Academic Staff Handbook

 

 

 

Chapter 2 

Campus Colleges, Institutes, and Resource Services

 

 

 

 

 

 

COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURAL, CONSUMER AND
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES (ACES)

The College of ACES is home to diverse academic, research, and outreach programs in food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences. The college's academic programs offer undergraduate students 12 majors, with 42 different options, in the Departments of Agricultural and Consumer Economics, Agricultural Engineering, Animal Sciences, Crop Sciences, Food Science and Human Nutrition, Human and Community Development, and Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. ACES graduate students can choose from 15 program areas and are training to become the next generation of scientists. Through the Illinois Agricultural Experiment Station, ACES faculty are engaged in world-class research that is helping solve the problems of today and creating the knowledge of tomorrow. This research is the foundation for great teaching and outreach programs. Through University of Illinois Extension, the college reaches out across the state to share knowledge and helps address real-world issues for the people of Illinois. In all, the College of ACES is unique on the University of Illinois campus and an invaluable resource that positively impacts individuals, families, farms, businesses and communities in Illinois.

COLLEGE OF APPLIED HEALTH STUDIES

The departments of Community Health, Kinesiology, Leisure Studies, Speech and Hearing Science, and the Division of Rehabilitation Education Services, are united by their common mission to improve the health and quality of life and well being of all people. The College of Applied Health Studies (AHS) includes research initiatives in the areas of aging and disability. Programs within AHS combine a broad general education with theory-based professional preparation and possible internship experiences, offering excellent opportunities for employment. The College of Applied Health Studies offers degree programs that prepare graduates for rewarding careers as health educators, epidemiologists, or health consultants; fitness instructors, coaches, or exercise physiologists; park superintendents, sports management professionals, or recreation directors; interpersonal-communication experts, speech-language pathology assistants, bilingual speech assistants, and rehabilitation aides. In addition, undergraduate degrees from the College of Applied Health Studies provide excellent preparation for graduate work in a wide range of fields, including speech-language pathology, physical therapy, medicine, law, and basic science fields.

 


 

 

INSTITUTE OF AVIATION

The educational goal of the Institute of Aviation is to prepare students for careers in aviation by providing them with the opportunity to gain aviation knowledge and flying skills combined with a broad-based education.

Students completing the Aviation Human Factors curriculum receive a B.S. degree in Aviation Human Factors. This curriculum includes two core components: the professional pilot component leading to the FAA commercial pilot certificate with multi-engine, instrument, and flight instructor certificates and ratings; and the human factors component including cockpit resource management, aviation psychology, and aviation accident investigation and analysis.

Students graduating from the Professional Pilot curriculum complete a professional pilot instructional sequence similar to the component listed above, and may then transfer to any degree-granting division of the University to complete requirements for a baccalaureate degree in that division. This may require from four to six additional semesters. A University student outside the Institute of Aviation may elect flight courses with the permission of his or her department and the permission of the Institute of Aviation.

BECKMAN INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY

The Beckman Institute is a broadly based multidisciplinary research institute founded at the University of Illinois in the late 1980s on the premise that reducing the barriers between traditional scientific and technological disciplines can yield research advances that more conventional approaches cannot. Funding for the building was provided by a generous gift from alumnus Arnold O. Beckman and his wife Mabel M. Beckman and a supplement from the state of Illinois. Faculty members and other research personnel from nearly two dozen University departments participate in research in three main areas: human-computer intelligent interaction, biological intelligence, and molecular and electronic nanostructures. The Beckman Institute maintains state-of-the-art facilities for neuromagnetic recording, magnetic resonance imaging, laser research, visual processing, and electron, confocal, and atomic force microscopy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS

