CULTURE & ART
THE POWER
OF THE HUMANITIES
CULTURE & ART
THE POWER
OF THE HUMANITIES
Discovery isn’t limited to laboratories and technology
At the U of I System, the humanities, arts, and culture reveal new ways to understand our world — and Americans agree. National surveys show that nine in 10 Americans believe the humanities help people better understand others and strengthen democracy. Across our universities, scholars and students advance work that preserves history, fuels creativity, and connects innovation and technology with the human experience. Together, efforts across the system demonstrate how curiosity and creativity enrich lives across Illinois and beyond.
MUSIC AS MEDICINE
At Carle Illinois College of Medicine (CI MED), physician-innovators are revolutionizing patient recovery by integrating music therapy with advanced technology. Claudius Conrad, a classically trained pianist and associate dean for research and innovation, describes this fusion as a “paradigm shift in personalized medicine.”
For example, a CI MED team is working with Rubato Life, an AI-driven app that tailors music therapy to each patient by analyzing real-time physiological data, such as heart rate and stress markers. The approach ensures music therapy isn’t merely background noise but a dynamic, individualized healing tool.
By combining the arts with clinical expertise and data analytics, CI MED experts are redefining the future of compassionate, patient-centered care.
Dr. Claudius Conrad, CI MED associate dean for research and innovation
PROTECTING ILLINOIS HISTORY
“We estimate that there were perhaps a million or more cultural sites in Illinois in the early 1800s. A good percentage of those, maybe 12%, has already been lost to development and other factors. It’s possible we could lose another 10-12% over the next 100 years, which would nearly double the rate of site destruction.”
Prairie Research Institute’s Illinois State Archaeological Survey research archaeologist Andrew White
Protecting the places that tell our story matters more than ever. Across Illinois, floods, erosion, and development are putting cultural sites at risk. In a new report from the Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS), Andrew White puts the problem, and the accelerating impact, in perspective. Part of the UIUC Prairie Research Institute, ISAS is identifying vulnerable sites, guiding preservation, and engaging policymakers, Indigenous communities, and the public.
THE LEGACY OF HULL-HOUSE
Ellen Gates Starr shown in a recent Hull-House exhibit, "Radical Crafts."
The U of I System is strengthening transfer pathways through Transfer Drive, a new partnership with One Million Degrees, which supports community college students with academic coaching, financial guidance, and mentoring. System universities are identifying community college partners for the four-year pilot’s 2026 launch.
The initiative focuses on helping more students go beyond community college to complete a bachelor’s degree at one of the system’s universities. Research shows wraparound services like these can double graduation rates for low-income students.
For Illinois, the benefits are clear: more graduates entering high-demand fields, and more families experiencing the social and economic mobility a degree provides.
From Hull-House to The Second City
Long before laughter filled Chicago’s improv stages, creativity found its roots at Hull-House. In the 1930s, Viola Spolin developed her “theater games” while teaching drama to immigrants and children there, exercises that would later inspire the Compass Players and evolve into The Second City. What began as a settlement house for social reform became a birthplace for a distinctly American art form: unscripted, inclusive, and alive with possibility.