Author: Daniel Feng

Dear Chancellor’s Scholars, 

This November, the Campus Honors Program again will host our Keith Kelroy Convocation event. All Chancellor’s Scholars must attend one Keith Kelroy Convocation during their time in the program, and we offer one such event per year. The event is supported by the family of the late former Chancellor’s Scholar, Keith Kelroy. 

At this event, a prominent author or public figure shares insights from their work, and each attending student receives a copy of a publication written by the featured guest. We ask you to read the book prior to the event, as part of the evening is a Q and A with the author. Our Honors Student Council Academic Engagement Committee will offer you the chance to participate in voluntary book discussions leading up to the event. These are optional, but always highly worth it, and they bring you together with other Chancellor’s Scholars. 

This year’s guest author is Audrey Petty, editor of “High Rise Stories: Voices from Chicago Public Housing.” Audrey Petty writes fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction. Her stories have been published in such journals as African American Review, Story Quarterly, Callaloo, and The Massachusetts Review.  Her poetry has been featured in multiple publications. Her fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and she’s been the recipient of fellowships and grants from the Ford Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the Illinois Arts Council, and the Hewlett Foundation. She has taught extensively in the fields of African American literature and creative writing. She was formerly on the faculty in the Creative Writing Programs at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Knox College. She currently works as an editor, educator and writer at the Invisible Institute. She is also a member of the Prison + Neighborhood Arts/Education Project. 

On Thursday, November 14, beginning at 5pm, we will provide dinner at the Illini Union, Illini Rooms A&B, and feature Prof. Petty’s remarks. She will also sign the copies of the books that you will pick up at the Honors House (see below). The event will conclude around 7p (7:30p at latest). We are aware that a number of CHP students have mandatory events at 8p on Thursdays, and you will be able to attend those.  

We are able to accommodate a maximum of 125 students, which should permit all students who currently need the convocation requirement to attend. Seniors and juniors will be given priority, with interested sophomores and freshmen admitted if space permits.  

Please register for the event at your earliest convenience as this event will fill quickly, but no later than Monday, October 28, 2024.  

If you are committed to attend the event, please stop by the Campus Honors House to pick up your free copy of High Rise Stories any time between 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m, Monday-Friday. 

Please contact us at chp@illinois.edu with any questions.

We are so excited to have Prof. Audrey Petty as our guest this year!

Warmest wishes, 

Laurie JohnsonLaurie Johnson
Director, Campus Honors Program
1205 W. Oregon St.
Urbana, IL 61801 USA

Fall 2024 Semester’s KDR schedule is listed below (registration is open for all students); you must register and be confirmed to attend:

The Krannert Dress Rehearsal (KDR) programs provide an opportunity to hear context about a performance from a director or other expert, and then to experience the production. The Krannert Center for the Performing Arts is an educational and performing arts complex located at 500 South Goodwin Street in Urbana. Chancellor’s Scholars are only required to do one KDR in your time at UI, but you may go to more during your time at UI, for a maximum of one per semester.

Students may register for a Krannert Dress Rehearsal on the Events Calendar at https://calendars.illinois.edu/list/4956. You can register now! You must attend the talk and the performance to receive credit for the KDR. If the program is full when you go to register, please email chp@illinois.edu to be placed on a waitlist, and if there is a spot open, you will be notified by the day of the event. (Please sign up for only one KDR in a semester.) If you register and can’t attend, please respond to rockman@illinois.edu when you receive your confirmation before the event.

1)            “October Dance” (dance performances)    Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Presenter Roxane d’Orleans Juste                               Presentation:  6:30 – 7:15 p.m., Krannert Room
                                                                      Performance: begins at 7:30 p.m., Tryon Festival Theatre

October Dance 2024 reactivates dance history, honoring masterworks of the past in a contemporary context. The concert features work by José Limón (staged by Associate Professor Roxane d’Orléans Juste), Merce Cunningham (staged by Associate Professor Paige Cunningham Caldarella), as well as a new work for the first-year dance majors that will unpack “The Big Four” founders of modern dance (choreographed by Teaching Assistant Professor Rachel Rizzuto). Undergraduate senior Tessa Olson makes a mainstage debut with a work diving into the history, context, and techniques of “moshing” or “slam-dancing” with a live punk band, offering an expansive update on the dance “canon.”

