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University of Illinois System News
Read the latest University of Illinois System news from the Office of External Relations and Communications.
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  • UIC campus and Michael Amiridis

    UIC Chancellor Amiridis named president of the University of South Carolina

    Jan 14, 2022 4:15 pm

    University of Illinois Chicago Chancellor Michael Amiridis has been named the next president of the University of South Carolina, effective July 1.

  • Downtown Chicago

    SHIELD Illinois launches free testing site at DePaul's Loop Campus

    Jan 18, 2022 8:15 am

    SHIELD Illinois, the University of Illinois System’s in-state, non-profit COVID-testing unit, is partnering with DePaul University and the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) to launch a free community testing site at DePaul’s Loop Campus.

  • U of I seal

    Trustees set tuition rates for 2022-23 academic year

    Jan 20, 2022 8:00 am

    The University of Illinois Board of Trustees on Thursday approved modest tuition increases for in-state freshmen starting school next fall, only the second tuition increase in the past eight years.

  • Illinois Innovation Network awards seed grants to 4 new projects

    Jan 21, 2022 1:00 pm

    The Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) last week awarded $120,000 in seed grants to four research teams in its fourth round of funding. Selected projects include a new approach to improving community resilience against floods, growing the computational thinking and coding workforce in southeast Illinois, investigating the viability of geopolymer concrete as a sustainable construction material, and examining how Illinois can develop a sustainable and inclusive supply chain for the electric vehicle industry.

  • campuses of UIUC, UIC, and UIS

    U of I System's three universities among nation's best in online programs

    Jan 26, 2022 2:15 pm

    Online programs at all three universities in the University of Illinois System are among the nation's best, according to the 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Online Programs rankings.

  • Rendering of future DPI district

    Shield T3 & DPI announce commercialization of COVID-19 wastewater monitoring

    Feb 1, 2022 8:00 am

    Shield T3 and the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) today announced a new service to state and local governments outside of Illinois: Testing COVID-19 and its variants in sewage.

  • state capitol building

    Budget proposal would provide needed investment in U of I System, students

    Feb 2, 2022 3:45 pm

    Under the fiscal year 2023 budget proposed today by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the state appropriation for the University of Illinois System would increase by $28 million over the current fiscal year. Additional one-time funding proposed by the governor would increase current-year funds by another $28 million. 

  • UIC buildings

    UIC doctors develop app to detect perinatal depression in mothers of color

    Feb 21, 2022 4:00 pm

    An innovative app combines cutting edge technology, enhanced mental health outreach efforts and new opportunities to identify blood biomarkers for depression in an effort to help mothers of color from low-income communities identify, manage and treat perinatal depression at no cost.

  • Roger Ebert gives thumbs up

    UIUC College of Media announces Center for Film Studies

    Feb 21, 2022 4:15 pm

    Thanks to gifts totaling more than $5 million from donors, the College of Media at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will launch the Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies this year, with programming to begin in Fall 2022. 

  • Chicago skyline with UIC campus in foreground

    UIC named top school in the Midwest for diversity, No. 6 in U.S.

    Feb 24, 2022 12:30 pm

    The University of Illinois at Chicago ranks highest in the Midwest for the diversity of its students and faculty in the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings. 

  • Close up of test tubes in lab

    Inside the massive SHIELD Illinois testing operation

    Mar 2, 2022 10:15 am

    WTTW visited a school SHIELD Illinois testing site and one of the SHIELD Illinois labs recently to take a look inside the University of Illinois System's massive COVID-19 testing operation.

  • U of I seal on iron gate

    Support for our students, faculty and staff

    Mar 3, 2022 10:45 am

    University of Illinois System leadership issued a massmail to students, faculty and staff today regarding the invasion of Ukraine.

  • U of I seal

    Trustees introduced to Access 2030 initiative

    Mar 17, 2022 11:30 am

    Plans for the University of Illinois System’s new Access 2030 initiative to increase the number of graduates from ethnic and racial minorities were introduced to the Board of Trustees at its regular meeting on Thursday.

