graphic design software (PageMaker, QuarkXpress, Illustrator, FreeHand and Photoshop). Available: Feb. 1. Contact Don Kojich, 333-9200. Closing date: Dec. 18.
Supercomputing Applications, National Center for. Research scientist (one or more positions). PhD and research experience with emphasis on computational aspects plus formal training in using one or more of the general-purpose software packages required. Should have postdoctoral research experience in the required field, knowledge of research field, ability to bridge several disciplines and publications in peer-reviewed journals. Available immediately. Contact Janet McGreevy, 265-0619 or jlp@ncsa.uiuc.edu. Search # 6348. Closing date: when position(s) are filled.
Supercomputing Applications, National Center for. Senior research scientist (one or more positions). PhD and research experience with emphasis on computational aspects plus formal training in using one or more of the general purpose software packages required. Must have postdoctoral research experience in the required field; three to five years' experience beyond postdoc preferred. Should have an established publication record and proven track record for obtaining grant funding. Available immediately. Contact Janet McGreevy, 265-0619 or jlp@ncsa.uiuc.edu. Search # 6346. Closing date: when position(s) are filled.
Supercomputing Applications, National Center for. Senior research programmer (one or more positions). Bachelor's degree in computer science or a related field required; master's preferred. Amount and type of experience may be a viable substitution for specific degree. Should have at least five years' professional software development experience. Computer graphics, rendering, virtual reality, production of animations, multimedia, familiarity with Silicon Graphics equipment, C and C++ languages and UNIX experience preferred. Available immediately. Contact Janet McGreevy, 265-0619 or jlp@ncsa.uiuc.edu Search # 6347. Closing date: when position(s) are filled.
Urban and Regional Planning. Project coordinator (Neighborhood Technical Assistance Center). Master's degree in urban planning or related field and a minimum of two years' experience working for or with community-based organizations promoting affordable housing, economic development and community development. Should have a successful record as a writer and manager of grant applications for community development, experience devising and implementing community-initiated neighborhood improvement plans and the ability to use computer applications (i.e., word processing, spread sheets, desktop publishing, financial analysis, economic modeling and GIS). Available: Feb. 15. Contact Robert Selby, 244-6514 or r-selby@illinois.edu. Closing date: Dec. 20.
Urban and Regional Planning. Project associate/community planner (Neighborhood Technical Assistance Center). Bachelor's degree in urban planning or related field and a minimum of two years' experience in neighborhood planning, community development and non-profit management required; master's preferred. Should have experience in program development, fund raising, grant writing and program evaluation. Must have excellent computer skills in word processing, spreadsheet analysis, graphic design; knowledge in GIS applications preferred. Available Feb. 15. Contact Robert Selby, 244-6514 or r-selby@illinois.edu Closing date: Dec. 20.
staff
Personnel Services Office, 52 E. Gregory Drive, Champaign, conducts open and continuous testing for civil service classifications used on campus. More information is available by calling 333-2137. Or visit its Web site at: www.pso.uiuc.edu.
Phillip L. Barkley, director of the UI's McKinley Health Center, was named a fellow of the American College Health Association. Barkley has served ACHA and the field of college health in a number of ways. Founded in 1920, ACHA is a national nonprofit organization serving and representing the interests of professionals and students in health and higher education.
Tom Bassett, professor of geography, has been appointed to the Scientific Commission for the Social Sciences of ORSTOM (the French Institute for Scientific Research for Development and Cooperation), devoted to social and environmental studies in the developing world.
David Cahill, professor of materials science and engineering, has received the American Vacuum Society's Peter Mark Memorial Award for outstanding theoretical or experimental work by a young scientist or engineer. The award consists of a $3,500 cash prize and certificate.
Paul F. Diehl, professor of political science, has been awarded the 1998 Karl W. Deutsch Award in International Relations and Peace Research. The award, established in 1981 by the World Academy of Art and Science and the Peace Science Society, recognizes a scholar -- under the age of 40, or within 10 years of the acquisition of his/her doctoral degree -- who is judged to have made, through a body of publications, the most significant contribution to the study of international relations and peace research.
James Economy, professor and head of the materials science and engineering department, was recently selected as the 1998 winner of the Herman F. Mark Award of the American Chemical Society Division of Polymer Chemistry Inc. Economy was invited to make a presentation and to receive the award at the biennial meeting of the division Nov. 22-25 in Williamsburg, Va.