2)            “Orlando” (based on Virginia Wolfe novel)    Thursday, October 31, 2024
Playwright Sara Ruhl                                                   Presentation:  6:30 – 7:15 p.m., Krannert Room
Director Kim McKean                                             Performance: begins at 7:30 p.m., Studio Theatre Dramaturg M. Landon

The young Elizabethan courtier Orlando, frustrated with a dull life at court, wanders the world in search of a muse. However, when he unexpectedly awakens as a woman at the turn of the 18th century, Orlando must reevaluate who she is in relation to the world’s changing understanding of gender. Called the “longest and most charming love letter in history,” Virginia Woolf’s magical novel, dedicated to her lover Vita Sackville-West and poetically adapted by Sarah Ruhl for the stage, embarks on a wildly theatrical and imaginative journey of self-discovery through 400 years of history.

3)         “Oklahoma!” (Rodgers and Hammerstein)      Monday, November 11, 2024
Stage Director Sarah Wigley                           Presentation:  6:30 – 7:15 p.m., Krannert Room
Musical Director Michael Tilley                    Performance: begins at 7:30 p.m., Tryon Festival Theatre
Dramaturg Jeffrey Magee
Choreographer Whitney Havice

Oklahoma!, the first musical written by the duo Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, opened on Broadway in March 1943, ran for a then-unprecedented 2,212 performances, and earned a special Pulitzer Prize. It later enjoyed an Oscar-winning 1955 film adaptation, five Broadway revivals to 2020, and countless high-school, collegiate, community, regional, and international productions. It tells the story of farm girl Laurey Williams and her courtship by two rival suitors, cowboy Curly McLain and farmhand Jud Fry, in 1906, the moment when so-called Indian Territory stood on the cusp of statehood. Behind the show’s romantic complications—and its memorable musical numbers—stand broader questions of community, belonging, and national identity, and the costs of answering those questions.

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Scholar Adventurer Series (SAS) will be announced within the next couple weeks! There will be at least a dozen SAS programs to choose from, and they run from September through November. Students may sign-up for as many SAS as they’d like in a semester, but please respond if *not* able to attend when sent confirmation a few days before each program.

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We wanted to provide you with the printing policy for the Campus Honors Program.

1. Printing is free for Chancellor’s Scholars only!
2. Send print requests to chp@illinois.edu.
3. Printing is for coursework only and is limited to 20 pages per person per day.
4. Please give CHP staff a lead time of at least two hours.  Files must be ready to print. Accepted formats: PDF or Word for documents; JPEG or PNG for images.
5. We will leave your printing on the table in the front hallway of the Honors House to pick up at your convenience. 
6. Please pick up your printing within the week it is requested.  Any printing not picked up by Friday at 5pm will be recycled.

Please note: Printing is not available over the lunch hour from 12:00-1:00 pm, after 5pm or on the weekends.

Thank you for your cooperation in following these guidelines.  This will help us to continue to offer free printing as a benefit to you.

Thanks,

CHP Staff

Hello Chancellor’s Scholars,

Are you looking for a great way to earn points towards graduating with distinction while helping students new to CHP get acclimated to the program?  We have a great opportunity for you to do both!

We will be continuing CHP Connections, our mentoring program for first-year CHP students this upcoming fall semester, CHP Connections allows new students to transition into our program while receiving advice and mentorship from an upperclassman already familiar with the program. Groups of approximately 2-4 first-year students will be paired with a returning Chancellor’s Scholar.

