University of Illinois at Springfield

University of Illinois at Springfield
Established	1970
Type	Public
Endowment	US$8.1 million
Chancellor	Susan J. Koch
President	Michael J. Hogan
Academic staff	325 full and part time faculty
Students	5,174
Undergraduates	3,197
Postgraduates	1,977
Location	Springfield, Illinois
Campus	Suburban
Colors	Blue and white
Athletics	11 teams in 6 sports - NCAA Division II - Great Lakes Valley Conference
Mascot	Prairie Stars
Website	UIS Website

The University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS) is a public university in Springfield, Illinois. The University was established in 1969 as Sangamon State University by the Illinois General Assembly and became a part of the University of Illinois system on July 1, 1995.

The University of Illinois at Springfield serves almost 5,000 students in 21 undergraduate programs, 20 master's programs, and a doctorate in Public Administration. The university was once one of the two upper-division and graduate universities in Illinois, but now accepts freshmen, transfer and graduate students.

History

In 1967, the Illinois General Assembly created a Board of Regents to operate Illinois State University and Northern Illinois University, as well as a third unnamed institution in Springfield. In 1969, Governor Richard Ogilvie signed into law a bill officially creating Sangamon State University. It originally operated as an "upper-division" university--that is, a university that offers only the last two years of undergraduate education, as well as graduate work. The first classes were held on September 28, 1970 at First Methodist Church. In October, SSU moved to its interim facility.

The school grew steadily over the years. Its first permanent building, Brookens Library, opened in 1976, and its first dorms opened in 1980.

In 1995, Governor Jim Edgar signed a bill which abolished the Board of Regents and merged SSU with the University of Illinois system. On July 1, SSU officially became the University of Illinois at Springfield. Naomi Lynn, the last president of SSU, became the first chancellor of UIS. In 2001, it admitted freshmen for the first time.

Academics

Rankings

UIS is classified in the US News and World Report rankings as a "Regional University", which is a school which provides " a full range of undergraduate programs . . . some master's level programs . . . [but] few, if any, doctoral programs." In the 2011 rankings, UIS ranks #4 amongst public Regional Universities in the Midwest Region. ("National Universities" within Illinois, such as UIUC, NIU, ISU, and SIUC, are not ranked against UIS and other Regional Universities.)

Online Degrees

The University of Illinois at Springfield has been offering online courses and degrees since 1999. The Sloan Consortium has recognized UIS with the 2007 award for Excellence in Institution-Wide Online Teaching and Learning and the 2008 Ralph E. Gomory Award for Quality Online Education. The Society for New Communications Research, in 2008, also recognized UIS with their Award for Excellence in Online Reputation Management.

Each year since 2001, the Sloan Consortium has offered one award for "Most Outstanding Achievement by an Individual in Online Learning" - the 2002 award was given to Professor Emeritus Ray Schroeder, the 2003 award was given to Visiting Research Professor Burks Oakley, and the 2006 award was given to the UIS James J. Stukel Distinguished Professor, Karen Swan.

Undergraduate Online Degrees

• Business Administration (B.B.A.)
• Computer Science (B.S.)
• Economics (B.A.)
• English (B.A.)
• Global Studies (B.A.)
• History (B.A.)
• Liberal Studies (B.A.)
• Mathematics (B.A., minor)
• Philosophy (B.A., minor)
• Women and Gender Studies (minor)

Graduate Online Degrees

• Computer Science (M.S.)
• Environmental Studies (M.A.)
• Human Services Administration (M.A.)
• Legal Studies (M.A.)
• Liberal and Integrative Studies (M.A.)
• Management Information Systems (M.S., minor)
• Public Administration (M.P.A.)
• Public Health (M.P.H.)
• Teacher Leadership (M.A.)

