Student

Bite-Sized Wellbeing During Uncertain Times: Evidence, Practice and Resources to Share

hbruc3 — Mon, 15 Sep 2025 19:11:27 +0000

Bite-Sized Wellbeing During Uncertain Times: Evidence, Practice and Resources to Share hbruc3 Mon, 09/15/2025 - 14:11

Dear colleagues,

We are delighted to invite you to the system-wide Student & Employee Mental Health and Wellbeing Committee event, "Bite-Sized Wellbeing During Uncertain Times: Evidence, Practice and Resources to Share", scheduled for Tuesday, October 14, from 1 - 3 p.m. CST, free via Zoom.

We are honored to have Dr. Bryan Sexton as our distinguished speaker. He is the chief wellness officer of Duke Health Integrated Practice and director of the Duke Center for the Advancement of Wellbeing Science.

Keynote Address Description

Dr. Sexton will demonstrate the mechanisms at work that cause burnout and look at how evidence-based interventions counteract those mechanisms to result in wellbeing improvements. His recent National Institutes of Health-funded research demonstrated that wellbeing can be improved using simple, practical, bite-sized strategies, and that these improvements endure for the medium and long term.

Session Objectives:

Demonstrate the patterns of wellbeing over the past several years.
Review and evaluate bite-sized resources and interventions that improve wellbeing.
After the session, learners will be able to understand how bite-sized interventions use positive emotions to improve wellbeing.

This event is free, but you must register to participate.
We kindly request your prompt registration with a U of I System email address to secure your spot at this important event.

We are also excited to introduce our new Mental Health Awareness and Support website. On this site, you can access information about the Mental Health and Wellbeing Symposium, as well as mental health training and resources for faculty, staff, and students across the U of I System. Our new mental health training modules cover helpful information for employees and students on how to:

Recognize signs of mental health challenges in others and themselves.
Respond with practical, supportive strategies.
Connect individuals to available university resources.

Thank you for your support and commitment to our U of I System community. Together, we hold the power to impact the lives of our students and employees.

Best regards,

President Tim Killeen

EVP/VPAA Nick Jones

Executive Vice President and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Phone: 217-333-3077

When

Tue, Oct 14 2025, 1 - 3pm Google Outlook iCal

Location

Virtual (via Zoom)

Event Type

Employee

Faculty

Student

Get Your Flu Shot at UIS: Nov. 5

hbruc3 — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 17:13:40 +0000

Get Your Flu Shot at UIS: Nov. 5 hbruc3 Fri, 09/05/2025 - 12:13

Protect yourself and others by getting your flu shot this year! UIS Health Services and the Sangamon County Department of Public Health are offering flu shots to the UIS community from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, November, in the UIS Performing Arts Center lobby.

Please ensure you bring your health insurance card with you when arriving. Flu shots are free for those in network with Aetna, Blue Cross, Cigna, Humana, Health Alliance, Meridian, Medicare, Medicaid, Molina, and UnitedHealthcare.

For individuals without insurance or with insurance that is not accepted, the cost to receive a flu shot is $42. Those who are 65 years and older have the option of receiving the high-dose influenza vaccination for $100.

For additional information, contact Brooke Kelzer, UIS health services director, at 217-206-8676 or bkelz2@uis.edu.

When

Wed, Nov 5 2025, 9am - 12pm Google Outlook iCal

Location

UIS Performing Arts Center Lobby

Event Type

Department

Get Your Flu Shot at UIS: Oct. 24

hbruc3 — Fri, 05 Sep 2025 17:09:20 +0000

Get Your Flu Shot at UIS: Oct. 24 hbruc3 Fri, 09/05/2025 - 12:09

Protect yourself and others by getting your flu shot this year! UIS Health Services and the Sangamon County Department of Public Health are offering flu shots to the UIS community from 9 a.m. to noon on Friday, October 24, in the UIS Performing Arts Center lobby.

For additional information, contact Brooke Kelzer, UIS health services director, at 217-206-8676 or bkelz2@uis.edu.

