From: Official Announcement Date: April 19, 2007 5:07:23 PM CDT To: OFFICIAL_FACULTY@LISTSERV.UIC.EDU Subject: [OFFICIAL] Campus Security Reply-To: solewis@uic.edu A MESSAGE FROM THE CHIEF OF UIC POLICE To the Students, Faculty, and Staff of UIC, In light of the tragic events at Virginia Tech University on Monday, I would like to give everyone on campus an update on the security measures already in place at UIC and review some which are under development. The UIC Police Department has more than 70 uniformed officers on staff and patrols the campus 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with the mission of protecting students, faculty, staff, patients, and visitors. Our officers are trained, dedicated, and prepared to respond on a moment’s notice. Rest assured that they are ready when called upon. UIC police work closely with Chicago police and our colleagues at neighboring institutions on the near west side to provide a safe environment for our community. Several years ago, the UIC Police Department established its "Safe Schools Plan" which outlines the response procedures that the UIC police will take in the event that there is an "active shooter" on the campus. Each newly hired UIC police officer undergoes three days of tactical response training in this plan and receives refresher training once per year thereafter. UIC police officers attend the Chicago Police Academy and are state-certified. Additionally, we have several officers on each shift who are qualified in Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT). These officers train with and can be backed up by units of the Chicago Police Department and US Marshals Service should the need arise. Thus, we are prepared to respond immediately to an incident like the one at Virginia Tech. Also, we have the capability to remotely lock building exterior doors precluding anyone from entering a facility, but allowing occupants to leave. This system is already in place in some buildings, ! and we will continue to expand this system across the campus. One aspect of the Virginia Tech tragedy that has been widely commented upon in recent days is that of campus communications in case of an emergency. On our campus, there are more than 1,000 Startel alarm stations (the yellow call boxes with the blue lights) which anyone can use to make an emergency call to the UIC police to report an incident. Your call will be immediately answered from our state-of-the-art telecommunications center. From this center, UIC police can be dispatched to any location. We also have almost 60 real-time surveillance cameras monitoring outdoor areas of the campus and tunnels on the west side of campus. In case of a major event, the UIC Police Department will activate its Incident Command System, which allows us to track events on the campus by communicating with officers at the incident location and through our extensive network of surveillance cameras. We can also call on assistance from the Chicago and State Police. In addition to our standard communications systems such as URGENT mass e-mails, postings to the UIC Web site, the emergency information telephone line (312-413-9696), and announcements to the public news media, UIC's Academic Computing and Communications Center and Office of Public Affairs are developing a system that will text-message emergency announcements to a database of cell phone numbers almost instantaneously to alert the campus community about a serious incident and transmit instructions. We anticipate that this system will be operational in just a few months. Finally, I would urge everyone on the campus to visit the UIC Police Department Web site and watch the UIC Police Informational Video which includes vital information on how to contact the Police Department and receive assistance. In the near future, we will be adding to this video instructions on how to report and react to serious incidents. Please never hesitate to contact us if we can be of service. Our emergency phone line is (312) 996-HELP (4357) and the general number for the police is (312) 996-2830. We are always available to give safety and security briefings to departments and groups on campus. Sincerely, John Richardson, Chief of Police From: Official Announcement Date: April 19, 2007 7:08:40 PM CDT To: OFFICIAL_FACULTY@LISTSERV.UIC.EDU Subject: [OFFICIAL] Virginia Tech memorial Reply-To: donnaj@uic.edu To the UIC campus community, We have been informed that Governor Blagojevich will issue the proclamation below. UIC does not have bells, but I encourage you to provide for a moment of mourning at 11 a.m. on Friday, April 20. Sylvia Manning Chancellor PROCLAMATION FROM THE GOVERNOR WHEREAS,the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States of America suffered a great tragedy on April 16, 2007 when 32 people were murdered and dozens more were injured on the campus of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia; and WHEREAS,the State of Illinois grieves with those who lost loved ones on that day, and we pray that they and the entire Virginia Tech community can someday find peace and solace in the wake of this senseless act of violence; and WHEREAS, in the words of Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine, "April 16, 2007 will be remembered in the hearts and minds of Virginians and all Americans for the rest of their lives." Indeed this is a tragedy that our nation will never forget, and we come together as a people to mourn with the victims' families; and WHEREAS, Governor Kaine will declare a Day of Mourning in Virginia on April 20, highlighted by a bell ringing ceremony at noon (eastern time) in honor of the victims of the Virginia Tech tragedy; and WHEREAS, Illinois