  • Janet L. Gooch

    Janet L. Gooch named chancellor of University of Illinois Springfield

    Mar 22, 2022 11:00 am

    Janet L. Gooch, the executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at Truman State University, an accomplished higher education leader and educator, has been named chancellor of the University of Illinois Springfield and vice president for the University of Illinois System, pending formal approval by the Board of Trustees at its May 19 meeting.

  • UIC ARC building

    UIC chancellor search committee

    Apr 4, 2022 4:00 pm

    Dean Karen Colley has agreed to chair the committee that will advise Interim Executive Vice President Avijit Ghosh and President Tim Killeen in the search for the next chancellor of the University of Illinois Chicago.

  • Female speaking at podium in front of law class

    UIS partners with UIC Law to help students earn degree faster

    Apr 6, 2022 12:00 pm

    University of Illinois Springfield undergraduate students now have the opportunity to earn both their bachelor’s degree and a law degree in six years (compared to the typical seven years) thanks to a new agreement with the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law.

  • radio facilities at U of I circa 1925

    WILL celebrates 100 years in broadcasting

    Apr 8, 2022 12:15 pm

    One hundred years ago, on the evening of Thursday, April 6, 1922, the University of Illinois’ radio station went on the air for its first broadcast. WRM, the service that would become WILL Radio, was cutting-edge technology in 1922. 

  • Illinois Capitol building

    State budget provides increase in U of I System appropriation

    Apr 12, 2022 4:15 pm

    The new state budget passed by the Illinois General Assembly and expected to be signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker will provide $655.2 million in general operating funds to the University of Illinois System for the coming fiscal year, as well as a $122 million increase for the Monetary Award Program (MAP), the state’s primary student financial aid program.

  • posed group photo at the Research Park

    NSF visits Urbana to announce two awards totaling more than $40 million

    Apr 25, 2022 12:00 pm

    The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign highlights a recent visit from the director of the National Science Foundation, and shares how federally funded research at our nation’s universities creates new companies, industries, opportunities, and jobs—and the tech-savvy, educated workforce needed to fill them. 

  • silver seal of the university

    U of I System President Tim Killeen tests positive for COVID-19

    Apr 26, 2022 10:15 am

    University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19 on Saturday and, following guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is isolating at home in the President’s House at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

  • Provost Javier Reyes poses on campus

    UIC Provost Javier Reyes will serve as interim chancellor

    Apr 29, 2022 11:00 am

    University of Illinois Chicago Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Javier Reyes will serve as interim chancellor of the university upon the departure of Chancellor Michael Amiridis, University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen said today.

  • Chicago skyline

    SHIELD Illinois opens two free COVID testing sites in Chicago

    May 17, 2022 3:00 pm

    SHIELD Illinois is opening two additional free community testing sites in Chicago this month, bringing its total number of locations statewide to 45. The sites will be located at Northeastern Illinois University’s locations in the Bronzeville and El Centro neighborhoods. These newly opened community sites increase access to COVID testing in underserved communities. 

  • U of I seal

    U of I trustees appoint new chancellor at UIS

    May 19, 2022 11:00 am

    The University of Illinois Board of Trustees on Thursday appointed Janet. L. Gooch as the next chancellor of the University of Illinois Springfield. Trustees also appointed University of Illinois Chicago Provost Javier Reyes as interim chancellor while a search is conducted to replace Chancellor Michael Amiridis.

  • The U of I System generates $19 billion a year for the state's economy

    U of I System impact: $19 billion annually on Illinois economy

    May 19, 2022 12:15 pm

    The University of Illinois System generates $19 billion a year for the state’s economy and supports more than 164,000 jobs, one of every 46 jobs in the state, according to the preliminary findings of a new study revealed Thursday by U of I System President Tim Killeen.

  • aerial rendering of future DPI campus

    DPI aims to diversify Chicago's tech sector

    Jun 7, 2022 10:00 am

    The U of I System-led Discovery Partners Institute's Pritzker Tech Talent Labs are a resource to help increase the diverse supply of tech talent for Chicago-area businesses. DPI Director Bill Jackson writes about why it is so important in an OpEd in Crain's Chicago Business.

