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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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  • artist rendering of proposed DPI

    UIUC & DPI launch program to prepare more computer science teachers

    Apr 13, 2021 9:00 am

    The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) are launching a Teaching Endorsement in Computer Science (CSTed) that will prepare more teachers to instruct on the subject.

  • Illinois Commitment graphic

    Illinois Commitment will help in-state students from middle-income families

    Aug 27, 2018 9:00 am

    Through a combination of institutional, federal and state aid, including Pell Grants and Monetary Award Program grants, Illinois Commitment will provide financial awards to cover the tuition and campus fees at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for in-state students whose family income is less than $61,000, the current median family income in Illinois.

  • Engineering Hall from the North, including Boneyard Creek

    UIUC to co-lead $15M Great Lakes Innovation Hub

    Aug 27, 2021 2:00 pm

    In an effort to nurture a regional innovation ecosystem and move more discoveries from the research lab to the marketplace, the National Science Foundation has established a Great Lakes Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Hub. The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is co-leading the Hub, along with the University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota, and Purdue University.

  • A woman holding books, with the phrase "Prairie Promise" overlaid

    Prairie Promise to cover tuition and fees for first-time, first-year UIS undergrads

    Oct 4, 2023 2:45 pm

    The Prairie Promise will use a combination of MAP grant awards, UIS scholarships and awards and AIM HIGH grant funds to cover the cost of tuition and fees. To qualify, students must be eligible to receive MAP grant funding, which requires a demonstration of financial need.

  • Main Quad in Urbana-Champaign

    U of I at Urbana-Champaign honored for fundraising excellence

    Jun 13, 2019 10:30 am

    The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been named a recipient of the 2019 Educational Fundraising Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).

  • Rendering of future DPI

    Pritzker Foundation donates $10 million to DPI

    Dec 15, 2020 8:15 am

    The Pritzker Foundation announced today it is giving $10 million over the next five years to The Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) to support and develop promising and more diverse tech talent in Illinois. 

  • The U of I System delegation on the steps of the Illinois State Library

    Alumni, students, leaders unite for U of I System Day in the Capitol advocacy

    Apr 17, 2024 10:45 am

    University of Illinois System Day in the Capitol on Tuesday brought together system and university leaders, students, and alumni to advocate for the system’s priorities for and with the state.

  • The 21st logo, Interview with Killeen, headshot of Tim Killeen

    Listen to President Tim Killeen on WILL Radio's The 21st

    Apr 23, 2020 8:45 am

    University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen sat down with WILL Radio's The 21st show for a wide-ranging conversation on the timeline of the university system's COVID-19 response, finances, and what’s next for higher ed. 

  • University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen at podium in front of Altogether Extraordinary banner

    University of Illinois Foundation releases annual financial and endowment report

    Oct 14, 2022 1:00 pm

    The Fiscal Year 2022 new business figure tops $400 million for the fifth straight year with alumni contributing more $180 million to total.

  • 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. 

  • solar panels

    U of I System joins bid to create regional hydrogen hub to combat climate change

    Nov 3, 2022 2:45 pm

    The Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen (MachH2) announced today that it will submit an application to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a regional clean hydrogen production and distribution hub to be funded under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

  • future home of DPI

    Gov. Pritzker releases $142M in capital funding for DPI, IIN

    Nov 19, 2020 7:45 am

    Governor JB Pritzker announced today the release of more than $142 million to launch new facilities for the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI) and Illinois Innovation Network (IIN), created to accelerate job creation and economic growth through groundbreaking education, research and discovery. The funding is made possible by the bipartisan Rebuild Illinois Capital program, with state DPI investments matched dollar for dollar through university, private and philanthropic funding sources.

  • 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.

  • UIS campus and collonade

    Search underway for new UIS chancellor

    Dec 10, 2021 9:45 am

    The University of Illinois System is conducting a national search for the next permanent chancellor of the University of Illinois Springfield. The chancellor also serves as a vice president of the U of I System.