Certification Programs Online

• Mathematics, Teacher Education (Secondary)

Certificates Online

• Business Process Management (Graduate)
• Digital Organizations (Graduate)
• Environmental Risk Assessment (Graduate)
• Emergency Preparedness and Homeland Security (Graduate)
• IT Project Management (Graduate)
• Legal Aspects of Education (Graduate)
• Chief School Business Officer (Post Master's)

Campus Life & Organizations

The UIS Journal is the weekly student newspaper of the University. Its circulation is 2,000 per week.

Campus Buildings

Most buildings are given a three-letter acronym based on the name.

Upper Quad

• University Hall - UHB
• Public Affairs Center - PAC
• Brookens Library - BRK
• Health & Sciences Building - HSB

Lower Quad

• WUIS/WIPA Radio Station - WUIS
• Student Life Building - SLB
• Visual and Performing Arts Building - VPA
• Student Affairs Building - SAB
• Human Resources Building - HRB
• Cox Child Care Center

Elsewhere on Campus

• The Recreation and Athletic Center - TRAC

• Shepherd House
• Spencer House
• UIS Campus Police Dept.

Campus Housing

Approximately 950 students live in campus housing^{[citation needed]}. Campus apartment flats, townhouse apartments, and family housing clusters are named after native Illinois plants.

Residence Halls & Commons

• Lincoln Residence Hall - LRH
• Homer L. Butler Commons - HLB
• Founders Residence Hall - FRH

Apartment Flats

• Clover Court - CLV
• Bluebell Court - BBL
• Larkspur Court - LKR

Townhouse Apartments

• Pennyroyal Court - PRL
• Foxglove Court - FXG
• Marigold Court - MGR
• Trillium Court - TRL

Family Housing

• Sunflower Court - SFL

Athletics

UIS athletic teams are known as the Prairie Stars, the university competes in the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Valley Conference. The university joined the GLVC in October 2008 and became a full-fledged Division II member on Aug. 1, 2010.

Men's

• Baseball
• Basketball
• Golf
• Soccer
• Tennis

Women's

• Basketball
• Golf
• Soccer
• Softball
• Tennis
• Volleyball

Campus Streets

Most of the streets that lie within the campus are named after Illinois poets and novelists.

• Vachel Lindsay Drive
• Carl Sandburg Lane
• Eliza Farnham Drive
• Gwendolyn Brooks Drive
• Nelson Algren Lane
• William Maxwell Lane
• Richard Wright Drive
• University Drive
• University Plaza
• Shepherd Road

Notable alumni

• Vince Demuzio - Illinois state senator, 1975-2004 ('81 B.A. in Education and Human Services; '96, M.A. in Education and Public Policy)
• Karen A. Hasara - Former mayor of Springfield, Illinois, Illinois state senator, ('72 BA Psychology, '92 MA Legal Studies)
• Gordon S. Heddell - United States Department of Defense inspector general ('75 MA Legal Studies)
• Robert "Bobby" McFerrin Jr.- vocal performer and conductor (attended 1975-76, did not receive degree)
• Dana Perino - White House Press Secretary for the George W. Bush administration ('95, MA Public Affairs Reporting)
• Abdul Hakim-Shabazz - Conservative talk radio host and attorney, based in Indiana and Illinois
• Ward Churchill - former University of Colorado professor, social critic, activist ('74 BA Communications, '75 MA Communications)
• Timothy Davlin - Mayor of Springfield, Illinois (attended, did not graduate)
• Al Lewis - Columnist, Dow Jones Newswires

Notable faculty

• Phillip S. Paludan, professor of history - Abraham Lincoln and American Civil War scholar, Lincoln Prize recipient, and the Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair of Lincoln Studies (died August 1, 2007).
• Paul Simon, Founder/first director of UIS' Public Affairs Reporting Master's Program - United States senator, 1988 presidential candidate

External links

• Official website
• Admissions website - arrange campus visits
• Official athletics website
• UIS on Facebook
• Campus maps and tours
• The Journal: Weekly Student Newspaper of UIS
• Critical account of transition from Sangamon State University to UIS, written by two faculty members