University of Illinois President Michael J. Hogan submitted his resignation to the Board of Trustees on March 22. Hogan will serve as president until July 1, when Robert Easter, a long-time faculty member and former interim provost and interim chancellor on the Urbana-Champaign campus, will serve as president-designate.
For more info, visit here.

Cokie Roberts, a political commentator for ABC News, will deliver the 10:30am commencement address at the campuswide ceremony at the University of Illinois on May 13 at Assembly Hall.

Orion Samuelson, widely regarded as the best-known agricultural broadcaster in the US, will be the speaker at the 2:00pm campuswide commencement ceremony.

To read more, click here.

The 2012 Roger Ebert Film Festival takes place April 24-29 at the Virginia Theater in Champaign, with other events at the U of I. The festival features Citizen Kane, A Separation, and Joe Versus the Vocano. Guests will include the Oscar-nominated actor Michael Shannon, seen recently in the HBO series “Boardwalk Empire,” and comedian and actor Patton Oswalt, seen recently in the film “Young Adult,” and a regular on the past TV comedy “The King of Queens.”

The schedule of film screenings can be found at www.ebertfest.com, along with Ebert’s commentary and reviews of the films, festival updates, and information about panelists and guests.

The U of I festival events are free and open to the public.

The March 2012 issue of the Student Health 101: The Parent Perspective is now available online! Read about topics like:

• Students and Stress: How They Can Build a Coping Toolkit
• Permanent Ink: What Students Need to Know About Tattoos
• Job Hunting 101: Building Real Skills for Finding a Job in the Real World
• ...and more!

What's Online

• March is National Nutrition Month
• March Parent Survey
• Spring 2012 Newsletter, "Moms & Dads Illini"

Why Give to Student Affairs?

Just because our children “go off to college,” doesn’t mean that it’s the end of our involvement in their education and their lives. It merely means that our day to day, hands on responsibilities are turned over to them, giving our children not just an academic education but the opportunity to discover on their own what the world has to offer. This new found freedom can be overwhelming, not just for the student, but for the parent as well. It’s wonderful to know that the University of Illinois Student Affairs is there to provide activities and programs that will support our students in the same manner we would if they were home with us. A donation to the Parent Fund is a small way for me to insure that there continues to be a connection and support system for my children as they find their way to adult independence. --- Gloria Pavese, Illinois parent

Funding from the state now accounts for less than 19% of the University’s total budget. That is a substantial reduction from the nearly 50% support the University received in the early 1980’s. Student Affairs depends on the support of alumni and friends to provide vital services and resources to our students that round out their education at Illinois. Your unrestricted gift to the Parent Fund will:

• Provide programs that offer non-alcoholic alternatives to clubs and bars
• Create an inclusive environment supportive of diversity and prepare students to be citizens of a global community
• Encourage student development and growth through cultural and professional programs
• Provide continued communications and programming to parents and families through the Illini Union Parent Programs Office

GIVE TODAY!

Important Dates

The Dads Association at the University of Illinois has allocated a portion of its funds
generated through Dads Association activities to help fund and aid worthy projects that
promote the safety, guidance, care, and well-being of our children attending the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. If you are a registered student organization,
not-for-profit association, or University department that has a project or program
requiring financial support for the 2012-2013 school year, please apply.
Deadline: May 30, 2012. More info on how to apply can be found here.

It's hard to believe, but summer registration will be here before you know it! Parent Programs is looking for volunteers for summer registration! Registration is coordinated by the Office of Admissions-- the Parent Programs Office runs a workshop in the morning that involves parent volunteers and has a table at the afternoon information fair that parent volunteers staff. Volunteers (at least 2 per day) are needed from 8:00am to 4:00pm every weekday starting Tuesday May 29 - Friday July 13, minus the July 4 holiday. Lunch vouchers and housing in residence halls are offered to volunteers.

If you are interested in helping out with these events, visit https://illinois.edu/fb/sec/5961822 to sign up, email the Illini Union Parent Programs Office at uofiparents@illinois.edu, or call (217) 333-7063.

Moms Weekend is 3 weeks away! We need volunteers on Saturday 4/21 for:

Information table: the table runs from 9:00am - 5:00pm and it would be great to get volunteers for 2 hour shifts. If you are available, please sign up at https://illinois.edu/fb/sec/ 4149201.

Craft fair table: the table runs from 10:00am-5:00pm. If you are available, contact Elaine Wrinkle at ewrinklez@gmail.com.

Moms Weekend 2012 Calendar of Events is now available here. With so many different activities planned, there will be something of interest for everyone: musicals, craft fairs, flower shows, art exhibits, vocal performances, and athletic events galore. New events are added daily, so check back often! Bring the whole family to campus to enjoy Moms Weekend with your student!

Highlights include:
Friday April 20, 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Explore Illinois reception, Illini Union Rooms ABC
At Explore Illinois, you will get the opportunity to look through a multitude of interactive booths that highlight groups on campus that are entertaining, informative, and a great example of the wide breadth of amazing groups, research, and programs on campus! In addition to the interactive exhibits, student entertainment groups will be performing, and refreshments and appetizers will be served. The Amelia Alpiner Stern 2012 Mom of the Year will also be recognized. Register to attend the reception here!