  • books

    U of I assessment calls for nearly 450 new tenure-system faculty

    Mar 14, 2019 2:00 pm

    Nearly 450 new tenure-system faculty are needed across the University of Illinois System over the next five years to ensure academic quality keeps pace with enrollment that has swelled to record highs for six straight years, a new assessment shows.

  • close up of covid test processing in lab

    IDPH announces $225M investment to expand COVID-19 testing in middle and high schools

    May 12, 2021 1:15 pm

    In an effort to ensure in-person learning can fully resume as quickly and safely as possible, the Illinois Department of Public Health today announced a $225 million investment to expand access to covidSHIELD saliva-based testing, developed by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, to middle and high schools across the state at low or no cost. 

  • RIsing to the Challenge, a podcast, with university iconic images

    Podcast Episode #4: Tech It or Leave It

    Nov 2, 2020 3:15 pm

    The fourth episode of the "Rising to the Challenge" podcast series discusses the technology behind COVID-19 mitigation, featuring the UIUC Vet Med lab, modeler Nigel Goldenfeld, Grainger College of Engineering Dean Rashid Bashir, and UIS's Brian Rives who has been transporting samples to and from Springfield.

  • State Capitol

    Illinois Legislature Approves State Budget

    May 31, 2018 11:45 am

    We are very pleased to share the news that the University of Illinois System will receive increased funding for operations and its first state capital funding in nine years under a fiscal year 2019 budget approved today by Illinois legislators and sent to the governor. 

  • UIS campus and collonade

    UIS creates three new schools, adds degrees and minors

    Oct 12, 2021 1:45 pm

    The University of Illinois Springfield has created three new schools to better serve students and meet the needs of our Capital Region community, including the addition of new degrees and minors that are now open for enrollment. 

  • woman carrying samples in lab

    Wall Street Journal: COVID-19 testing could be a viable long-term business bet

    Jun 7, 2021 8:15 am

    The University of Illinois System, SHIELD Illinois and Shield T3 are featured in a Wall Street Journal Story about how COVID-19 testing could remain a key component for resuming normal life in the U.S.

  • Illini Union and quad

    Top producer of Forbes '30 under 30' honorees

    Dec 6, 2019 11:00 am

    The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of only two public universities on the Top 10 list of colleges that have produced the most Forbes '30 under 30' honorees this year.

  • UIC Engineering Innovation Building

    UIC opens new Engineering Innovation Building

    Jul 22, 2019 11:15 am

    The University of Illinois at Chicago’s new 57,500-square-foot Engineering Innovation Building will add depth and breadth to the university’s expanding engineering footprint. The building will house engineers investigating phenomena on a scale from the very large — bridge and highway components — to the exceedingly small, such as nanoscale components that will drive the next generation of thermal batteries.

  • DPI and IIN Information and Discussion Forum meetings

    Aug 1, 2018 2:15 pm

    Discussion Forums wlll be held in late August at each university to provide information for faculty and staff about the Discovery Partners Institute and the Illnois Innovation Network, two key parts of the University of Illinois System's research and innovation agenda. 

  • A person's hand with tongs weighing cannabis buds

    DPI, Chicago, state partnership launches Cannabis Research Institute

    Dec 15, 2022 10:45 am

    The Cannabis Research Institute is a joint effort by the state and City of Chicago housed within Discovery Partners Institute, which is part of the University of Illinois System, to provide a robust body of research and data to advance public knowledge on scientific and socio-economic impacts of cannabis usage and production.

  • CDC image of virus up close

    COVID-19 news and research

    Mar 13, 2020 1:45 pm

    (Originally posted March 5). The University of Illinois System has established a COVID-19 Planning and Response Team to help coordinate the system’s response to and communication about the virus, and our three universities are monitoring their campuses and working with their local community agencies. COVID-19 related websites, communications, policies, and other resources can be found on this page.

  • graphic depicting linked hardware for storing and processing quantum information

    Midwest collaboration awarded $25M quantum information institute

    Jul 21, 2020 11:45 am

    The Grainger College of Engineering’s Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology Center (IQUIST) will launch a National Science Foundation Quantum Leap Challenge Institute for Hybrid Quantum Architectures and Networks (HQAN). 

