Campus news: spring cleaning

Spring cleaning

Recycle personally owned electronics during a collection event April 2. Items will be recycled from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the West Concourse, Student Center East.

The recycling event is sponsored by Zeta Psi, the Academic Computing and Communications Center and the Office of Sustainability.

 

Journey to Capitol Hill

U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez will visit UIC to read from his memoir April 7.

Gutierrez is the author of Still Dreaming: My Journey from the Barrio to Capitol Hill. He will read from his book and sign copies at 3:30 p.m. in the East Terrace, Student Center East.

The event is sponsored by the Union for Puerto Rican Students, in partnership with the Chancellor’s Lecture and Event Series. It is part of the Union for Puerto Rican Students’ 20th anniversary Pa’Lante Conference. For more information, email uprsatuic@gmail.com

 

Comedic struggles

Scott Dikkers, a founding editor of The Onion, discusses his early struggles in the comedy business during an April 11 talk. His presentation “Leadership and Creative Risk” takes place from 11 a.m. to noon in 302 Student Center East.

The event, part of the Chancellor’s Lecture and Event Series, is sponsored by the Office of Student Development Services, Campus Housing, Campus Programs, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Honors College, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs, Department of English, College of Business Administration Undergraduate Programs, Office of Career Services and HON 401 Honors Leadership Seminar.

For more information, call 312-413-2260.

 

World Health Day

UIC will host two events next month for World Health Day:

• April 2: Fifth Annual World Health Day presentation, sponsored by the Center for Global Health. Speakers include Eli Adashi, former dean of medicine and biological sciences, Brown University, and John Wulu Jr., chief statistician, Department of Homeland Security. The event begins at noon in the Moss Auditorium, College of Medicine Research Building. Lunch will be served.

• April 7: The School of Public Health will host a screening of “Girl Rising,” a film that spotlights the stories of nine girls in the developing world who overcome the odds to achieve their dreams.

The screening starts at 11:30 a.m. and a panel discussion begins at noon in the School of Public Health auditorium. Panelists include Deniece Fields, executive director of Young Women’s Leadership Charter School of Chicago, Niamh King, vice president for programs, Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and K. Sujata, president/CEO, Chicago Foundation for Women.

Lunch will be served at 11:15 a.m.

The event is sponsored by the School of Public Health Global Health Initiative and the Maternal and Child Health Program.

RSVP by April 3.

 

Digital accessibility

A lecture April 4 highlights the importance of complying with digital accessibility measures.

“Campus IT Accessibility: What Do Campuses Need to Comply?” takes place from 10 a.m. to noon, 1-470 Daley Library. The lecture will also be available on Blackboard Collaborate.

Jonathan Lazar, professor of computer and information sciences and director of undergraduate programs in information systems, Towson University, will speak.

The Digital Accessibility Lecture is sponsored by the UIC Disability Resource Center and the Chancellor’s Committee on the Status of Persons with Disabilities. For more information, email pricek@uic.edu

 

IT collaborations

The IT Pro Forum, set for April 23, highlights collaborative IT efforts across campus.

“Partnering with Your Peers: Reach for the SummIT” is scheduled from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the UIC Forum. Registration is due by 5 p.m. April 8.

 

Sustainability strategic thinking

Students and employees are invited to stakeholder focus group meetings to discuss issues related to sustainability at UIC.

The meetings are part of the Sustainability Strategic Thinking Process, launched in 2012.

• Community engagement, 1 to 2:30 p.m. Monday, 603 Student Center East
• Campus climate, 3 to 4:30 p.m. Monday, 603 Student Center East.

RSVP to dfullar2@uic.edu

 

Global grants

Letters of intent are due April 1 for a grant program to foster new transdisciplinary and mixed/multiple methods research in global health.

The grant program, open to full-time tenure and nontenure-track faculty, is sponsored by the UIC Global Excellence Task Force and College of Medicine’s Center for Global Health.

Applications must include a minimum of two colleges from the east and west sides of campus. Each awards will be a base maximum of $15,000 for one year; an additional $5,000 will be awarded if matched by the researchers’ colleges, departments or centers.

Applications are due May 1.

 

Thinking about retirement?

UIC will host a free retirement planning conference April 26.

The event, held in Student Center East, includes information on steps to complete before retirement, preparing for retirement, protecting benefits, financial planning and more.

Presentations run from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Registration is required.

 

Electronic security fellowship

Applications are due May 1 for fellowships for doctoral candidates in electronic security and privacy.

The UIC IGERT Program in Electronic Security and Privacy provides its fellows with $30,000 a year for two years, plus full tuition and fees.

 

Funding for inventions

UIC faculty inventors can apply for funding for their projects from the Chancellor’s Innovation Fund Proof of Concept Awards Program.

The program provides up to $75,000 for further development of UIC intellectual property that has been disclosed to the UIC Office of Technology Management.

Pre-proposal applications are due to the Office of Technology Management by 5 p.m. April 3.

 

Departmental honors

Applications are due April 11 for the 2014 Departmental Teaching Excellence Award.

The award recognizes group excellence and teaching. One award of $20,000 will be given to an academic unit that demonstrates outstanding collective commitment and performance in teaching.

The award is sponsored by the Council for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. For more information, email kfranc@uic.edu

 

Metro strategies

Through its Real Time Chicago lecture series, the Great Cities Institute urges metro Chicago residents to think regionally.

All discussions are free and open to the public. Unless otherwise noted, lectures are at 2 p.m. at the Great Cities Institute, Suite 400, College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs.

Upcoming talks include:

• April 4: “Confronting Homelessness in the Suburbs”
• April 18: “I-90 Expansion Project”
• May 7: “Regional Economic Development Roundtable.”

 

Promotion, tenure

The Office of Faculty Affairs will host the Promotion and Tenure Seminar series this spring.

The seminars are focused on pre-tenure faculty, but open to all members of the UIC community. They will explain the review process, policies and other professional development information.

Seminars include:

• “Junior Faculty,” 1 to 2:30 p.m. April 11, 603 Student Center East
• “Promotion and Tenure Seminar for Underrepresented Faculty,” 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. April 18, 603 Student Center East
• “Promotion and Tenure Seminar for Post Mid-Probation Pre-Tenure Faculty,” noon to 1 p.m. May 2, 401 University Hall.

For more information, email fabid2@uic.edu or call 312-996-2706.

 

Savings plan

Save money and earn prizes through the University of Illinois Saves Competition.

Students and employees can set savings goals and monitor them through the competition, sponsored by the Student Money Management Center and University of Illinois Extension offices. The contest runs through April 10.

The campus with the highest percentage of students and employees who set savings goals will be named the winning campus. Participants from the winning campus will be entered into a drawing for prizes.

 

Humanities grants

Tenure and tenure-track faculty members in the humanities can apply for up to $20,000 in funding for innovative research projects.

Funding for projects is provided by the Humanities Without Walls Consortium, a group funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The UIC Institute for the Humanities is participating in the 15-member consortium, which aims to create new pathways for collaborative research, teaching and scholarship in the humanities.

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will match the first year of funding.

Projects should explore the Midwest as a key site in shaping global economies, cultures and public policies. Applications should be submitted to huminst@uic.edu by Monday.