is humbled yet saddened to join in this solemn observance, and will hold a bell ringing ceremony in accordance with Governor Kaine's declaration: THEREFORE, I, Rod R. Blagojevich, Governor of the State of Illinois, do hereby proclaim April 20, 2007 as A DAY OF MOURNING FOR THE VIRGINIA TECH VICTIMS in Illinois, and encourage all citizens to join in the ringing of bells at 11 am (central time) in memory of those who lost their lives on that dreadful day. From: Official Announcement Date: April 23, 2007 4:49:55 PM CDT To: OFFICIAL_FACULTY@LISTSERV.UIC.EDU Subject: [OFFICIAL] Message from the Chancellor Reply-To: donnaj@uic.edu Dear Colleagues, Two weeks ago I read through our Self-Study for the Higher Learning Commission re-accreditation, cover to cover in a single sitting. You might reasonably think that was a tedious task, and I rather expected it would be. Instead, I found it inspiring. Because it has been ten years since our last accreditation visit, the document focuses on our progress during that decade. Day by day or month by month, even year to year, we may not feel we are advancing as we would wish. But when I looked at ten years, I was impressed. We made that progress under difficult budgetary circumstances, in the context of retrenchment of state funding cumulating to almost 20% and huge cost increases in areas such as utilities. With painfully constrained resources, you have continued to make this campus better in every way. I encourage you to read the self-study if only to get a sense of that achievement; it can be found at http://tigger.uic.edu/depts/oaa/nca/sitevisit/UIC2007SelfStudy.pdf The reaccreditation team from the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools visited campus last week. While we await their official report, all the comments I heard from the team suggested they shared our positive view of UIC’s progress. On behalf of the entire campus, thanks again to all who worked so hard to make this process a success. The last few weeks have seen a flurry of impressive accolades, especially for our students, and I want to share with you some of the highlights: --Three Honors College science students were named Goldwater Scholars for 2007-08 and a fourth received honorable mention. The students are Daniel Lee, sophomore in biological sciences; Farah Shareef, junior in bioengineering; Ying (Amy) Ye, sophomore in biological sciences; and Aarti Sharma, sophomore in chemistry. --Christine Toh, an undergraduate chemistry major, was awarded a three-year National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship, which includes an annual stipend of $30,000 plus a $10,500 educational allowance. This award is usually given to students who have already started their graduate studies, making Ms. Toh’s achievement even more impressive. Of 907 NSF fellowships awarded this year in science, engineering and the social sciences, only nine were made in Ms. Toh’s area, bio-organic chemistry. --Honors College senior Julia Geynisman was one of 10 students nationwide to receive a Fulbright Fellowship to conduct research in Israel. Ms. Geynisman will spend nine months combing through health ministry archives and interviewing physicians and health care workers who emigrated from Russia to learn how well they assimilated. --For the second year in a row, UIC students won the Grand Championship at the International Business Plan Competition organized by the University of San Francisco, one of the nation's premiere competitions. The Optimal Vision Corporation, a company of Liautaud Graduate School of Business MBA students Shrijay Vijayan and Kristin Ware and graduate Kelly Liebl, won the grand prize and $11,000, besting 79 other teams, including those from the University of California, Berkeley; Carnegie Mellon University; Babson College; Stanford University and the University of Michigan. UIC’s SanoGene Therapeutics won this competition last year. --James Pellegrino, professor of psychology and co-director of the Learning Sciences Research Institute, has been elected to the National Academy of Education. The Academy consists of up to 200 U.S. members and up to 25 foreign associates who are elected on the basis of outstanding scholarship or outstanding contributions to education. --Asrar Malik distinguished professor and head of pharmacology, received a 2007 Recognition Award for Scientific Accomplishment from the American Thoracic Society for lifelong outstanding scientific contributions to the understanding, prevention and treatment of lung disease. --Associate professor of philosophy Daniel Sutherland received a National Science Foundation grant to explore questions that intersect mathematics and philosophy. Associate professor Anthony Laden was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Fellowship, which is granted to “highly qualified foreign scientists and scholars” for a long-term research stay in Germany. --Timothy Shanahan, professor of urban education, was elected to the Reading Hall of Fame by the International Reading Association, the world’s largest professional organization devoted to literacy education. --Moshe Semyonov, professor of sociology, is a co-recipient of the 2007 Rosabeth Moss Kanter Award for Excellence in Work-Family Research. The award, given by the Alliance for Work-Life Progress in partnership with the Center for Families at Purdue University and the Center for Work and Family at Boston College, is given for the “single best piece of work-family research published during a calendar year.” --Miriam Mobley Smith, clinical assistant professor of pharmacy, is one of 15 national experts named to study how today’s healthcare workforce will be prepared to help older Americans. She