 | |
Former names | Illinois Industrial University (1867–1885) University of Illinois (1885–1982) University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (1982–2021)[1] |
|---|---|
| Motto | "Learning & Labor" |
| Type | Publicland-grantresearch university |
| Established | 1867; 158 years ago (1867) |
Parent institution | University of Illinois System |
| Accreditation | HLC |
Academic affiliations | |
| Endowment | $3.38 billion (2023) (system-wide)[2] |
| Budget | $7.7 billion (2023) (system-wide)[3] |
| Chancellor | Charles Lee Isbell Jr. |
| Provost | John Coleman[4] |
Academic staff | 2,548 |
Administrative staff | 8,803[5] |
| Students | 60,848 (2025)[6] |
| Undergraduates | 38,572 (2025)[6] |
| Postgraduates | 20,877 (2025)[6] |
| Location | , Illinois ,United States |
| Campus | Small city[8], 6,370 acres (2,578 ha)[7] |
| Newspaper | The Daily Illini |
| Colors | Orange and blue[9] |
| Nickname | Fighting Illini |
Sporting affiliations | NCAA Division IFBS –Big Ten |
| Website | illinois |
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TheUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC,U. of I.,Illinois, orUniversity of Illinois)[10][11] is apublicland-grantresearch university in theChampaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the founding campus andflagship institution of theUniversity of Illinois System. With over 59,000 students, the University of Illinois is one of thelargest public universities by enrollment in the United States.
The university contains 16 schools and colleges[12] and offers more than 150 undergraduate and over 100 graduate programs of study. The university holds 651 buildings on 6,370 acres (2,578 ha)[7] and its annual operating budget in 2016 was over $2 billion.[13] The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign also operatesa research park home to innovation centers for over 90 start-up companies andmultinational corporations.[14]
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a member of theAssociation of American Universities and isclassified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".[15] In fiscal year 2019, research expenditures at Illinois totaled $652 million.[16][14] The campus library system possesses thefourth-largest university library in the United States by holdings.[17] The university also hosts theNational Center for Supercomputing Applications.[18]
The alumni, faculty members, or researchers of the university include 24Nobel laureates, 27Pulitzer Prize winners, 2Fields medalists, and 2Turing Award winners. Illinois athletic teams compete inDivision I of theNCAA and are collectively known as theFighting Illini. They are members of theBig Ten Conference and have won thesecond-most conference titles.Illinois Fighting Illini football won theRose Bowl Game in 1947, 1952, 1964 and a total of five national championships. Illinois athletes have won 29 medals inOlympic events.
The University of Illinois, originally named "Illinois Industrial University", was one of the 37 universities created under the firstMorrill Land-Grant Act, which provided public land for the creation of agricultural and industrial colleges and universities across the United States. Among several cities,Urbana was selected in 1867 as the site for the new school.[20][21] From the beginning, PresidentJohn Milton Gregory's desire to establish an institution firmly grounded in theliberal arts tradition was at odds with many state residents and lawmakers who wanted the university to offer classes based solely around "industrial education".[22] The university opened for classes on March 2, 1868, and had two faculty members and 77 students.[23]
The library, which opened with the school in 1868, started with 1,039 volumes. Subsequently, PresidentEdmund J. James, in a speech to the board of trustees in 1912, proposed to create a research library. It is now one of the world's largest public academic collections.[21][24][25] In 1870, the Mumford House was constructed as a model farmhouse for the school's experimental farm. The Mumford House remains the oldest structure on campus.[26] The original University Hall (1871) was the fourth building built; it stood where the Illini Union stands today.[27]
The University of Illinois' Undergraduate Library (UGL) was constructed underground to preserve open space on campus and to prevent casting shadows on the adjacent Morrow Plots, the oldest continually used experimental agricultural fields in the United States.[28] This unique design inspired The Other Guys, a student a cappella group, to create the "Morrow Plots Song," humorously explaining that the library was built underground "'Cause you can't throw shade on the corn".[29] The song has become a beloved piece among students and alumni, celebrating the university's history and traditions.