  • gloved hand and test tubes in lab

    Illinois K-12 public schools can access free SHIELD Illinois COVID-19 testing

    Aug 5, 2021 12:30 pm

    The llinois Department of Public Health announced that it has expanded access to free COVID-19 testing to al K-12 public schools across Illinois outside of Chicago, which received its own funding.

    Schools can choose to utilize the SHIELD Illinois saliva-based test developed by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

  • Associate Dean Harley Johnson, Professor Abigail Wooldridge and Chancellor Jones outside the mobileSHIELD unit

    New mobile COVID-19 lab prototype completed

    Nov 6, 2020 12:15 pm

    The Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has completed the prototype for a mobile laboratory, called mobileSHIELD, designed to demonstrate a way to rapidly deploy I-COVID, the saliva-based test for COVID-19 developed at Illinois. The U of I System's Shield T3 is currently identifying practical applications for the project.

  • Rendering of the UI Health Outpatient Surgery Center and Specialty Clinics

    UIC breaks ground on new clinical building

    Aug 12, 2020 1:30 pm

    The new 200,000-square-foot Outpatient Surgery Center and Specialty Clinics building will provide expanded space for the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System, or UI Health, to serve patients needing GI, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, transplant and urology services. 

  • three campuses

    Fall 2022 welcome

    Aug 25, 2022 1:30 pm

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

  • UIUC and UIC campuses in snow

    UIUC & UIC named No. 2 & No. 6 public schools in Midwest

    Feb 15, 2021 1:00 pm

    Both University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (#2) and University of Illinois Chicago (#6) are among the top public colleges in the Midwest according to the latest Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education College Rankings.

  • Illini at graduation

    Illini Success report shows graduates succeeding in jobs, salaries

    Mar 5, 2020 3:00 pm

    Recent graduates from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found jobs, enrolled in graduate school or began a volunteer program at record rates, according to the 2018-19 Illini Success annual report released today.

  • report cover with blue/orange/pink image of nurse drawing vaccine from vial close up

    2021 annual report highlights initiatives from across the U of I System

    Jul 6, 2021 9:00 am

    The University of Illinois System 2021 Annual Report: Empowering Extraordinary highlights our response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other recent initiatives, accomplishments, and innovations from across the system.

  • blue waters graphic

    NCSA helps NGA create the world's most powerful geospatial system

    Aug 2, 2019 3:00 pm

    The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has announced a new collaboration between the Blue Waters Project, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the University of Minnesota and The Ohio State University to produce digital elevation models (DEM) of the entire Earth, among other geospatial research projects.

  • President Tim Killeen headshot

    President Killeen welcomes all to spring semester

    Jan 29, 2021 10:00 am

    In a massmail to students, faculty, and staff, University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen welcomed everyone back for the spring 2021 semester.

  • Alma Mater, Chicago Skyline, Lincoln bust - university logos

    Gift Days program for employees extended to fifth year

    May 8, 2020 11:00 am

    U of I System leadership have announced that a program providing additional paid days off for employees during the December/January holidays has been extended to a fifth straight year.

  • William Sanders headshot

    Sanders named interim director of DPI

    Aug 24, 2018 9:00 am

    William H. Sanders, an award-winning educator and researcher who heads nationally ranked engineering programs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been named interim director of the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI), a new world-class innovation center led by the U of I System, President Tim Killeen announced today.

  • 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.

  • Cover of Empowering Extraordinary annual report with young woman arms raised in celebration

    2022 report highlights system initiatives in new, interactive format

    Oct 6, 2022 1:15 pm

    U of I System President Tim Killeen: I invite you to read just some of the many stories from all across the U of I System that show how we are laying the foundation upon which we can build a better future for all of Illinois.

