EQUITY & POSSIBILITY
From its founding as a land-grant institution, the University of Illinois has been committed to serving the people of the state, providing the keys to a better life through education and research.
Equity is an important part of that equation – ensuring that those opportunities reach every corner of our state and touch the lives of Illinoisans of all backgrounds and communities. At each of our universities and across the system, this commitment comes to life.
CHANCELLOR JONES INITIATES PROGRAM TO ADDRESS SOCIETAL RACISM AND INJUSTICE
A new research program at UIUC will commit $2 million annually to projects focusing on critical areas of scholarship: systemic racism and social injustice, law enforcement and criminal justice reform, and disparities in health and healthcare.
“We’re very excited about the potential of these community innovation grants to create new, meaningful connections..."
“We’re very excited about the potential of these community innovation grants to create new, meaningful connections between the university and the community in which we’re anchored,” said Chancellor Robert Jones, who initiated the program.
Proposals for the Call to Action Research Program can be made from researchers on campus or by community members or organizations.
Professor Lissette Piedra
FINANCIAL HARDSHIPS PUT OLDER LATINOS AT GREATER RISK FOR COVID-19
Research from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign indicates economic hardships exacerbated by the pandemic may have heightened older Latinos’ exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19.
A team led by social work professor Lissette Piedra found nearly 25% of those in the study reported they or another household member had been diagnosed with COVID-19, compared with 7% of non-Latino whites.
Prior to the pandemic, 91% of the Latinos said they had enough income to meet their basic needs. During the pandemic, that dropped to 66%.
“The inability to pay the rent, mortgage and other bills on time may have motivated older Latino adults to take greater health risks, such as turning to work in informal economic networks that may be less likely to adhere to public health mandates,” Piedra said.
FIRSTGEN FLAMES SEE THE WORLD THANKS TO NEW SCHOLARSHIP
Eleven first-generation UIC students have the opportunity to gain new personal, academic and professional insights and skills thanks to the new Chancellor’s FirstGen Flames Abroad Scholarship.
“We’re very excited about the potential of these community innovation grants to create new, meaningful connections between the university and the community in which we’re anchored.”
Along with the scholarship, UIC’s Study Abroad office hosts a series of workshops for the cohort to collectively learn about selecting a study-abroad program, finding additional funding opportunities, integrating study abroad into their academic major and using international education to advance their careers.
INCREASING OPPORTUNITIES FOR UNDERREPRESENTED SCHOLARS AT UIC
The program began in 2019 and is designed to encourage UIC scholars’ research aims to support their success and potential transition to tenure-track positions.
Bridge to Faculty seeks to enhance diversity by encouraging the recruitment, retention and promotion of scholars from different backgrounds and groups who have been historically underrepresented in academia.
The program now has 34 scholars in its ranks whose research spans a wide variety of disciplines and departments.
HOW HIGH SCHOOLS CAN POSITION STUDENTS FOR COMPUTER SCIENCE SUCCESS
The Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative at the Discovery Partners Institute is researching computer science (CS) education in Illinois to help schools meet new statewide requirements and recruit more women and people of color into the major at Illinois universities.
The study will seek to learn how school districts are preparing to meet new requirements around CS courses, how equitable access is achieved, which districts have a robust CS curriculum and which staffing structures work best, as well as examining outcomes beyond high school.
“We want to provide education leaders with actionable evidence to help them make hard decisions,” DPI Executive Director Bill Jackson said. “We know that, with better research and analysis, we can improve education and get more kids ready for lucrative, resilient jobs.”
“We want to provide education leaders with actionable evidence to help them make hard decisions.”
UIC GAINS FULBRIGHT ACCLAIM FOR HISPANIC SERVING INSTITUTION LEADERSHIP
UIC is now among a select group of Hispanic-Serving Institutions recognized as a Fulbright HSI Leader by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program.
“We’re very excited about the potential of these community innovation grants to create new, meaningful connections between the university and the community in which we’re anchored.”
Along with the scholarship, UIC’s Study Abroad office hosts a series of workshops for the cohort to collectively learn about selecting a study-abroad program, finding additional funding opportunities, integrating study abroad into their academic major and using international education to advance their careers.
ARTS & HUMANITIES INITIATIVE OFFERS NEW SUPPORT FOR 10 PROJECTS
Research from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign indicates economic hardships exacerbated by the pandemic may have heightened older Latinos’ exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19.
A team led by social work professor Lissette Piedra found nearly 25% of those in the study reported they or another household member had been diagnosed with COVID-19, compared with 7% of non-Latino whites.
Prior to the pandemic, 91% of the Latinos said they had enough income to meet their basic needs. During the pandemic, that dropped to 66%.
“The inability to pay the rent, mortgage and other bills on time may have motivated older Latino adults to take greater health risks, such as turning to work in informal economic networks that may be less likely to adhere to public health mandates,” Piedra said.
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN DESIGNATED A PURPLE HEART UNIVERSITY
Thanks to its longstanding commitment to military veterans, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was designated as a Purple Heart University by the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
The designation reflects the university’s ongoing support of veterans and their families.
UIUC was the first university to call for compulsory military training at all land-grant colleges and developed the first post-secondary disability support service program in the world for veterans. In 2015, UIUC opened the doors at the Chez Veterans Center to provide an open, welcoming space for all student veterans and military-connected communities.
UI HEALTH LEADS COLLABORATIVE TO BRING SERVICES TO AT-RISK NEIGHBORHOODS
University of Illinois Chicago and UI Health are working to increase access to healthcare for Chicago’s Gage Park and West Elsdon communities with plans for a new clinic. The move marks key step for a new collaborative of local providers funded by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services.
U of I System trustees approved the purchase of a recently closed clinical building in the area. The collaborative, led by UI Health, will renovate and expand the facility.
UIC’s Dr. Heather Prendergast says the new clinic will restore previously offered services at the site, as well as introduce new clinical support to the community.
Residents of the area experience disproportionately high rates of diabetes, heart disease, adult and childhood obesity, cancer, and pregnancy risk factors.
ESSENTIAL CONVERSATIONS FILL LEGISLATIVE BLACK CAUCUS, UIS SPEAKER SERIES
The University of Illinois Springfield and the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation (ILBCF) partnered to create a speaker series to educate the citizens of Illinois on critical societal issues around equity, diversity and inclusion that adversely impact historically marginalized populations.
Topics covered throughout the series, based on the ILBCF reform pillars, included equitable healthcare, education reform and workforce development, criminal justice reform and police accountability.
UIC GRANT SUPPORTS ASIAN-AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER STUDENTS
The University of Illinois Chicago received a $1.5 million Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Minority-Serving Institutions program.
UIC grant supports Asian-American and Pacific Islander students The University of Illinois Chicago received a $1.5 million Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Minority-Serving Institutions program.
The money, which will be provided over five years, will be used to provide culturally responsive academic support, life-skills education and community-engaged experiential learning, said Karen Su, a clinical assistant professor of global Asian studies. Su is the project director.
Since 2010, UIC has been federally designated as a Minority-Serving Institution, a Department of Education status given to universities that serve high enrollments of racially and ethnically underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students.