In 1885, the Illinois Industrial University officially changed its name to the "University of Illinois", reflecting its agricultural, mechanical, and liberal arts curriculum.[22] According to educational historianRoger L. Geiger, Illinois and a few other public and private universities set the standard for what theresearch university in the United States would become.[30][31]During his presidency,Edmund J. James (1904–1920) set the policy of building a massive research library.[32] He also laid the foundation for the large Chinese international student population on campus.[33] James established ties with China through the Chinese Minister to the United StatesWu Ting-Fang. Class rivalries andBob Zuppke's winning football teams contributed to campus morale.[21]
Alma Mater, a prominent statue on campus created by alumnusLorado Taft, was unveiled on June 11, 1929. It was funded from donations by the Alumni Fund and the classes of 1923–1929.[34]
TheGreat Depression in the United States slowed construction and expansion on the campus. The university replaced the original university hall with Gregory Hall and theIllini Union. After World War II, the university experienced rapid growth. The enrollment doubled and the academic standing improved.[35] This period was also marked by large growth in the Graduate College and increased federal support of scientific and technological research. During the 1950s and 1960s the university experienced the turmoil common on many American campuses. Among these were the water fights of the 1950s and 1960s.[36]
By 1967, theUniversity of Illinois system consisted of a main campus in Champaign-Urbana and two Chicago campuses, Chicago Circle (UICC) and Medical Center (UIMC), and people began using "Urbana-Champaign" or the reverse to refer to the main campus specifically. The university name officially changed to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by 1977 (although the word "at" was later dropped for marketing purposes by all U of I System campuses by 2021). While this was a reversal of the commonly used designation for the metropolitan area (Champaign-Urbana), a majority of the campus is located in Urbana. The name change established a separate identity for the main campus within theUniversity of Illinois System, which today includes separate institutions at theUniversity of Illinois Chicago (formed by the merger of UICC and UIMC) andUniversity of Illinois Springfield.
In 1998, the Hallene Gateway Plaza was dedicated. The Plaza features the original sandstone portal of University Hall, which was originally the fourth building on campus.[27] In recent years, state support has declined from 4.5% of the state's tax appropriations in 1980 to 2.28% in 2011, a nearly 50% decline.[37] As a result, the university's budget has shifted away from relying on state support with nearly 84% of the budget coming from other sources in 2012.[38]
On March 12, 2015, the Board of Trustees approved the creation of a medical school, the first college created at Urbana-Champaign in 60 years.[39][40][41] TheCarle Illinois College of Medicine began classes in 2018.[42] It is the world's first engineering-based medical school.[43]
The main research and academic facilities are divided almost evenly between the twin cities ofUrbana andChampaign, which form part of theChampaign–Urbana metropolitan area. Some parts are inUrbana Township.[44]
Four main quads compose the center of the university and are arranged from north to south. The Beckman Quadrangle and theJohn Bardeen Quadrangle occupy the center of theEngineering Campus.Boneyard Creek flows through the John Bardeen Quadrangle, parallel to Green Street. The Beckman Quadrangle, named afterArnold Orville Beckman, is primarily composed of research units and laboratories, and features a large solar calendar consisting 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 theLiberal Arts and Sciences portion of the campus, while the latter comprises many of the buildings of theCollege of Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES) spread across the campus map.[45]
Additionally, the research fields of the College of ACES stretch south from Urbana and Champaign intoSavoy andChampaign County. The university also maintains formal gardens and a conference center in nearbyMonticello atAllerton Park.
