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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

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The University of Illinois is a system of three public universities in Illinois. These campuses [Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, and Springfield] are the top tier of taxpayer-subsidized institutions of higher learning in Illinois. B. Joseph White is the current president of the University of Illinois system.

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Urbana-Champaign

Main article: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The Urbana-Champaign campus, founded in 1867, is the largest and most prestigious of the three. It is home to 16 colleges & instructional units including the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, College of Applied Life Studies, Institute of Aviation,College of Business, College of Communications, College of Education, College of Engineering, College of Fine and Applied Arts, Graduate College, Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations, College of Law, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Graduate School of Library and Information Science, College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign, School of Social Work, and the College of Veterinary Medicine.

It is also home to the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, NCSA, where Marc Andreessen (of Netscape fame) and others helped develop the Mosaic web browser, the first HTML browser capable of rendering images. In addition, in 1987, NCSA created NCSA Telnet, a program which permitted users access to the supercomputer's resources remotely. Also, in the movie 2001 A Space Odyssey, the ship's computer, HAL, was said to have been built in Urbana.

UIUC is also famous for its contributions in Electrical Engineering, and is the birth place of world's first light-emitting diode (LED). The library is notable for both being the largest public academic library in the country as well as possessing over ten million volumes. It is highly ranked in law, library and information science, architecture, political science, chemistry, engineering, electrical and computer engineering, computer science, physical sciences, advertising, psychology, labor and industrial relations, educational psychology, accounting, speech communication, and music.[citation needed] Physics professor John Bardeen won the Nobel Physics Prize twice in his lifetime, an honor no other researcher has received. The school's marching band, named the Marching Illini, also enjoys a superb reputation. The symbol of the University's athletic teams is a Native American figure, Chief Illiniwek, which has sparked significant controversy.

Chicago

Main article: University of Illinois at Chicago

The largest university in the Chicago area, UIC has 25,000 students, 15 colleges, including the nation’s largest medical school, and annual research expenditures exceeding $290 million. Playing a critical role in Illinois healthcare, UIC operates the state’s major public medical center and serves as the principal educator of Illinois’ physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses and other healthcare professionals.

The modern UIC was formed in 1982 by the consolidation of two U. of I. campuses: the Medical Center campus, which dates back to the nineteenth century; and the comprehensive Chicago Circle campus, which in 1965 replaced the two-year undergraduate Navy Pier campus designated to educate returning veterans. This consolidation and expansion is why "UIC" is the preferred shortened name today.

UIC’s student body is recognized as one of the nation’s most diverse, and they reflect the global character of Chicago.

Springfield

Main article: University of Illinois at Springfield

Another campus is University of Illinois at Springfield, formerly Sangamon State University from 1969 till June 30, 1995. It is the smallest of the three, and is located in Springfield, Illinois, the state capital of Illinois. It has only recently been expanded to offer four-year programs, having previously only admitted upperclassmen into a two-year program.

Notable alumni

Alumni Association

The University of Illinois Alumni Association publishes Illinois Alumni magazine bi-monthly. It contains feature articles on individual alumni, activities of the Alumni Association, obituaries, and other information designed to keep alumni informed and connected to campus. Illinois Alumni is provided by mail to dues-paying members of the Alumni Association. The magazine has been assigned ISSN 1096-5866 and it is in its 18th volume as of 2005.

External links