University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, also known as UIUC and the U of I (the officially preferred abbreviation), is the largest campus in the University of Illinois system. It is highly ranked in library and information science, engineering, computer science, physical sciences, advertising, psychology, educational psychology, agriculture, and accounting. The university is composed of 18 colleges and institutes that offer more than 150 programs of study.
11 alumni and nine professors from U of I have won the Nobel Prize.
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Campus
UIUCmainQuad.jpg
The campus' main research and academic facilities are divided almost exactly between the twin cities of Urbana and Champaign. The College of Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences' research fields stretch south from Urbana and Champaign into Savoy and Champaign County. The University Airport is located in Savoy, Illinois and the University maintains formal gardens and a conference center in nearby Monticello at Allerton Park.
The University is one of the few educational institutions to own an airport. The University owns and operates Willard Airport, named for former University of Illinois president Arthur Cutts Willard. The airport was completed in 1945 and began service in 1954. Willard Airport is home to many University research projects and the University's acclaimed Institute of Aviation.
The Campus is based on the Quadrangle design popular at many universities around the nation. Four main quads make up the center of the University and are arranged from north to south. The Beckman Quadrangle and the John Bardeen Quadrangle make up the center of the Engineering Campus. The Beckman Quadrangle is primarily composed of research units and laboratories and features a large solar calendar composed of an obelisk and several copper fountains. The Main Quadrangle and South Quadrangle follow immediately after the John Bardeen Quad. The former makes up a large part of the Liberal Arts and Sciences portion of the campus, while the latter comprises many of the buildings of the College of ACES (campus map (http://www.uiuc.edu/images/maps/campusmap.gif)).
Research
A nationally acclaimed research center, UIUC is the site of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, which created Mosaic, the first graphical Web browser, and Telnet. The University also has the third largest academic library, and the largest public engineering library (Grainger Engineering Library) in the country. The Daily Illini is the (unofficial) student newspaper. In 1952 the University built the ILLIAC (Illinois Automatic Computer), the first computer built and owned entirely by an educational institution. UIUC is also the site of the Department of Energy's Center for the Simulation of Advanced Rockets, an institute which has employed graduate and faculty researchers in the physical sciences and mathematics in some of the most advanced research in the field. This history of excellence continues into the 21st century, both with the recent opening of the Siebel Center for Computer Science, the most technologically advanced academic facility to date, and the anticipated opening of the Institute for Genomic Biology in 2006.
Student Life
Residences
The university requires all first-year undergraduate students (who do not commute) to stay in either the University Residence Halls or in University Private-Certified Housing. Both programs are administered by the university's housing division (http://www.housing.uiuc.edu). University housing for undergraduates is provided through twenty-two residence halls in both Urbana and Champaign. All undergraduates within the university housing system are required to purchase a meal plan, although they are free to eat elsewhere if they choose. Graduate housing is offered through two graduate dorms, restricted to those over twenty years of age, and through two university-owned apartment complexes. Severely disabled students are provided special housing options to accommodate their needs.
There are a number of private dormitories around campus, as well as a few houses that are outside of the Greek system and offer a more communal living experience. The private dorms tend to be more expensive to live in compared to other housing options. Private-certified residences maintain reciprocity agreements with the university, allowing students to move between the public and private housing systems if they are dissatisfied with their living conditions.
Most undergraduates choose to move into apartments or the Greek houses after their first or second year. The university Tenant Union offers advice on choosing apartments and the process of signing a lease.
Greek Life
The University has the largest intrafraternity system in America. There are currently 44 fraternities and 20 sororities on the campus providing an alternative living style for its 29,000 undergraduate students.
Libraries
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The University is recognized as having the largest public university library in the world with more than 22 million volumes[1] (http://www.publications.uiuc.edu/info/rankings.html) in the main library alone. The online catalogue is utilized by over one million people around the world every day. In addition to the main library the College of Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences maintains the ACES Library on the South Quad, the Grainger Engineering Library Information Center serves the College of Engineering on the John Bardeen Quad, and over 40 departments and schools maintain their own libraries elsewhere on campus.
Transportation
The University bus system is part of the local Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District. The university provides a substantial amount of funding for the MTD, which in turn provides free campus bus service and free access to the entire system for university students, faculty, and staff. All students pay a semesterly Transit Fee which provides part of the funding paid to the transit district. As part of this arrangement, the MTD also runs a bus line between Illinois Terminal, the campus, and the university's aforementioned University of Illinois Willard Airport. In addition, the Illinois Terminal provides connection services to Amtrak and Greyhound, making it the focal point of Chambana's public transportation systems.
The university maintains an extensive system of bike trails on campus. Cyclists are supposed to stay off the sidewalks, and to use the trails instead of roads when available. While pedestrians do have right-of-way while crossing the trails, it is common practice for bicycles to refuse right of way making bike trails unsafe for pedestrians. All students are expected to register their bicycles with the campus public safety department, and to keep their bicycles in a safe operating condition.
Athletics
See main article: University of Illinois Athletics
The University's Division of Intercollegiate Athletics fields teams for 10 men's and 11 women's varsity sports. The University participates in the NCAA's Division 1-A and forms part of the Big Ten athletic conference. The University's athletic teams are known as the Fighting Illini. The University operates a number of top athletic facilities, including Memorial Stadium for football, the Assembly Hall for men's basketball, and the Atkins Tennis Center for men's and women's tennis. The men's NCAA basketball team had a dream run in the 2005 season, with Bruce Weber's Fighting Illini tying the record for most victories in a season. Their run ended 37-2 with a loss to the N.C. Tar Heels in the national championship game.
Organization
Colleges and Schools
- College of Agriculture, 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
- College of Veterinary Medicine
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Notable faculty and alumni
See also: List of University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign people
As of 2005, ten alumni are Nobel laureates and sixteen have won a Pulitzer Prize. Alumni have created companies such as Netscape Communications, PayPal, and Oracle Corporation.
External links
- University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (http://www.uiuc.edu/)
- Official U of I athletics site (http://www.fightingillini.com/)