The campus is known for its landscape and architecture, as well as distinctive landmarks.[46] It was identified as one of 50 college or university "works of art" by T.A. Gaines in his bookThe Campus as a Work of Art.[47] The campus also has a number of buildings and sites on theU.S. National Register of Historic Places includingHarker Hall, theAstronomical Observatory,Louise Freer Hall, theMain Library, theExperimental Dairy Farm Historic District, and theMorrow Plots.University of Illinois Willard Airport is one of the few airports owned by an educational institution.[48]
Chesterbrook Academy private preschool, which opened in 2007, is located on the campus and serves infants through Pre-K.[49][50]
In 2008, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign became a signatory of the American College and University Presidents' Climate Commitment, binding the campus to the goal ofcarbon neutrality as soon as possible. In 2010, the first Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) was written to chart a path to this goal. The iCAP is a strategic framework for meeting the university's Climate Leadership Commitments to be carbon-neutral by 2050 or sooner and build resilience with its local community. Since then, the iCAP has been rewritten every five years to track the university's progress.
In December 2013, the University of Illinois launched the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE) on the Urbana-Champaign campus. The institute, under the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, leads an interdisciplinary approach to researching solutions for the world's most pressing sustainability, energy, and environmental needs. In addition, iSEE has engaged students, faculty, staff, and campus leadership in the iCAP process — especially in the areas of zero waste and conservation of energy, food, water, land, and natural resources — as well as sustainability outreach and immersive educational programs.
In 2022, new solar and geothermal energy projects, a reduction in water use, and wide-ranging sustainability research helped the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign earn its fifth consecutive gold certification in theSustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS).[51] Illinois has consistently achieved gold certification since it began reporting data through STARS in 2013, and the 2022 score was one of its highest to date.
Currently, the campus features 27 LEED-certified buildings.
As of 2024, 87% of students graduate within 8 years of entering, compared to the national median of 58% for all 4-year universities nationwide.[52]
| Undergraduate admissions statistics | |
|---|---|
| Admit rate | 36.6% (  −26.7) |
| Test scoresmiddle 50%[i] | |
| SAT Total | 1420–1540 |
| ACT Composite | 31–35 |
| |
The overall first-year admit rate for 2025 is 36.6%, which differs among U. of I. colleges.[56][55] Certain majors can be extremely competitive, such as computer science (where the university's program is consistenly ranked fifth nationwide[57][58]) with an acceptance rate of 7.4% in 2025.[56]
| 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Applicants | 63,257 | 47,593 | 43,473 | 43,509 | 39,406 | 38,965 | 38,093 |
| Admits | 28,354 | 28,395 | 27,520 | 25,684 | 24,496 | 23,974 | 22,881 |
| Admit rate | 44.8 | 59.7 | 63.3 | 59.0 | 62.2 | 61.5 | 60.1 |
| Enrolled | 7,957 | 8,303 | 7,530 | 7,665 | 7,609 | 7,518 | 7,593 |
| Yield rate | 27.4 | 29.2 | 27.4 | 29.8 | 31.1 | 31.4 | 33.2 |
| ACT composite* (out of 36) | 30–34 (55.4%†) | 29–34 (24%†) | 27–33 (50%†) | 27–33 (55%†) | 26–32 (63%†) | 26–32 (85%†) | 26–32 (85%†) |
| SAT composite* (out of 1600) | 1350–1510 (55.4%†) | 1340–1510 (43%†) | 1220–1450 (75%†) | 1230–1460 (79%†) | 1220–1480 (63%†) | 1340–1500 (22%†) | — |
| * middle 50% range † percentage of first-time freshmen who chose to submit | |||||||
| College | ACT composite* (middle 50%, out of 36) | SAT composite* (middle 50%, out of 1600) | Admit rate | Computer Science Programs[56][67] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grainger College of Engineering | 33–35 | 1480–1550 | 21.2% | Computer Science admit rate: 7.4% Computer Science + X admit rate: 17.4% |
| College of Liberal Arts & Sciences | 31–35 | 1420–1530 | 36.4% | |
| Gies College of Business | 31–34 | 1430–1520 | 20.9% | |
| School of Information Sciences | 32–35 | 1450–1530 | 48.1% | |
| School of Social Work | 27–33 | 1200–1400 | 44.6% |
In 2009, an investigation byThe Chicago Tribune reported that some applicants "receivedspecial consideration" for acceptance between 2005 and 2009, despite having sub-par qualifications.[68] This incident became known as theUniversity of Illinois clout scandal.