David Gin, professor of chemistry, was recognized by the Beckman Foundation with a Beckman Young Investigator Award. This award recognizes Gin's promise in synthetic organic chemistry and the potential impact his ideas have in developing novelsynthetic routes to important molecular targets.
Joe Greene, professor of metallurgical engineering, of mechanical and industrial engineering, and of materials science and engineering, has received the 1998 Aristotle Award from the Semiconductor Research Corp. (SRC). Greene was honored for career achievement in outstanding graduate student teaching, including innovation in student advising, instilling students with a love and respect for science, teaching students to carry out research at the highest level, contributing to student maturation and professional development, and continuing to impact student careers following graduation. Greene received the award at SRC's annual meeting in September.
Martin Gruebele, professor of chemistry and in the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, was recognized with the Camille Dreyfus Teacher Scholar Award from the Dreyfus Foundation. Each year, the foundation recognizes younger colleagues in the United States for excellence in research and outstanding performance as mentors and instructors.
Steven J. Helle, professor of journalism and advertising, received the Freedom Forum Journalism Teacher of the Year Award. The Freedom Forum, in partnership with journalism educators, has developed initiatives to help strengthen journalism education and recognize outstanding teachers and administrators. This award goes to outstanding faculty members teaching in the core areas of reporting, editing, journalism history, media law or ethics.
Billy Morrow Jackson, professor emeritus of art and design, has a watercolor of his featured in a book titled "NASA and the Exploration of Space." Jackson's "Time, Space and Columbia" is included in the book, which includes a foreword by John Glenn with several artists' works featured, including Norman Rockwell and Jamie Wyeth.
Christine Lockmon, associate director of development in the College of Commerce and Business Administration, has been elected to a second three-year term on the board of directors for the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement, an international organization for development professionals in research and advancement services. Lockmon serves as publications director.
Janak H. Patel, professor of electrical and computer engineering, received the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Emanuel R. Piore Award for "contributions to test generation and computer architecture." Patel is among the world's leaders in very large scale integration (VLSI) testing and has had a direct impact on all major chip designs. He co-founded Sunrise Test Systems, a leading VLSI test tools supplier, which moved his work from research to commercial tools. Patel also serves as co-director of the UI's Center of Reliable and High Performance Computing. The Emanuel R. Piore Award recognizes achievement in the field of information processing that contributes to the advancement of science and the betterment of society.
Brian Sala, professor of political science, and graduate student Jeffrey Jenkins have won the 1998 Pi Sigma Alpha Award for best paper from the Southern Political Science Association. Their paper, "The Spatial Theory of Voting and the Presidential Election of 1824," is an incisive analysis of a watershed political event and an example of how skillful application of contemporary political science theory and methodology can unravel mysteries of the past.
Peter Schaffer, professor of violin, performed in "The Millennium Concert of the Nations" at Lincoln Center in New York City in October. The entire 40-member violin section was composed solely of former and current concertmasters of major symphony orchestras. Schaffer was formerly concertmaster of the Denver, San Francisco and New Zealand orchestras, among others. The remaining musicians in the orchestra were principal players from major symphony orchestras in the United States and abroad.
Erwin Small, associate dean for alumni and public affairs and professor emeritus in the College of Veterinary Medicine, was honored for his distinguished contributions to the advancement of veterinary medical organizations at the 1998 Annual Convention of the American Veterinary Medical Association. The annual award presented to Small hails him as an ambassador of the veterinary medical profession and a significant contributor to the advancement of veterinary medicine organizations at state, local and national levels.
Njara C. Stout, management methods analyst in the Office of University Audits, has received the Certified Information Systems Auditor certification. Extensive knowledge in areas such as systems audit standards and practices, and information systems security and control practices; systems organization and management; systems process; systems integrity, confidentiality and availability; systems development, acquisition and maintenance are required to pass the examination for this certification.
Darryl W. Thompson, internal auditor in the Office of University Audits, has received the Certified Internal Auditor certification. Extensive knowledge in areas such as internal control, management control, information technology, financial accounting, tax and finance are required to pass the examination for this certification.
Renice Wernette, assistant publications editor and information designer for Administrative Information Systems and Services, received a Gold and Silver Award for Web page design from the University and College Designers Association. The pieces appeared in the 1998 UCDA Design Show in New Orleans in September, at the UCDA annual conference.