  • students walking on three campuses

    U of I System universities formalize partnerships with Hope Chicago

    Jun 7, 2022 10:15 am

    University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois Chicago, and University of Illinois Springfield are among the 23 institutions that have formalized partnerships with Hope Chicago, the innovative two-generation scholarship program providing college and vocational scholarships to Chicago Public School students and their parents.

  • masked women in lab processing test

    SHIELD program a model for effective pandemic management, data show

    Jun 9, 2022 8:15 am

    A new paper in the journal Nature Communications details the innovations in modeling, saliva testing and results reporting of the SHIELD program that helped mitigate the spread of the virus at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the surrounding community.

    SHIELD has been deployed in schools and communities across the state through the U of I System's SHIELD Illinois unit, and around the world through the university-related organization Shield T3.

  • child kneeling on gym floor spitting into tube

    IDPH to offer free covidSHIELD tests for public schools for 2022-23 school year

    Jun 14, 2022 2:30 pm

    The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today announced a renewed agreement with SHIELD Illinois that offers every public school outside of Chicago the opportunity to use the University of Illinois System’s innovative, saliva-based COVID-19 testing platform at no cost for the 2022-23 school year. 

  • aerial rendering of future DPI campus

    DPI’s IWERC awarded funding to expand research on Illinois education issues

    Jun 16, 2022 11:15 am

    The Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative (IWERC) at the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) has been awarded a total of $275,000 in funding from three organizations — CME Group Foundation, Joyce Foundation, and Crown Family Philanthropies —  that will expand IWERC’s research on Illinois education issues.

  • IIN logo

    IIN awards seed grants to 8 new projects

    Jun 16, 2022 12:00 pm

    The Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) on Thursday awarded nearly $240,000 in seed grants to eight research teams focused on projects that include using renewable technologies to design equitable STEM education programs, making construction materials from wastes and industrial byproducts, developing a game-like energy career exploration platform, and creating high-performance computing simulation tools for additive manufacturing.

  • New U of I Trustee Joseph Gutman

    Governor appoints Gutman to U of I Board of Trustees

    Jun 27, 2022 12:15 pm

    Retired financial executive Joseph D. Gutman has been appointed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. Gutman will fill the seat being vacated by Ricardo Estrada and, pending confirmation by the Illinois Senate, serve a term that runs through 2025.

  • Discovery Partners Institute building

    Discovery Partners Institute, UIC CHANCE expand Digital Scholars

    Jul 5, 2022 11:00 am

    The Discovery Partners Institute and University of Illinois Chicago (UIC’s) CHANCE program, in partnership with University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, today announced the expansion of its Digital Scholars Program to support and develop promising and diverse tech talent in Illinois.

    Digital Scholars, now in its third year, is an intensive, free, five-week summer program for high school students and incoming UIC freshmen.

  • Man at work on a laptop with headphones on

    U of I System ends debt-related transcript holds

    Jul 7, 2022 11:45 am

    University of Illinois System universities have ended the practice of restricting access to transcripts for students with past-due balances.

    The old policy was a barrier for students as they sought transcripts to get jobs, transfer to other educational institutions or pursue advanced degrees. Withholding transcripts, he said, also disproportionately affected students from lower-income backgrounds.

  • building in downtown Springfield

    Trustees approve purchase of new UIS Innovation Center home

    Jul 21, 2022 11:00 am

    The University of Illinois Board of Trustees on Thursday approved the purchase of a property in downtown Springfield that will become the new University of Illinois Springfield Innovation Center.

  • COVID-19 update and colorized seal of the university

    Fall 2022 COVID guidelines

    Jul 26, 2022 10:15 am

    President Tim Killeen sent a massmail today to students, faculty and staff across the University of Illinois System about Fall 2022 COVID guidelines.

  • Stich Me Apparel owner Brenda Nelson portrait

    Real Impact: New program boosts business for diverse companies

    Aug 9, 2022 12:45 pm

    Beginning in September, Stitch Me Apparel owner Brenda Nelson will be part of the first cohort of the Diverse Supplier Development Program.