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | |
|---|---|
| College/School | Year Founded |
| Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences | 1867 |
| Fine and Applied Arts | 1867 |
| Grainger College of Engineering | 1868 |
| Information Sciences | 1893 |
| Applied Health Sciences | 1895 |
| Law | 1897 |
| Education | 1905 |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences | 1913 |
| Gies College of Business | 1915 |
| Media | 1927 |
| Social Work | 1944 |
| Labor and Employment Relations | 1946 |
| Veterinary Medicine | 1948 |
| Carle Illinois College of Medicine | 2015 |
The university offers more than 150 undergraduate and 100 graduate and professional programs in over 15 academic units, among several online specializations such as Digital Marketing and an online MBA program launched in January 2016. In 2015, the university announced its expansion to include an engineering-based medical program, which would be the first new college created in Urbana-Champaign in 60 years.[40][41] The university also offers undergraduate students the opportunity for graduation honors. University Honors is an academic distinction awarded to the highest achieving students. To earn the distinction, students must have a cumulative grade point average of a 3.5/4.0 within the academic year of their graduation and rank within the top 3% of their graduating class. Their names are inscribed on a Bronze Tablet that hangs in the Main Library.[69]
In addition to the university's Illinois Online platform, in 2015 the university entered into a partnership with the Silicon Valley educational technology companyCoursera to offer a series of master's degrees, certifications, and specialization courses, currently including more than 70 joint learning classes. In August 2015, the Master of Business Administration program was launched through the platform.[70] On March 31, 2016, Coursera announced the launch of the Master of Computer Science in Data Science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.[71] At the time, the university's computer-science graduate program was ranked fifth in the United States byU.S. News & World Report.[72] On March 29, 2017, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign launched their Master's in Accounting (iMSA) program, now called the Master of Science in Accountancy (iMSA) program. The iMSA program is led through live sessions, headed by Illinois faculty.[73]
Similar to the university's on-campus admission policies, the online master's degrees offered by the U. of I. through Coursera also has admission requirements. All applicants must hold a bachelor's degree, and have earned a 3.0 GPA or higher in the last two years of study. Additionally, all applicants must prove their proficiency in English.[74][75]
The U. of I. also offers online courses in partnership with Coursera, such asMarketing in a DigitalWorld, which focuses on how digital tools like internet, smartphone and 3D printers are changing the marketing landscape.
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In the 2021U.S. News & World Report "America's Best Colleges" report, Illinois's undergraduate program was ranked tied for 47th among national universities and tied for 15th among public universities, with its undergraduate engineering program ranked tied for 6th in the U.S. among schools whose highest degree is a doctorate.[89]
Washington Monthly ranked Illinois 18th among 389 national universities in the U.S. for 2020, based on its contribution to the public good as measured by social mobility, research, and promoting public service.[90]Kiplinger's Personal Finance rated Illinois 12th in its 2019 list of 174 Best Values in Public Colleges,[91] which "measures academic quality, cost and financial aid."