Frederick M. Wirt, professor of political science, has been awarded the Southern Political Science Association's 1997 V.O. Key Award for the best book on Southern Politics for his book, "We Ain't What We Were" (Duke University Press). The award recognizes outstanding contributions in the field of American politics with an emphasis or focus on the South.
Lois Wood, secretary in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences administration, was recently honored with the first Frontline Award from the National Agricultural Alumni and Development Association. The Frontline Award is given to a staff member who goes above the call of duty, devoting years of service and commitment to agriculture advancement.
Michael Charles, director of the UI Police Training Institute, and Lois Welling, an administrative aide at the PTI, were honored for their roles in developing and managing an exchange program between police agencies in the United States and Russia. Charles was appointed an honorary colonel in the Interior Troops of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and was awarded the Pin of Excellence in Service to the Militia of the Russian Federation. Maj. Gen. Valeri Morozov, commander of the Vladimir Juridical Institute (VJI), presented the awards in honor of Charles' exemplary service to the VJI during the past eight years. Welling received the VJI's Distinguished Service Medal for her work coordinating a 16-week exchange program for Russian officers.
The department of electrical and computer engineering honored Ravishankar Iyer, professor of electrical and computer engineering, as the George and Ann Fisher Distinguished Professor, and Peter W. Sauer, professor of electrical and computer engineering, as holder of the Grainger Chair in Electrical Engineering. Both Iyer and Sauer are the first to receive these awards. They were honored at a ceremony in October.
Members of the Urbana-Champaign Senate with perfect attendance for the 1997-98 academic year are Donald L. Uchtmann, professor of agricultural and consumer economics; James L. Robinson and Michael Grossman, professors of animal sciences; H. George Friedman and Geneva Belford, professors of computer science; Robert Fossum and Everett Dade, professors of mathematics; Richard Schacht and Wright Neely, professors of philosophy; R. Linn Belford, professor of chemistry; Al Kagan and Nancy O'Brien, professors of library administration; Terry Weech, professor of library and information science; and Gail Scherba, professor of veterinary pathobiology.
Dining Services was among the winners in the 25th annual Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards Contest sponsored by the National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS). Dining Services won third place in the "specialty restaurant or shop" category in the large-school division.
Open to all institutional members of NACUFS, the contest is a highly competitive and prestigious peer recognition program and was created to promote creativity and sound nutrition in the areas of food presentation, menu variety and merchandising.
The Operation and Maintenance Division received a Heritage Award from the Preservation and Conservation Association for restoring a fountain outside Kenney Gym. The UI 1909 Senior Memorial was originally designed by the architecture students from that class, but had become significantly weathered over the years.
Ann Scouffas has worked at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts for six years and is in her fourth year as audience education coordinator. Scouffas' primary job is organizing arts programs for area children.
What kind of programs do you put together for children?
A major part of my job is spent with the Krannert Center Youth Series. These are programs held during the day for schoolchildren in parochial, public and private schools. We have six to eight programs a year and try to have theater, dance and music. We host programs for kids in pre-K to high school.
How many students see the Youth Series programs?
We have between 18,000 and 20,000 students a year.
How do you prepare them for the program they'll be seeing?
We hope that the teachers work with the students prior to the performance. We send each student an activity guide, called Stage Page, that touches on aspects of the performance. And teachers receive a teachers' guide that has further activities that revolve around the performance.
Where do those materials come from?
We develop the materials with help from teachers in the area. It allows them to have some ownership in the program and they know what attracts kids. We also try to bring in things that relate to social issues, such as the plays "The Color of Justice" and "Buffalo Soldiers."
Is the Youth Series a popular program?
We receive around 400 orders each season. Some of these orders are for whole schools and some are for individual classes. We are able to place most of the orders (though not necessarily in their first choice). Some performances are very popular and we have a huge waiting list. For a recent performance by Kevin Locke and Reuben Fast Horse, Lakota Sioux from the Standing Rock Reservation in South Dakota, we had 6,500 students come through and we still had a waiting list. Locke and Fast Horse performed many of their culture's dances, songs and stories.
Are the students all Champaign and Urbana?
No, 75 to 100 schools in a 80-mile radius participate. About 55 percent of the schools participating are from outside Champaign-Urbana. The cost is $4.50 per ticket for the children, but we are working with local businesses such as Kraft to help subsidize the ticket costs for children who just can't afford these prices.