Dedicated mentors will receive one point towards graduation with distinction per semester. Throughout the year, mentors will be expected to connect with their group at least once a month. This can include attending a CHP event together, grabbing coffee/food, studying together, or just meeting up to talk! To support our mentors, CHP Connections will provide you with resources and guidance to ensure a successful and positive mentorship experience. 

As a CHP Connections mentor, you are invited to attend the CHP Orientation BBQ at the Honors House on August 23rd from 5:00-7:00 PM. This will be a great opportunity for you to meet your mentorship group for the first time!

Please complete the CHP Mentor Volunteer Form by Monday, August 12 at 5PM to sign up to be a mentor and be paired with a group of first-year students. Please fill out this form even if you are not interested in being a mentor this semester. 

This was a very successful program last year and we are excited to offer it again this year, but we can’t do it without your participation!  

If you have any questions about the mentorship program or volunteering to be a mentor, you can email us at adelem2@illinois.edu and fquir3@illinois.edu.

Thank you, 

Adele Miller and Flor Quiroz
CHP Connection Chairs

Sign up for this semester’s SAS programming!

Fall 2024 Semester SAS offerings are listed below (registration is now open!, through the day before each program); every event must be registered for, and confirmation/location info will be sent to all registrants a few days before each event):

The Scholar Adventurers Series (SAS) is a series of events offered throughout the year by faculty members and others from a variety of disciplines who are engaged in interesting research projects or special educational endeavors. Students may register for Scholar Adventurers Series (SAS) programs on the Events Calendar at https://calendars.illinois.edu/list/4956.

What Work Is: How Do We Experience Our Lives Through the Work We do with Robert Bruno on Thursday, 9/19/24
Politics’ Impact on Relationships with Emily Van Duyn on Monday, 9/23/24
Photography and U.S. Presidents Throughout History with Cara Finnegan on Monday, 9/30/24
Memorial Stadium Tour – 100 Years of History with Dennis Craig on Friday, 10/4/24
Advertising and Algorithms with Ewa Maslowska on Tuesday, 10/8/24
Scientific Communication in the Ancient Mediterranean World with Rob Chappell (via Zoom) on Wednesday, 10/16/24
CASCaDe with Latrelle Bright, Stephen Taylor, and Smitha Vishveshwara on Thursday, 10/17/24
Bodies as Evidence: When Water Becomes a Weapon with Terri Weissman on Wednesday, 10/23/24
Fundamentals of Trauma Informed Care and Practice with Karen Simms on Thursday, 10/24/24
“Creating Your Powerful Resume” Workshop with James Castree on Tuesday, 10/29/24
The Fourth State of Matter and the Cool Things You Can Do With It with David Ruzic and Daniel Andruczyk on Friday, 11/1/24
Study Abroad Workshop with Joy Phaphouvaninh, Carolina Rocha, and students on Monday, 11/4/24
“I Miss the Old Kanye” – Sampling Practices and History with Lamont Holden on Wednesday, 11/6/24
Post Presidential Election Analysis with Brian Gaines on Monday, 11/18/24

If an SAS is full when you go to register, please e-mail chp@illinois.edu to be placed on a waitlist.

Students must participate in at least eight Scholar Adventurers Series (SAS) programs prior to graduation (approximately one per semester). A student may sign up for more than one SAS per semester (as many as you want), but repeat attendance in an SAS does not earn additional credit. If you need to cancel a registration, please let us know at chp@illinois.edu. Again, if an SAS is full when you go to register, please request to be put on the waitlist at chp@illinois.edu.

Questions? Comments? Contact chp@illinois.edu. Suggestions for future SAS programs? Please send an email to CHP Associate Director Elizabeth Rockman at rockman@illinois.edu.

Krannert Dress Rehearsals were announced last week, and are currently full! There are 3 programs, in October and November. Students are asked to sign up for only one KDR each semester. Please e-mail chp@illinois.edu to be added to a specific KDR waitlist.