The Graduate Program in Urban Planning at the College of Fine and Applied Arts was ranked 3rd nationally by Planetizen in 2015.[92] The university was also listed as a "Public Ivy" inThe Public Ivies: America's Flagship Public Universities (2001) by Howard and Matthew Greene.[93]The Princeton Review ranked Illinois 1st in its 2016 list of top party schools.[94]
Internationally, Illinois engineering was ranked 13th in the world in 2016 by theAcademic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) and the university 38th in 2019;[95] the university was also ranked 48th globally by theTimes Higher Education World University Rankings in 2020 and 75th in the world by theQS World University Rankings for 2020. TheCenter for World University Rankings (CWUR) has ranked University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as the 20th best university in the world for 2019–20.[96]
Illinois is also ranked 32nd in the world inTimes Higher Education World Reputation Rankings for 2018.[97]
Notable among significant donors, alumnus entrepreneurThomas M. Siebel has committed nearly $150 million to the university, including $36 million to build theThomas M. Siebel Center for Computer Science, $25 million to build theSiebel Center for Design, and $50 million to support the renamed Department of Computer Science to become Siebel School of Computing and Data Science.[98] Furthermore, the Grainger Foundation (founded by alumnusW. W. Grainger) has contributed more than $300 million to the university over the last half-century,[citation needed] including donations for the construction of theGrainger Engineering Library. Larry Gies and his wife Beth donated $150 million in 2017 to the shortly thereafter renamedGies College of Business.[99]
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is often regarded as a world-leading magnet for engineering and sciences (both applied and basic).[100] According to theNational Science Foundation, the university spent $625 million on research and development in 2018, ranking it 37th in the nation.[16][14] It is also listed as one of the top 25 American research universities byThe Center for Measuring University Performance.[101]
Besides the annual influx of grants and sponsored projects, the university manages an extensive modern research infrastructure.[102] The university has been a leader in computer-based education and hosted thePLATO project, which was a precursor to the internet and resulted in the development of theplasma display. Illinois was a 2nd-generationARPAnet site in 1971 and was the first institution to license theUNIX operating system from Bell Labs. InBill Gates' 2004 talk as part of his five-university campus tour titled "Software Breakthroughs: Solving the Toughest Problems in Computer Science,"[103] he mentioned thatMicrosoft hired more graduates from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign than from any other university in the world.[104]
The university hosts theNational Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), which createdMosaic, the first graphicalweb browser, theApache HTTP server, andNCSA Telnet. The Parallel@Illinois program hosts several programs inparallel computing, including theUniversal Parallel Computing Research Center. The university contracted withCray to build theNational Science Foundation-funded supercomputerBlue Waters.[105][106][107] The system also has the largest public online storage system in the world with more than 25 petabytes of usable space.[108] The university celebrated January 12, 1997, as the "birthday" ofHAL 9000, the fictional supercomputer from the novel and film2001: A Space Odyssey; in both works, HAL credits "Urbana, Illinois" as his place of operational origin.
TheBeckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology supports interdisciplinary collaborative research in the broad areas of intelligent systems, neuroscience, molecular science and engineering, and biomedical imaging.
TheCarl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology supports research in genomics and related areas of biology.
ThePrairie Research Institute on campus houses several divisions, including theIllinois Natural History Survey, Illinois State Geological Survey, Illinois State Water Survey, Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, and Illinois State Archaeological Survey. Researchers focus on areas such as agriculture, biodiversity, climate, public health, emerging pests, energy, mineral resources, pollution mitigation, and water resources. The Illinois Natural History Survey holds extensive collections, including one of North America's largest insect collections. The Illinois State Geological Survey manages the Illinois Geological Samples Library and paleontological collections. The Illinois State Archaeological Survey preserves a large collection of Illinois archaeological artifacts, including those from theCahokia Mounds.[109]
The Technology Entrepreneur Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign offers resources for students to develop their entrepreneurial ideas, including classes, competitions, and workshops.[110] It hosts events including the Cozad New Venture Challenge, Silicon Valley Entrepreneurship Workshop, Illinois I-Corps, and SocialFuse. The Cozad Challenge, held annually since 2000, provides mentorship and workshops on venture creation, with teams competing for funding.[111] The Silicon Valley Workshop, a week-long event in January, exposes students to startups, technology companies, and entrepreneurial alumni inSilicon Valley.[112] Illinois I-Corps helps National Science Foundation grantees identify valuable product opportunities from academic research through customer discovery and entrepreneurship training.[113][114] SocialFuse is a pitching and networking event where students can present ideas and connect with potential teammates.[115]
The Center for Plasma-Material Interactions was established in 2004 by Professor David N. Ruzic to research the complex behavior betweenions,electrons, andenergetic atoms generated inplasmas and the surfaces of materials. CPMI encompassesfusion plasmas in its research.[116][117][118]
In 2007, the university-hosted researchInstitute for Condensed Matter Theory (ICMT) was launched, with the directorPaul Goldbart and the chief scientistAnthony Leggett. ICMT is currently located at the Engineering Science Building on campus.