is the only pharmacist on the Committee on the Future Health Care Workforce for Older Americans being convened by the Institute of Medicine. --The Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network awarded the Medical Center a 2007 Lifesaving Partner Award. The Network said the Medical Center was being honored “in recognition of all-around partnership excellence with Gift of Hope in collaborative and improvement practice, clinical partnership and support, physician and nursing education, leadership involvement, administrative support and public education.” --The Student Epidemiology Corps, directed by associate professor Ron Hershow, will receive the Illinois Public Health Association’s 2007 Public Health Student Group of the Year Award for “outstanding service in the public health field.” The Corps is a rapid response team of student volunteers who assist city, county and state health departments. Most recently, the Corps was engaged with the city of Chicago’s response to persons affected by Hurricane Katrina. --The women’s gymnastics team won the 2007 Midwest Independent Conference and the State of Illinois Classic, marking the second time in three years that UIC has won the state tournament. Since 2000 UIC has captured six of eight state crowns. The team now moves to the NCAA South Central Regional. --UIC senior Tim Morrison concluded his collegiate career admirably at the 2007 National Collegiate Men’s Gymnastics Championships, placing 11th overall in the NCAA all-around finals. Mr. Morrison also was a finalist for the 2007 Nissen-Emery Award, the gymnastics equivalent of football’s Heisman Trophy. As always, I look forward to your questions, comments and concerns at manning@uic.edu. Sincerely, Sylvia Manning From: Official Announcement Date: April 23, 2007 9:19:32 AM CDT To: OFFICIAL_FACULTY@LISTSERV.UIC.EDU Subject: [OFFICIAL] Richard J Daley Urban Forum Reply-To: jennys@uic.edu Dear UIC Students, Faculty and Staff, This is a reminder that the third annual Richard J. Daley Urban Forum will be held on May 2, 2007 starting at 9:00 a.m. in the Illinois Room at UIC's Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted St. The Forum will bring together mayors from around the world, business leaders, key policy-makers, leading scholars and commentators to examine how the cities of the future will be built. Speakers will examine the roles that major infrastructure projects will play in developing and sustaining future cities. They will discuss how these projects can be financed, their impact on the environment, and their ultimate costs and benefits. They also will discuss how cities should deal with decaying infrastructure that cannot be renewed, and examine how decisions made now will affect the future economic and social vitality of a city and the lives of its citizens. Robert E. Rubin, former Secretary of the United States Treasury, will deliver the keynote address. Forum tickets cost $25 and include a continental breakfast, lunch and parking. UIC faculty, staff and students, as well as students from other colleges and universities, will receive complimentary admission. To register, or receive more information, please visit www.RJDUrbanforum.uic.edu. Sincerely, Clark Hulse Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate College From: Official Announcement Date: April 23, 2007 1:57:41 PM CDT To: OFFICIAL_FACULTY@LISTSERV.UIC.EDU Subject: [OFFICIAL] Campus Security - Call Boxes Reply-To: jokeef1@uic.edu Our recent discussions regarding campus security have prompted several questions about the more than 1,000 Startel alarm stations throughout campus (the tall, brown call boxes with the blue lights.) Anyone can use a call box to report an incident or suspicious activity to UIC Police. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with the locations of these alarms as you walk on campus. UIC Police have scheduled several demonstrations this week to show you how the call boxes operate. I hope you will take the opportunity to attend one if you can. Please see below for the schedule. Sincerely, John Richardson, Chief of Police Wednesday, April 25: 9 a.m. - Startel Unit #140, Morgan and Vernon Park Place (on the cul-de-sac between University Hall and the Behavioral Sciences Building) 1 p.m. - Startel Unit #118, on Wood Street, outside the Pharmacy Building Thursday, April 26: 9 a.m. - Startel Unit #118 1 p.m. - Startel Unit #140 From: Official Announcement Date: April 27, 2007 3:38:52 PM CDT To: OFFICIAL_FACULTY@LISTSERV.UIC.EDU Subject: [OFFICIAL] Message from the Chancellor Reply-To: donnaj@uic.edu Dear Colleagues, In recent months members of our community have asked me for statements of support for various minority or protected groups. In lieu of multiple such statements, I have crafted a single one intended to reaffirm UIC’s broad embrace of diversity, as expressed most recently in our strategic plans. I call to your attention various extant policies with regard to inclusiveness and I ask for your wholehearted commitment to the ideals that those policies, and the statement below, represent. The statement was endorsed by the Senate of UIC on April 26, 2007. Sincerely, Sylvia Manning Chancellor Statement of Support The people of UIC embrace the diversity of our campus community, believing that it contributes vitally to the fulfillment of our mission. In promoting equal opportunity, mutual respect, fair treatment and the elimination of barriers to the achievement of excellence, we seek to create a supportive academic, social and physical environment for all. In planning our programs and developing our policies, we remain mindful of the need to consider their impact upon all members of the UIC community.