  • University of Illinois System leaders get their photo taken at the port of Cairo, with hands aiming cell phone in foreground

    Partnering with Purpose: Enhancing lives and spurring economic development

    Nov 17, 2022 4:00 pm

    U of I System President Tim Killeen’s annual state tour focuses on learning, listening and looking for opportunities to understand challenges and partner on solutions. Robust conversations among legislators, business and community leaders, alumni and other essential connections lead to the next steps that propel our state forward.

     

  • administrators in masks cut red ribbon in surgical center

    UIC opens $8.8 million Surgical Innovation & Training Laboratory

    Sep 21, 2020 9:45 am

    Operating robotic scissors, University of Illinois Chicago Chancellor Michael Amiridis snipped a ribbon to officially open the University of Illinois College of Medicine Surgical Innovation & Training Laboratory, on Sept. 15. 

  • U of I System President Tim Killeen and First Lady Roberta Johnson Killeen at their home

    Happy holidays from the Killeens, students around the system

    Dec 7, 2022 10:15 am

    U of I System President Tim Killeen said it best. “However you celebrate, we wish you the warmth of family and friends, and the joyful hope each new year brings.”

  • Rich and Leslie Frank at their vineyard

    $7.5M gift establishes Richard and Leslie Frank Center for Leadership and Innovation in Media

    Oct 12, 2020 10:00 am

    The College of Media at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has announced that its students will benefit from a suite of enhanced professional experiences, thanks to a $7.5 million gift by Rich and Leslie Frank of St. Helena, California. The gift, the largest in the College’s history, will establish the Richard and Leslie Frank Center for Leadership and Innovation in Media.

  • Alma Mater, Chicago Skyline, Lincoln bust - university logos

    Welcoming campuses

    Mar 23, 2021 12:00 pm

    University of Illinois System leadership issued a massmail today to students, faculty and staff reaffirming a commitment to providing a welcoming environment for all.

  • female researcher performing testing in lab

    University of Illinois validates saliva-based test

    Aug 19, 2020 3:00 pm

    The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is now performing its new rapid, saliva-based COVID-19 test on all students, faculty and staff. The university validated its laboratory-developed test under CLIA by successfully comparing its performance to an FDA Emergency Use Authorized test.

  • RIsing to the Challenge, a podcast, with university iconic images

    Podcast Episode #3: Stressed to the Nines

    Oct 6, 2020 3:00 pm

    The third episode of the "Rising to the Challenge" podcast series discusses COVID-19 stress, featuring an emergency room physician at UIC and a social work professor from Urbana-Champaign.

  • RIsing to the Challenge, a podcast, with university iconic images

    Podcast Episode #6: Goodbye 2020!

    Dec 11, 2020 10:15 am

    Host Gwen Macsai visits with a computer science professor who impersonated Yoda, Elton John and Princess Leia (among others) when she spiced up her Zoom classes by dressing in costume. This last episode of the Rising to the Challenge series also features the story of two University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign students who 3D printed over 750 masks to distribute to people with disabilities. We’ll check in to see how the pandemic has affected the finances of the state of Illinois and last but hardly least, we have a rousing visit with the director of the UIUC marching band that can neither march nor band. So what do the Marching Illini do? Stay tuned to find out.

  • Trustees to consider freezing undergraduate tuition rates for 2021

    Jan 20, 2021 3:30 pm

    The University of Illinois Board of Trustees on Wednesday received a recommendation from U of I System leadership that would freeze tuition for incoming in-state freshmen and non-resident undergraduates for the 2021-22 academic year.

  • U of I seal on bronze

    Winter 2022 COVID precaution reminder

    Dec 21, 2022 8:45 am

    University of Illinois System leadership issued a message to students, faculty and staff today asking for health and safety vigilance over the holidays.

  • Siebel model

    U of I trustees advance capital projects

    May 17, 2018 12:15 pm

    The University of Illinois Board of Trustees on Thursday helped pave the way for nearly a dozen construction projects that will ultimately total more than a quarter of a billion dollars for new or renovated classroom, research and residential facilities.

    Trustees advanced 10 projects at the U of I System’s universities in Urbana-Champaign and Chicago that will total more than $263 million when completed and will all be financed without state-appropriated capital funding.