Located in the southwest part of campus,Research Park opened its first building in 2001 and has grown to encompass 13 buildings. Ninety companies have established roots in research park, employing over 1,400 people. Tenants of the Research Park facilities include prominent Fortune 500 companies Capital One, John Deere, State Farm, Caterpillar, and Yahoo, Inc. Companies also employ about 400 total student interns at any given time throughout the year. The complex is also a center for entrepreneurs, and has over 50 startup companies stationed at its EnterpriseWorks Incubator facility.[119]
In 2011, Urbana, Illinois, was named number 11 on Popular Mechanics' "14 Best Startup Cities in America" list, in a large part due to the contributions of Research Park's programs.[120] The park has gained recognition from other notable publications, such as inc.com and Forbes magazine. For the 2011 fiscal year, Research Park produced an economic output of $169.5M for the state of Illinois.[121]
In the field of natural sciences, theBCS theory, a groundbreaking theory ofsuperconductivity, was proposed byJohn Bardeen in collaboration withLeon Cooper and his doctoral studentJohn Robert Schrieffer. Their work earned them theNobel Prize in Physics in 1972.[122] In the realm of agricultural science, John Laughnan, while a professor, developedsweet corn with higher-than-normal sugar content, a significant advancement in crop science.[123]
In computer and applied sciences, several notable achievements originated from the University of Illinois. TheILLIAC I, built in 1952, was the first computer entirely constructed and owned by a U.S. educational institution. It was also used byLejaren Hiller andLeonard Issacson to create theIlliac Suite, the first known composition written by an electronic computer.[124][125] The development ofLLVM, initially started byVikram Adve andChris Lattner, is now recognized as a major project in compiler infrastructure.[126] Another milestone was the development of theMosaic web browser at theNational Center for Supercomputing Applications in 1993.[127]
NAMD, a molecular dynamics simulation code, was pioneered byKlaus Schulten and his team at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, further advancing computational biophysics. ThePLATO system, also developed at the University of Illinois, was the first generalizedcomputer assisted instruction system, which by the late 1970s supported thousands of terminals globally, introducing many concepts foundational to modern multi-user computing such as forums, instant messaging, and online testing.[128][129] In terms of interface technologies,Donald Bitzer was instrumental in the 1960s development of bothtouchscreens andplasma displays.[130] Furthermore, Doug Brown and David R. Woolley createdTalkomatic in 1973 on the PLATO system, an early online chat system enabling real-time text communication among small groups.[131][132][133]
In the realm of audio-visual technology,Joseph Tykociński-Tykociner publicly demonstrated for the first time a motion picture with a soundtrack optically recorded directly onto the film in 1922.[134]
| Race and ethnicity[52] | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 39% | ||
| Asian | 22% | ||
| Hispanic | 14% | ||
| Foreign national | 14% | ||
| Black | 6% | ||
| Other[a] | 5% | ||
| Economic diversity | |||
| Low-income[b] | 26% | ||
| Affluent[c] | 74% | ||
As of spring 2018, the university had 45,813 students.[135] As of 2015[update], over 10,000 students were international students, and of them 5,295 wereMainland Chinese.[136] The university also recruits students from over 100 countries[137][138] among its 32,878[139] undergraduate students and 10,245[139] graduate and professional students.[138] The gender breakdown is 55% men, 45% women.[138] Illinois in 2014 enrolled 4,898 students from China, more than any other American university. They comprise the largest group of international students on the campus, followed by South Korea (1,268 in fall 2014) and India (1,167). Graduate enrollment of Chinese students at Illinois has grown from 649 in 2000 to 1,973 in 2014.[140]
The university has over 1,000 active registered student organizations,[141] showcased at the start of each academic year during Illinois's "Quad Day." Registration and support is provided by the Student Programs & Activities Office, an administrative arm established in pursuit of the larger social, intellectual, and educative goals of the Illini Student Union. The Office's mission is to "enhance ... classroom education," "meet the needs and desires of the campus community," and "prepare students to be contributing and humane citizens."[142] Beyond student organizations,The Daily Illini is a student-run newspaper that has been published for the community of since 1871. The paper is published byIllini Media Company, a not-for-profit which also prints other publications, and operatesWPGU 107.1 FM, a student-run commercial radio station. The Varsity Men's Glee Club is an all-male choir at Illinois that was founded in 1886.[143] The Varsity Men's Glee Club[144] is one of theoldest glee clubs in the United States as well as the oldest registered student organization at the U. of I. As of 2018, the university also has the largest chapter ofAlpha Phi Omega with over 340 active members.[145]