The College of Business, a leader in business education, is nationally and internationally recognized for the quality of its programs, the scholarship and teaching excellence of its faculty, and the high quality of its undergraduate students. The college offers undergraduate degrees in accountancy, business administration, economics, and finance. At the graduate level, the college offers doctoral programs and an international master's in each of the four departments, an M.B.A. program, an Executive M.B.A. program, and two accounting master's degrees. The Executive Development Center offers a variety of certificate programs and special courses to a variety of audiences. The College of Business's study abroad office coordinates activities for students who are interested in educational opportunities in other countries. The interface between technology and the teaching and research functions is coordinated by the Office for Information Management. Twelve research and learning centers in the Office of Research enhance the college's instructional programs in addition to coordinating research initiatives. The college has internationalized its curriculum to reflect the globalization of business, and the technology revolution is demonstrated in both what and how faculty teach and conduct research. In addition to the traditional analytical and theoretical subjects, the college has many programs that incorporate practical business experience in the curriculum. Business professionals frequently visit the college to share their expertise with students and faculty. Commerce Career Services offers a comprehensive array of services to help students choose a career plan, develop job-search and interview skills, and arrange on-campus interviews­­using a web-based interface­­with company recruiters. The commerce undergraduate program is consistently ranked in the top ten nationally as are many of the college's academic programs. The College of Business is accredited by AACSB International­­The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business­­as is the Department of Accountancy.

COLLEGE OF COMMUNICATIONS

The College of Communications, established in 1927, offers a full program of education, research, and public service concerned with the mass media and related communications professions and practices. It offers undergraduate degree in journalism, broadcast journalism, advertising, and media studies and master's degrees in journalism and advertising. Its Institute of Communications Research offers an interdisciplinary Ph.D. degree in communications. The college's principal public service program is through the public radio and television stations, WILL-AM 580/90.1 FM and WILL-TV Channel 12. The College also offers seminars, workshops, and short courses for academic and professional groups on myriad communication topics.

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

The College of Education is recognized worldwide for the excellence and leadership of its faculty, graduate programs, and alumni. The college has been consistently rated among the top ten colleges of education in the nation during the last decade. Programs are offered in six departments: the Departments of Educational Organization and Leadership, Curriculum and Instruction, Educational Psychology, Educational Policy Studies, Special Education, and Human Resource Education. The college also supports the Bureau of Educational Research to promote faculty scholarship and interdisciplinary research within the college.

 


 

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

The College of Engineering was one of the original units established when the University opened in 1868 and today is one of the largest and most respected colleges of engineering in the United States. Over the past thirty years, the college has administered one of the largest research budgets in engineering education. From the faculty have come benchmark innovations and discoveries, such as sound on film, the common rooftop television antenna of the 1960s, the theory of superconductivity, and compound semiconductors. The college's creative educational and student programs, such as those designed to encourage math and science study among high school students and minorities, have served as models for national programs.

THE ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL

The Environmental Council was established on the Urbana-Champaign campus to promote environmental education, research, and outreach at the University of Illinois. The Council consists of 12 faculty members and a director appointed by the provost. The Environmental Council offers an interdisciplinary undergraduate minor (called the Environmental Fellows Program), sponsors several interdepartmental graduate workshops, organizes conferences and seminars featuring environmental scholarship, supports undergraduate research projects, and encourages the development of courses and programs to create more comprehensive coverage of environmental issues. The Council offers research support through the Illinois Water Resources Center and the Research Office of the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Program.

COLLEGE OF FINE AND APPLIED ARTS

The College of Fine and Applied Arts includes the Schools of Architecture, Art and Design, and Music; the Departments of Theatre, Dance, Landscape Architecture, and Urban and Regional Planning; Japan House; the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts; the Krannert Art Museum; the I space Gallery; and the East St. Louis Action Research Project. About 400 faculty and staff members serve 1,800 undergraduate and 700 graduate students; more than 600 courses are offered by the College and attended by students from across campus. The college offers exhibitions, concerts, performances, lectures, master classes, and conferences in all areas of the performing and visual arts and the designed and built environment. Outstanding visiting artists, scholars, and practitioners are brought to the campus each year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

GRADUATE COLLEGE

The Graduate College is the administrative unit responsible for all academic programs leading to advanced degrees and for establishing and safeguarding standards of graduate admissions and studies. The departments and other academic units initiate, develop, and administer graduate degree programs with the approval of the Graduate College. The Graduate College promotes and facilitates research by faculty members and graduate students in all fields. In addition to the Executive Committee of the Graduate College, the Graduate College includes a number of committees that review new and revised graduate programs and courses, allocate fellowships and dissertation research grants, and adjudicate student grievances.

The Graduate College provides support services to graduate students through its Fellowship Office, Thesis Office, and Office of Minority Affairs. The college also publishes a newsletter for graduate students and provides staff assistance to the Graduate Student Advisory Council.