When

Fri, Oct 24 2025, 9am - 12pm Google Outlook iCal

Location

UIS Performing Arts Center Lobby

Event Type

Department

9/11 Day of Service

hbruc3 — Thu, 04 Sep 2025 16:37:42 +0000

9/11 Day of Service hbruc3 Thu, 09/04/2025 - 11:37

The 9/11 Day of Service and Remembrance invites us to honor the lives lost and the heroes who answered the call on September 11th by uniting in acts of kindness and service. Born from the vision of David Paine and Jay Winuk—whose brother Glenn, an attorney and volunteer firefighter, was killed while responding at the World Trade Center—this day transforms tragedy into a movement for good.

We’ll gather to support Operation: Care and Comfort, continuing their mission to provide essential support and comfort to our service members. Together, we’ll stand behind those who protect our nation and show that even in the face of loss, compassion can prevail. Join us and help make a meaningful difference in the lives of those who sacrifice so much for our freedom as we make care kits and notes of encouragement for our current military troops.

Join us on Thursday, September 11, in the Student Union Ballroom. All UIS students, faculty and staff are invited to be a part of this memorable event. Volunteers are need in 30 minute shifts. Walk ins are welcome.

Learn More and RSVP

When

Thu, Sep 11 2025, 12 - 6pm

Location

Student Union Ballroom

Event Type

Employee

Faculty

Student

Department

Military & Veterans Student Services

Volunteer & Civic Engagement

Water-Energy Sustainability Across Scales: Systems, Society, Self

aharm6 — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 16:00:10 +0000

Water-Energy Sustainability Across Scales: Systems, Society, Self aharm6 Tue, 08/26/2025 - 11:00

Ashlynn Stillwell, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, will discuss her work on sustainable water and energy systems. Water and energy are closely linked resources with clean water and sanitation services dependent on energy, and fuels production and electric power generation dependent on water. This water-energy nexus spreads across scales to include large-scale infrastructure systems, societal trends and patterns, and individual behaviors. This presentation and discussion will include data and analysis of water-energy connections and sustainability across scales, ranging from sector and infrastructure transformations to individual behaviors within homes. How do electricity fuel changes affect water resources? Where do cities demonstrate water-energy sustainability? What human activities determine residential water and energy consumption? In a world with increasing amounts of data, modeling and analyses can translate data into knowledge for further action around water-energy sustainability as an approach to future change.

Dr. Ashlynn S. Stillwell is an Associate Professor and the Elaine F. and William J. Hall Excellence Faculty Scholar in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on creating sustainable water and energy systems in a policy-relevant context. She earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Missouri, and an M.S. in Environmental and Water Resources Engineering, M.P.Aff in Public Affairs, and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. Her previous work experience includes consulting engineering at Burns & McDonnell and policy research at the Congressional Research Service. Dr. Stillwell received the NSF CAREER and UCOWR Early Career Award for Applied Research. She was honored with the 2015 Girl Scouts of Central Illinois Woman of Distinction Award in STEM and the 2018 AEESP Award for Outstanding Teaching in Environmental Engineering and Science.

When

Wed, Nov 19 2025, 6 - 7:30pm Google Outlook iCal

Location

UIS Brookens Auditorium

Event Type

Department

��ý Indigenous Truthtelling of Boarding Schools

aharm6 — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 15:57:36 +0000

��ý Indigenous Truthtelling of Boarding Schools aharm6 Tue, 08/26/2025 - 10:57

This talk invites students and community members to explore how young researchers are helping uncover the layered histories of Native American boarding schools, especially in the heartland of Native America—Oklahoma. Centered on the collaboration of students and professionals engaged in mentored, community-centered research, this presentation highlights how archival searches, archaeology, oral histories, and digital mapping are used to understand and share Indigenous stories. Dr. Farina King has mentored and guided university students to work closely with Native Nations and communities affected by boarding schools—institutions that deeply impacted generations of Native American lives. By reflecting on what it means to listen, learn, and serve through research, this talk introduces audiences to the complexity of Indigenous education histories, the importance of tribally specific and intertribal perspectives, and the continued relevance of these histories today. This session offers insight into how students across disciplines can respectfully engage with Native histories and communities, and how this kind of work contributes to broader efforts of Indigenous truthtelling and healing.