There are 59 fraternities and 38 sororities on campus.[146] Of the approximately 30,366 undergraduates, 3,463 are members of sororities and 3,674 are members of fraternities.[147] The Greek system at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has a system of self-government. While staff advisors and directors manage certain aspects of the Greek community, most of the day-to-day operations of the Greek community are governed by the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council.[148] A smaller minority of fraternities and sororities fall under the jurisdiction of the Black Greek Council and United Greek Council; the Black Greek Council serves historically black Greek organizations while the United Greek council comprises other multicultural organizations.[149][150] Many of the fraternity and sorority houses on campus are on the National Register of Historic Places.
U. of I. has an extensive history of past student governments. Two years after the university opened in 1868, John Milton Gregory and a group of students created a constitution for a student government. Their governance expanded to the entire university in 1873, having a legislative, executive, and judicial branch. For a period of time, this government had the ability to discipline students. In 1883, however, due to a combination of events from Gregory's resignation to student-faculty infighting, the government formally dissolved itself viaplebiscite.[151]
It was not until 1934, when the Student Senate, the next university-wide student government, was created. A year before, future Illinois Dean of Students, Fred H. Turner and the university's Senate Committee on Student Affairs gave increased power to the Student Council, an organization primarily known for organizing dances. A year after, the Student Council created a constitution and became the Student Senate, under the oversight of the Committee on Student Affairs. This Student Senate would last for 35 years.[152] The Student Senate changed its purpose and name in 1969, when it became the Undergraduate Student Association (UGSA). It ceased being a representational government, becoming acollective bargaining agency instead. It often worked with the Graduate Student Association to work on various projects[153]
In 1967,Bruce A. Morrison and other U of I graduate founded the Graduate Student Association (GSA). GSA would last until 1978, when it merged with the UGSA to form the Champaign-Urbana Student Association (CUSA).[154][155] CUSA lasted for only two years when it was replaced by the Student Government Association (SGA) in 1980. SGA lasted for 15 years until it became the Illinois Student Government (ISG) in 1995. ISG lasted until 2004.[155]
The current university student government, created in 2004, is the Illinois Student Senate, a combined undergraduate and graduate student senate with 54 voting members. The student senators are elected by college and represent the students in the Urbana-Champaign Senate (which comprises both faculty and students), as well as on a variety of faculty and administrative committees, and are led by an internally elected executive board of a President, External Vice President, Internal Vice President, and Treasurer. As of 2012[update], the executive board is supported by an executive staff consisting of a Chief of Staff, Clerk of the Senate, Parliamentarian, Director of Communications, Intern Coordinator, and the Historian of the Senate.[156]
The university provides housing for undergraduates through24 residence halls in Urbana and Champaign. Incoming freshmen are required to live in student housing (campus or certified) their first year on campus. The university also maintains two graduate residence halls, which are restricted to students who are sophomores or above, and three university-owned apartment complexes. Some undergraduates choose to move into apartments or the Greek houses after their first year. There are a number of private dormitories around campus, as well as 15 private, certified residences that partner with the university to offer a variety of different housing options, including ones that are cooperatives, single-gender or religiously affiliated.[157] The university is known for being one of the first universities to provide accommodations for students with disabilities.[158] In 2015, the University of Illinois announced that they would be naming its newest residence hall afterCarlos Montezuma also known as Wassaja. Wassaja is the firstNative American graduate and is believed to be one of the first Native Americans to receive a medical degree.[159]