Spring 2023 Semester SAS offerings are listed below (registration is now open!, through the day before each program); every event must be registered for, and confirmation info will be sent to all registrants a few days before each event):

The Scholar Adventurers Series (SAS) is a series of events offered throughout the year by faculty members and others from a variety of disciplines who are engaged in interesting research projects or special educational endeavors. Students may register for Scholar Adventurers Series (SAS) programs on the Events Calendar at https://calendars.illinois.edu/list/4956

SAS listed below are ready for registration; you can sign up for as many as you’d like, and if you need to be placed on a waitlist, e-mail chp@illinois.edu:

• Harvesting Water Vapor: Increasing Freshwater Supply to Sustainably Address Global Water Security At Scale with Praveen Kumar on Monday, 2/20/23
• Why can Politicians Lie (in Advertising?), but Cheeseburgers Can’t? with Michelle Nelson on Monday, 2/27/23
• Indigenous Activism and Environmental Justice with Rosalyn LaPier on Monday, 3/6/23
• Tea Ceremony at Japan House (2 sessions) with Jennifer Gunji-Ballsrud, Kimiko Gunji, and Lindsey Stirek on Wednesday, 3/22/23           
• Intro to/Applying for Nationally Competitive Scholarships (2 sessions) with David Schug, Nicole Nowbahar, and students on Thursday, 3/23/23
• The Physics of Baseball with Alan Nathan on Thursday, 3/30/23
• The Science of Educational Video Game Design with H. Chad Lane on Tuesday, 4/4/23
• Why Saying ‘Thank You’ Matters More Than You Think: Gratitude in Interpersonal Relations with Allen Barton on Thursday, 4/13/23
• The Consilience of Music and Technology in Understanding the Value of Indigenous Knowledge with Bernard Scully, Ann-Perry Witmer, and Jessica Mingee on Monday, 4/17/23
• Engineering “Mini Brains” to Study Neural Development, Injury, and Disease with Caroline Cvetkovic on Thursday, 4/20/23
• Smith Memorial Hall Tour – Music and History with Dennis Craig on Friday, 4/21/23
• Undergraduate Research Symposium with CHP Summer Research grant recipients and URS Presenters on Tuesday, 4/25/23   

If an SAS is full when you go to register, e-mail chp@illinois.edu to be placed on a waitlist.

Students entering the CHP after Fall 2018 must participate in at least eight Scholar Adventurers Series (SAS) programs prior to graduation (approximately one per semester). A student may sign up for more than one SAS per semester, however, repeat attendance in an SAS does not earn additional credit. If you need to cancel a registration, please delete your submission using the link in the confirmation email that was sent upon submission of your registration, and contact the CHP at chp@illinois.edu.

KDR listed below are ready for registration! Please only sign up for one, and if you need to be placed on the waitlist, e-mail chp@illinois.edu:
2/22/23, The Royale, Talk at 6:30, Performance at 7:30 p.m.
4/14/23, Coriolanus, Talk at 6:30, Performance at 7:30 p.m.
(There may be an additional 4/11 KDR opportunity at the Virginia Theatre announced in March!)

Students are required to do only one KDR over 4 years, but may do more (not more than one per semester). You must attend the talk and the performance to receive credit for the KDR. If the program is full when you go to register, please email chp@illinois.edu to be placed on a waitlist, and if there is a spot open, you will be notified by the day of the event. (Please sign up for only one KDR in a semester.) 

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Scheduled for Thursday April 27, 2023, the Undergraduate Research Symposium is a daylong event organized and hosted by OUR where students can present poster, oral, and creative presentations. The URS will be held in the Illini Union. For all information – and to apply to present! – go to https://undergradresearch.illinois.edu/symposium.html

The application portal for students to apply is now live; the deadline for students to apply to present at the 2023 URS is March 10, 2023 at 11:59 pm.