Do the students come in with preconceived notions about the program or are they pretty open-minded and excited?
Well, the middle-schoolers have attitude, but the elementary kids are different. They're excited. Many of them remember what they saw last year. It really does depend on the class. They're all usually hyped up. Any outing from school is fun. Our audience is a youth audience and they are really exceptional. A majority are respectful of the artist and the other audience members.
What other kinds of programming do you handle?
When we book performers for the Krannert Center Marquis Season, we pay additional for residency work. We take artists into the schools and the community, working with the Champaign Park District and sometimes the Urbana Park District to provide programming. We try to give classes and teachers as many opportunities as possible with the residency program.
Were you involved in the arts before coming to the Krannert Center?
I have a degree in history with a teaching certificate, but I ended up in marketing at Christie Clinic. I had the opportunity to come here and work in the marketing department as a community liaison. Then this position opened up and I took it. It seems my job has always involved children. Because the Krannert Center does become your 'life' when you work here, I'm here a lot. I enjoy coming to a variety of performances here and I learned I had a real liking for modern dance a surprise to me. I try to be well-rounded. I enjoy going to women's basketball games and I play tennis and softball. I also run off to the mountains every year and go camping with my brothers in California.
Bohlen worked in maintenance for the athletic department at the UI for more than 30 years. He was a member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5520.
Survivors include two sons, a daughter, a brother, two sisters, 20 grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society or the Provena Covenant Home Care Hospice in care of the hospital.
Fiock worked for 27 years as a self-employed rural milk hauler and for 22 years at the UI physical plant.
He is survived by his wife, Carol; two daughters; four grandchildren; and three sisters.
Memorial contributions may be made to University Place Christian Church, Champaign, or to the American Heart Association.
Heal was a professor emeritus of special education, of social work and of psychology at the UI. He specialized in the integration of individuals with disabilities into the community and quality of life issues for people with disabilities.
He was a member of the American Psychological Association and a life member and fellow of the Academy of Mental Retardation.
He received a bachelor's degree from Ripon College, Ripon, Wis., in 1955 and a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1964.
He served in the U.S. Army Reserve.
Survivors include his wife, Helen; five sons; two daughters; a stepson; a stepdaughter; 17 grandchildren; a brother; and a sister.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Laird W. Heal Fund/Friends of WILL at the UI Foundation, Harker Hall, MC-386.
Horsfall was a professor of medical entomology at the UI from 1947 to 1976.
His research centered around mosquitoes and mosquito-borne diseases and their control. He published five books and more than 140 papers and journals.
During World War II he served in the South Pacific as the commanding officer of the 17th Malaria Survey Unit.
He received degrees from the University of Arkansas, Kansas State University and Cornell University. Before coming to the UI, he was a teacher and researcher at Cornell University at Ithaca, N.Y., the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, and South Dakota State University at Brookings.
Surviving is his wife, Annie.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Clark-Lindsey Friendship Fund or the Outreach Program at Emmanuel Memorial Episcopal Church.
Lowrey attended San Marcos State University, San Marcos, Texas. She was a secretary in the department of advertising in the UI's College of Communications for many years.
Surviving are two sons, a daughter and three grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to the George A. Lowrey Jr. Memorial Scholarship Fund, in memory of her husband.
Moore was a professor of education at the UI from 1951 until he retired in 1976. He was a member of Delta Sigma Rho, National Honorary Debate Fraternity, National Council of Teachers of English, National Council of Research in English and charter member of the Carle Circle of Friends.
Moore received a bachelor's degree from Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., and received a master's and doctorate from Syracuse University.
Survivors include his wife, Ruth; a son; and a daughter.
Memorials may be made to Carle Hospital Foundation, Urbana.
Spahr joined the UI department of dairy science in 1964 after earning a bachelor's degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and master's and doctoral degrees from Pennsylvania State University. He helped turn the UI's dairy into a state-of-the-art electronic operation.
Spahr's research accomplishments included contributions to electronic animal identification, dairy automation, artificial intelligence, electronic mastitis detection, electronic estrus detection and animal waste management.
Survivors include his wife, Gladys; a son; a daughter; two stepdaughters; two brothers; a sister; and one grandchild.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Urbana Assembly of God Church.