INSTITUTE OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

The Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations offers graduate instruction leading to the master's and doctoral degrees in human resource management and industrial relations. The Master's in Human Resources and Industrial Relations (M.H.R.I.R.) degree program leads to careers with business, labor unions, government, and nonprofit organizations. The doctoral degree program prepares students for research and teaching positions at colleges and universities. A joint degree program leads to the J.D. degree in law and the M.H.R.I.R. degree in labor and industrial relations. The institute also provides noncredit educational services to both labor and management leaders through its two extension programs: the Labor Education Program and the Center for Human Resource Management.

COLLEGE OF LAW

The College of Law offers the J.D. and LL.M. degrees. Currently there are approximately 600 J.D. candidates and about 25 graduate students enrolled in the college. The law library is one of the largest law libraries in the country, and admission standards for the college are rigorous. The graduate program enrolls students from all over the world, including South America, Europe, and the Far East.

COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences has four missions: promoting scholarly inquiry and the generation of knowledge, preparing individuals for an array of careers and professions, rendering service to the public, and serving as the intellectual core of the University. Fulfilling the last mission creates a diversified college that contributes to the development of broadly educated individuals committed to open inquiry, critical thinking, effective communication, and responsiveness to the needs of society. With a faculty of 600, the college offers more than 70 undergraduate and 90 graduate degree-granting programs and enrolls nearly half of the undergraduates on the campus.

 

 

 

 


 

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE

The Graduate School of Library and Information Science educates students to work as information professionals and carry out research on problems in information transfer. In the 1999 peer evaluation in U.S. News & World Report, the school tied for first place among library and information science programs. The school offers an undergraduate minor in information technology studies as well as the Master of Science (including the LEEP online enrollment option), Certificate of Advanced Study, and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in library and information science. Research units within the School include the Library Research Center and the Information Systems Research Laboratory. Other units affiliated with the School include the Center for Children's Books, the Publications Office, CNI/Prairienet, and Information Researchers.

COLLEGE OF MEDICINE

The University of Illinois College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign offers a complete four-year medical education program leading to an M.D. degree. The first-year basic medical science program at Urbana-Champaign also serves those students who will complete their last three years of medical school at Peoria or Rockford. At the end of the first year of study, 100 students transfer to Rockford or Peoria for their clinical training, and the rest remain in Urbana-Champaign.

The College includes the Departments of Biochemistry, Cell and Structural Biology, Microbiology, and Molecular and Integrative Physiology, which are shared with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Also included within the College of Medicine are the Departments of Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, Medical Information Sciences, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pathology, Pediatrics, Pharmacology, Psychiatry, and Surgery, as well as the Medical Humanities and Social Sciences Program. The mission of the college is to attract and train the finest among future physicians, helping them acquire the fundamental knowledge and skills necessary for patient care so that they can practice medicine in an exemplary manner. Complementary to this overriding mission is the intent to advance knowledge through research, to provide service to the community, and to train leaders and scholars for the future. Clinical education and patient care are conducted through affiliations with community clinics and hospitals including Carle Clinic, Christie Clinic, Carle Foundation Hospital, Provena Covenant Medical Center, and the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Danville.

The Urbana-Champaign campus, with its tradition of scholarly excellence and its strong graduate and professional program, is the setting for the College of Medicine's Medical Scholars Program (MSP). The MSP is a unique joint-degree program with the Graduate College in which students may combine doctoral study in another field with the study of medicine. Unlike joint M.D./Ph.D. programs in other medical schools, graduate study for students in MSP is not restricted to the traditional cognate fields of medicine. Thus, students in the program may elect graduate or professional study in areas such as law, business, sociology, or engineering, in addition to areas within the life sciences and chemical sciences. The program is designed to provide skilled and knowledgeable leaders for a society in which the health care delivery system is rapidly increasing in complexity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK

The School of Social Work offers two major degree programs: the Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). The school also offers two dual degrees: the M.S.-M.S.W. in marriage and family services in collaboration with the Department of Human and Community Development (College of ACES) and the M.D.-Ph.D. in collaboration with the College of Medicine. The M.S.W. program prepares graduates for advanced social work practice in four fields: child welfare, health, mental health, and schools. This program is fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. The Ph.D. program prepares graduates to be scholars, researchers, and policy-makers through an interdisciplinary curriculum that draws upon the resources of the entire University.

COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE

One of only 27 professional veterinary degree programs in the United States, the College of Veterinary Medicine provides programs in professional and graduate education, public and clinical service, and comparative biomedical research. Comprehensive programs in the Departments of Veterinary Biosciences, Veterinary Pathobiology, and Veterinary Clinical Medicine in conjunction with the Small and Large Animal Clinics of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, and the Continuing Education-Public Service/Extension office. Research strengths of the college lie in the areas of environmental toxicology, imaging, infectious disease, oncology, production animal medicine, and reproductive medicine. Unique aspects of the college include the Zoological Pathology Program, serving the Brookfield and Lincoln Park Zoos and the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago; the Executive Veterinary Programs in Swine and Small Animal Health Management; and the Wildlife Medical Clinic. The Veterinary Research Farm at Urbana and the Dixon Springs Agricultural Center in the Shawnee National Forest, which features an innovative outdoor intensive year-round swine production unit, also support the college's teaching, research, and outreach missions.

EXTENSION OF UNIVERSITY EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES

Office of Continuing Education

Through cooperative partnerships with faculty, the Office of Continuing Education (OCE) provides undergraduate, graduate, and professional development programs that link more than 75,000 citizens of Illinois and beyond to the University. Another 100,000 people participate in personal enrichment programs, visit Allerton Park, and attend music events and special interest speakers offered by OCE. The Office of Continuing Education is comprised of six divisions: Academic Outreach, Chicago Programs, Conferences and Institutes, Environmental Education, Robert Allerton Park and Conference Center, and Summer Session and Special Programs. These divisions work collaboratively to extend the teaching, research, and public service missions of the University by providing campus leadership for lifelong learning and distance education.

Academic Outreach extends the resources of the University beyond the boundaries of campus by connecting campus faculty to students across the state using a variety of instructional formats. Academic Outreach programs include off-campus credit courses (including graduate degree programs), community credit programs, and self-paced guided individual study courses.

 


 

Office of Continuing Education - continued

Academic Outreach staff assist faculty in program development and marketing, provide registration support and other support services, and serve as a liaison for off-campus students. The Distance Education Support staff in Academic Outreach offers technical training and support for faculty interested in delivering courses using distance education technologies. In addition, Academic Outreach builds partnerships with academic units and external constituents to identify continuing education needs across the state and to establish programs to address those needs.

Chicago Programs offers professional development and campus outreach programs in DuPage and Lake counties as well as in downtown Chicago. Bringing Urbana faculty to the Chicago metropolitan area or using various distance education technologies, Chicago Programs bridges the distance between the Urbana campus and our Chicago constituents through a variety of credit and non-credit programs.

The Conferences and Institutes division of OCE exists to support faculty in the exchange and dissemination of information through conferences, institutes, symposia, and other scholarly and professional development activities. Conferences and Institutes staff members have expertise in assisting faculty members and departments in the development, planning, and management of conferences on a variety of topics. 

The goal of the Environmental Education division is to offer opportunities for industry, environmental professionals, teachers, school children, and lifelong learners to learn more about environmental topics. Based in the Chicago office, Environmental Education programs provide a link between the citizens of Illinois and the environmental expertise of University faculty.

Located approximately 25 miles southwest of Urbana-Champaign near Monticello, Illinois, Robert Allerton Park and Conference Center's 1500 acres serve as a resource for educational programs and research; a forest, plant, and wildlife reserve; an example of landscape gardening; and as a public park for the University and the state. The Allerton House hosts meetings, seminars, workshops, and conferences and is available for faculty and departmental use as a conference center with meeting space, lodging, and food service available. The natural qualities of Allerton Park make it an ideal setting for environmental educational programs and faculty interested in research in forestry and the biological sciences. In addition, tremendous research potential exists in the gardens, the woodlands, the river and grasslands.

The division of Summer Session and Special Programs coordinates with departments across campus to administer the 12-week summer term and oversees a campus risk management program for summer pre-college youth and academic camps held on campus throughout the summer. This division also sponsors Personal and Professional Enrichment Programs, a group of noncredit programs, including programs for older adults, offered for community members in collaboration with campus faculty and with outside organizations.

In addition to the Office of Continuing Education, several specialized units exist on campus to administer continuing education and public service activities. Many of these units are affiliate units to OCE or offer programs in conjunction with a specific college. For more information about collaborative opportunities in lifelong learning and distance education, contact the Office of Continuing Education, at 333-1462.