Dr. Farina King, a citizen of the Navajo Nation, is the Horizon Chair of Native American Ecology and Culture and Associate Professor of Native American Studies at the University of Oklahoma. Her research centers on Native American oral histories, especially among her Diné relatives and connections in Oklahoma. In 2023-2024, she served as the interim department chair of Native American Studies at OU. She received her Ph.D. at Arizona State University in History. She is the author of various publications, including The Earth Memory Compass: Diné Landscapes and Education in the Twentieth Century; co-author with Michael P. Taylor and James R. Swensen of Returning Home: Diné Creative Works from the Intermountain Indian School and author of Gáamalii dóó Diné: Navajo Latter-day Saint Experiences in the Twentieth Century. She is a co-editor of The Lyda Conley Series on Trailblazing Indigenous Futures with the University Press of Kansas. She is the past President of the Southwest Oral History Association (2021-2022).

When

Wed, Nov 5 2025, 6 - 7:30pm Google Outlook iCal

Location

UIS Brookens Auditorium

Event Type

Department

A Radical Turn: Artist, Curator, and Anti-War Veteran Aaron Hughes On Creative Resistance

aharm6 — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 15:53:46 +0000

A Radical Turn: Artist, Curator, and Anti-War Veteran Aaron Hughes On Creative Resistance aharm6 Tue, 08/26/2025 - 10:53

Aaron Hughes is an artist, curator, and anti-war veteran whose work explores the impact of war, violence, and trauma on individuals and communities. In this lecture, Hughes will share images and stories from his projects, which draw from his own military experience and long-standing activism. Through printmaking, installation, and collaboration, Hughes honors the legacy of anti-war veteran movements and imagines new paths toward justice and healing. His work often uses everyday materials, like military uniforms and protest banners, to challenge militarism and support collective healing. The event will explore how art can help us understand complex histories, connect with others, and take action for a better world. Hughes's work encourages reflection on the cost of war and the power of community, dialogue, and creative resistance

Aaron Hughes is an artist, curator, and anti-war veteran. Working through an interdisciplinary practice rooted in drawing and printmaking, he works collaboratively to develop projects that create meaning out of personal and collective trauma, transform the materials and habits of state violence, and imagine liberation in defiance of militarized norms. Often, these projects utilize popular research strategies, experiment with forms of direct democracy, and operate in solidarity with the people most impacted by structural violence. Currently, Hughes' work focuses on researching the relationship between political violence, authoritarianism, and trauma in contrast to the cultural production surrounding political participation, direct democracy, and meaning making. Hughes has presented work internationally at institutions including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, Maruki Gallery in Tokyo, and Ashkal Alwan in Beirut.

When

Wed, Oct 22 2025, 6 - 7:30pm Google Outlook iCal

Location

UIS Brookens Auditorium

Event Type

Department

The Power of Latinidad In A Fractured World

aharm6 — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 15:46:30 +0000

The Power of Latinidad In A Fractured World aharm6 Tue, 08/26/2025 - 10:46

In conjunction with Hispanic LatinX Heritage Month, join award winning author and equity strategist Carlos Andrés Gómez for an engaging and interactive workshop that explores the complexity of Latinidad and identity. Through powerful storytelling, poetry, and guided reflection, Carlos will invite participants to explore how culture, race, gender, and other intersecting identities shape our understanding of self and community. This event will explore how embracing nuance and complexity can disrupt outdated binaries and inspire more inclusive approaches to authenticity, belonging, and equity. Whether you identify as Hispanic / LatinX or are seeking to deepen your understanding of intersectionality, this event offers a meaningful opportunity to engage in transformative dialogue and celebrate the vibrancy and depth of the Hispanic / LatinX experience.

Carlos Andrés Gómez is a Colombian American poet, speaker, actor, and educator from New York City. He is the author of Fractures (Felix Pollak Prize), Hijito (Broken River Prize, #1 SPD bestseller), Circling Fatherhood (Poetry International Prize), and the memoir Man Up: Reimagining Modern Manhood(Penguin Random House). Carlos has appeared on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam, TV One’s Verses and Flow, and in Spike Lee’s Inside Man with Denzel Washington. He is one of the most booked college performers and a globally sought-after keynote speaker. His honors include the Sandy Crimmins National Prize, Atlanta Review International Poetry Prize, Foreword INDIES Book of the Year, North American Book Award Gold Medal, and the International Book Award for Poetry. Carlos also partnered with John Legend on Senior Orientation, a program promoting inclusive masculinity in high schools. He is a proud father of two.