  • Sylvia Puente headshot

    Governor appoints Puente to U of I Board of Trustees

    Aug 9, 2022 3:30 pm

    Longtime public policy leader Sylvia Puente has been appointed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

  • Eli and Linsday Cook and their dog Colby Jack at their Springfield home

    Real Impact: UIS alum stays to help fuel employment pipeline

    Aug 10, 2022 3:45 pm

    Coming full circle, 2017 University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) graduate and Northwestern Mutual financial advisor Eli Cook now recruits and trains the next generation of interns.

  • Lura Buckley, University of Chicago and One Million Degrees graduate

    Real Impact: Giving back tops driven alum’s list of successes

    Aug 11, 2022 1:00 am

    University of Illinois System alumni contribute to the economy and to society by working as well as volunteering, mentoring and supporting others. Their public university education instilled in them the desire to give back.

  • We Hear You CEO and COO

    Real Impact: Start-up shows what happens with the right support

    Aug 11, 2022 2:00 pm

    Through collaboration-centered innovation, start-up and spin-off companies related to the University of Illinois System generated $838 million in added income for the state economy in fiscal year 2021.

  • U of I System Leadership Tour 2022 graphic

    Killeen, chancellors plan statewide tour to focus on partnerships

    Aug 11, 2022 3:30 pm

    President Tim Killeen, chancellors from University of Illinois System universities and other system leaders on Tuesday will begin a statewide tour to explore new ways the system can work with partners around the state to meet key challenges and opportunities facing the citizens of Illinois, and to highlight areas where cooperative efforts are already paying off.

     

  • Chicago skyline

    Chicago awarded $18.5M in federal funds to create new jobs in the region

    Aug 17, 2022 2:15 pm

    The Discovery Partners Institute and P33 will spearhead tech-specific workforce development programs in support of an $18.5 million federal Good Jobs Challenge award announced earlier this month.

  • five men pose with awards in front of IIN banner

    Illinois Innovation Network honors innovators from across state

    Aug 17, 2022 3:00 pm

    The Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) announced recipients of its second-annual innovation awards Wednesday at the Illinois State Fair’s Tech Prairie STEAM Expo, recognizing individuals from the IIN’s 15 hubs who have made key advances in research, technology commercialization and education.

  • three campuses

    Fall 2022 welcome

    Aug 25, 2022 1:30 pm

    President Killeen welcomes students to campus for the Fall 2022 semester.

  • woman with doll in baby carrier talking to another woman

    U of I System launches Diverse Supplier Development Program

    Sep 2, 2022 11:00 am

    The University of Illinois System on Friday launched its new Diverse Supplier Development Program, welcoming the inaugural cohort of 25 firms from across the state. The program was created to help business owners from diverse backgrounds grow their companies and increase options for serving as public-sector vendors.

  • 94,800 students strong

    Sustained growth sees U of I System reach record 94,800 students

    Sep 7, 2022 11:00 am

    Enrollment across the University of Illinois System reached a record high this fall of more than 94,800 students, driven by managed growth after five years of robust expansion, President Tim Killeen announced today.

  • Three panels with a new graduate in cap and gown from each University of Illinois university in each

    U.S. News & World Report ranks U of I System universities high

    Sep 12, 2022 3:00 pm

    All three University of Illinois System universities again ranked high among public institutions and universities nationwide in the 2022-23 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings.

  • Chicago skyline

    DPI shares in $7.5M award from NSF to improve science gateways

    Sep 13, 2022 10:45 am

    The Discovery Partners Institute is among the recipients of a $7.5 million CyberInfrastructure Center of Excellence Award from the National Science Foundation. The funding will support a five-year project to improve science gateways. 

  • rendering of new DPI facility in downtown Chicago

    DPI receives $1.5M grant for clean transportation research partnership

    Sep 15, 2022 12:45 pm

    A multi-institutional and multidisciplinary team led by the Discovery Partners Institute has been awarded a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation PIRE program to reduce pollution in South Asian cities and accelerate a transition to clean transportation.

  • U of I seal on iron gate

    Trustees approve $7.65 billion budget for current year

    Sep 22, 2022 12:15 pm

    The University of Illinois System Board of Trustees on Thursday approved a $7.65 billion operating budget for the current academic year that prioritizes the commitment to student affordability and access.

    The new budget provides a second consecutive year of increased financial support for the three system universities and is 6.5 percent larger than last year’s $7.18 billion operating budget.