Exit Interview
What are your feelings about leaving Illinois? Mixed emotions. Leading this institution has been the most profound experience of my 46 years in higher education. But, sometimes things happen. Back
Illini 411: What was the U of I’s smallest graduating class?
A: Although, at 20 members, the University’s first graduating class (1872) was this close to fitting in a clown car, the Class of 1874 has them beat. The third graduating
At the Movies
Half a century ago, on May 5, 1975, the Chicago Sun-Times’ Roger Ebert, ’64 MEDIA, became the first movie critic to win a Pulitzer Prize. He soon joined his crosstown
Memory Lane: Hash Wednesday
Today, there are more than half-a-dozen pot dispensaries within a short drive of campus. But until 2020, when recreational marijuana use was legalized in Illinois, U. of I. students were
Great Sport Moments: Final Four Fever
Ask any Illinois men’s basketball booster the most cherished game and year involving their favorite team, and the answers are always the same: the 2005 regional final against Arizona and
Sports Legends: The “Osborn Roll”
He doesn’t have a statue or a building with his name on it. But Harold M. Osborn, 1922 ACES, probably should. At the 1924 Olympics, Illinois great Osborn became the
Illini 411: How does the university keep ground water out of the steam tunnels?
A: A torrential downpour? Melting snow and ice? No sweat. All nine miles of the underground steam tunnels, which connect many of the campus’ buildings and have been used as
A Healing Presence
Soon after McKinley Hospital opened at the University of Illinois, it was featured in the January 1926 issue of Illinois Alumni News, under a headline that might have appeared,
Illini 411: How many U.S. presidents have visited the U of I?
A: Enough to fill a pickup basketball team—which would no doubt please former president Barack Obama, who gave a post-presidency speech at Foellinger Auditorium, in 2018. Two presidents visited the
Illini 411: When did the “I-L-L / I-N-I” stadium cheer begin?
A: The iconic cheer, in which one side of the Memorial Stadium crowd yells “I-L-L” and the other responds “I-N-I,” has been a mainstay of Illini football games since the