When

Wed, Sep 24 2025, 6 - 7:30pm Google Outlook iCal

Location

UIS Brookens Auditorium

Event Type

Department

Event Cancelled - Asian American Youth Literature: Immigration, Imagination, & The Library

aharm6 — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 15:24:55 +0000

Event Cancelled - Asian American Youth Literature: Immigration, Imagination, & The Library aharm6 Tue, 08/26/2025 - 10:24

PLEASE NOTE:

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Dr. Dahlen’s ECCE Speaker Series event scheduled for tonight (9/10/2025) has been cancelled.

We apologize for the late notice and the inconvenience.

Asian American youth literature had a slow start in the early twentieth century. Books were mostly in the genres of folk and fairy tales and written by outsiders at that time. There were books about Asians in Asia, but almost nothing about Asians in the United States. After World War II and the Korean War, some books about Japanese American incarceration and Korean War orphans emerged, but it wasn’t until the Civil Rights Movement that more books shared stories of Asians in the United States. After 1965, what Min Hyoung Song calls “the children of 1965” generation began writing, publishing, and winning major awards, including books for young readers. This lecture provides a historical overview of Asian American youth literature in the context of immigration patterns, social movements, and other larger issues, and relates books for children and young adults with library services and programs for youth.

Dr. Sarah Park Dahlen is an Associate Professor in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she is also an affiliate faculty in the Department of Asian American Studies and the Center for East Asian & Pacific Studies. A graduate of UCLA’s Asian American Studies Department, she earned her Ph.D. and M.S. in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on Asian American youth literature and transracial Korean adoption. She co-edits Research on Diversity in Youth Literature with Sonia Alejandra Rodríguez and has co-created the Diversity in Children’s Literature infographics with David Huyck. Together with Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, she co-edited Harry Potter and the Other: Race, Justice, and Difference in the Wizarding World (2022). Her next book addresses Asian American youth literature with Paul Lai. She is represented by Tricia Toney Lawrence of Aevitas Creative Management.

When

Wed, Sep 10 2025, 6 - 7:30pm

Location

UIS Brookens Auditorium

Event Type

Department

Chancellor's Thinkers Series

jdeck5 — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 15:49:53 +0000

Chancellor's Thinkers Series jdeck5 Thu, 08/21/2025 - 10:49

A Call to Think: Enduring Legacy of Lincoln

Jacob Friefeld and Chancellor Gooch will engage in a powerful conversation about the enduring legacy of President Abraham Lincoln. As Director of the Center for Lincoln Studies, Dr. Friefeld is uniquely positioned to guide us through Lincoln’s life, leadership, and the ways he was perceived in his time. They will explore the relevance of Lincoln’s principles today and will draw meaningful connections and parallels to our current societal landscape. The conversation will also invite us to reflect on how Lincoln might lead, respond or advise us in navigating today’s complex challenges.

Schedule

5–5:30 p.m. | Opening Dialogue b/t Chancellor & Dr. Friefeld
5:30–6 p.m. | Q & A with Audience
6–6:15 p.m. | Final Thoughts from Chancellor & Dr. Friefeld
6:15–7:15 p.m. | Reception

When

Mon, Sep 15 2025, 5 - 7:15pm

Location

Brookens Auditorium

Event Type

Campus

Employee

Student

Department

Office of the Chancellor

Student

Bite-Sized Wellbeing During Uncertain Times: Evidence, Practice and Resources to Share

Keynote Address Description

Session Objectives:

Get Your Flu Shot at UIS: Nov. 5

Get Your Flu Shot at UIS: Oct. 24

9/11 Day of Service

Water-Energy Sustainability Across Scales: Systems, Society, Self

�������ý Indigenous Truthtelling of Boarding Schools

A Radical Turn: Artist, Curator, and Anti-War Veteran Aaron Hughes On Creative Resistance

The Power of Latinidad In A Fractured World

Event Cancelled - Asian American Youth Literature: Immigration, Imagination, & The Library

Chancellor's Thinkers Series

A Call to Think: Enduring Legacy of Lincoln

Schedule

��ý Indigenous Truthtelling of Boarding Schools