Saturday April 21, 9:15am
Annual Meeting of Moms Association Board of Directors, Illini Union Room 210
The Moms Association Board of Directors extends an invitation for you to join them on Saturday morning for the Moms Association Annual Meeting. This is a great opportunity to learn more about what you can do to be involved in the outstanding work of this organization. The 2012 - 2013 Board of Directors will be elected, and the Moms Association will recognize several award recipients: the Medallion of Honor recipient for her dedication and service to the students and to the Illinois community, the Humanitarian Award recipients for their innovation and dedication to community service, the Illini Spirit Award recipient, and the 2012 scholarship recipients.

Saturday April 21, 10:00am
Illini Union Board Annual Moms Day Craft Fair: Browse the booths of dozens of different craft vendors, and make sure to stop by the Moms Association sales table.

If you'd like to volunteer for the Moms Association Craft Sales table, contact Elaine Wrinkle at ewrinklez@gmail.com. 

Each year, the Parent Programs Office coordinates a number of on-campus tours for families during Moms Weekend. This year we are increasing our number of tour offerings. You can start to register for tours now at this link.

There are space limitations on each tour. Unfortunately, there is no waiting list for tours, but you can keep trying to register if the tour is full, as the system releases openings when participants cancel.

Most recent added tours include: the Illini Union, the Illini Union Bookstore, and the Cultural Centers on Nevada Street. Register soon, as slots fill up fast!

The Rape Aggression Defense System (for women only) will provide participants with hands-on training to develop physical skills, as well as develop a base of knowledge of crime prevention techniques. The multi-week course is not about self-defense…it's about empowering yourself and the community against crime.

Women's Course: March 27, April 3, April 10, April 17
Women's Course: April 12, April 19, April 26, May 3

For more information visit here.

The Counseling Center Paraprofessionals present "The Tuesday @ 7" workshops, which provide information for the general student population. Workshops take place in the Chaplain Room of the YMCA from 7:00pm - 9:00pm. Upcoming workshops include:

April 3 Yes, We’re Together! Exploring Multicultural Relationships
April 10 You Can’t Spell Us without U! Strategies for Building Healthy Relationships

To see the spring schedule, visit here.

The Leadership Certificate is a multi-semester structured program designed to provide students with a customized experience to help develop leadership skills in a way that integrates many of the Leadership Center's programs and services. Certificate students are matched with a Leadership Coach to partner with during the program and create a Leadership Portfolio documenting their leadership growth upon completion. The Certificate Program is grounded in the Illinois Philosophy of Leadership, which states that "all students can exercise leadership" and a skills-based model of leadership development.

To learn more about the program, attend an orientation meeting on March 30, 2012 at 3:00pm in Illini Union Room 290.

For more info, visit here.

Over 100 companies will be recruiting for internships and full-time positions at the All Campus Career Fair on April 4, 2012. The All Campus Career Fair is open to all University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign students.

Sponsored by the Illinois Career Services Network, HireIllini.com, and The Career Center.

April 4, 2012, 1:00pm to 5:00pm
Activities and Recreation Center (ARC), 201 East Peabody Drive, Champaign, IL 61820

For more info, visit https://www.careercenter.illinois.edu/events/fairs/allcampus

Interested in studying abroad? Stop by the Study Abroad Fair!

Learn about study abroad programs located around the world, and take a peek at your options to study during the winter, summer, semester, and academic year terms. Information on financial aid and the many study abroad scholarships that are offered will be available too. Studying abroad is an opportunity to everyone, despite your major, financial or ethnic background, or future career. Find our how it can fit into who YOU are at the fair! For more info, visit http://www.studyabroad.illinois.edu/.

April 10, 2012, 11:00am to 4:00pm
Illini Union Rooms C and the South Lounge

ILLINOIS IN THE NEWS

Learn about some of the cutting-edge research by University of Illinois Professors and students. To read more articles about Illinois in the News, visit the University of Illinois News Bureau website.

"The Irish Way" in Shaping America's Cities is Subject of Historian's New Book

The early-arriving Irish played a large part, for good and bad, in Americanizing the waves of immigrants who came after them and in forming a multiethnic urban culture, says James Barrett, a social and labor historian at Illinois and author of “The Irish Way: Becoming American in the Multiethnic City.”

The Irish were essentially America’s first ethnic group, according to Barrett. More than 3 million immigrated between 1840 and 1890. By 1900, there were an estimated 5 million first- and second-generation Irish in the US -- more than in Ireland itself.

The Irish recognized they would succeed as a group and not as individuals. They developed defensive strategies and built organizations and institutions, notably the Catholic diocese and its allied organizations, the urban Democratic machine, and the city labor movement. They arrived with an identity based more on kinship networks and the villages they came from but constructed a national identity as Irish, as well as American.

Click to read more.