Among universities in North America, only the collections of Harvard are larger.[160] Currently, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's 20+ departmental libraries and divisions hold more than 24million items, including more than 12 million print volumes.[24] As of 2012[update], it had also the largest "browsable" university library in the United States, with 5 million volumes directly accessible in stacks in a single location.[161] The university also has the largest public engineering library (Grainger Engineering Library) in the country.[162][24][163] In addition to the main library building, which houses numerous subject-oriented libraries, the Isaac Funk Family Library on the South Quad serves theCollege of Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences and the Grainger Engineering Library Information Center serves theCollege of Engineering on theJohn Bardeen Quad.
Residence Hall Library System is one of three in the nation.[164][165] The Residence Hall Libraries were created in 1948 to serve the educational, recreational, and cultural information needs of first- and second-year undergraduate students residing in the residence halls, and the living-learning communities within the residence halls. The collection also serves University Housing staff as well as the larger campus community.[166]The Rare Book & Manuscript Library (RBML) is one of theSpecial collections units within the University Library.[167] The RBML is one of the largest special collections repositories in the United States.[168][169][170][171]
The university has several museums, galleries, and archives which includeKrannert Art Museum,Sousa Archives and Center for American Music andSpurlock Museum. Gallery and exhibit locations includeKrannert Center for the Performing Arts and atthe School of Art and Design.
TheIllinois Open Publishing Network (IOPN) is hosted and coordinated by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Library, offering publishing services to members of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign community, to disseminateopen accessscholarly publications.[172]
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The campus has two main recreation facilities, theActivities and Recreation Center (ARC) and the Campus Recreation Center – East (CRCE). Originally known as the Intramural Physical Education Building (IMPE) and opened in 1971, IMPE was renovated in 2006 and reopened in August 2008 as the ARC.[173] The renovations expanded the facility, adding 103,433 square feet to the existing structure and costing $54.9 million. This facility is touted by the university as "one of the country's largest on-campus recreation centers." CRCE was originally known as the Satellite Recreation Center and was opened in 1989. The facility was renovated in 2005 to expand the space and update equipment, officially reopening in March 2005 as CRCE.[174]
The bus system that operates throughout the campus and community is operated by theChampaign-Urbana Mass Transit District. The MTD receives a student-approved transportation fee from the university, which providesunlimited access for university students, faculty, and staff.
DailyAmtrak trains throughIllinois Terminal connect Champaign-Urbana with Chicago andCarbondale, Illinois. This includes the corridor serviceIllini and Saluki and the long-distanceCity of New Orleans, which provides a direct route toMemphis, Tennessee;Jackson, Mississippi; andNew Orleans, Louisiana southbound, in addition to Chicago northbound.
Willard Airport, opened in 1954 and is named for former University of Illinois president Arthur Cutts Willard. The airport is located in Savoy. Willard Airport is home to university research projects, along with flights fromAmerican Airlines. In 2013, the university'sInstitute of Aviation was closed at the University of Illinois and the program was transferred toParkland College.
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has a dedicated police department, UIPD, which operates independently from CPD, the department that serves the surrounding Champaign area.
On June 9, 2017, Yingying Zhang, a Chinese international student, wasabducted and murdered in a case that made national headlines at the time. The university subsequently announced plans to install additional, high-definition, security cameras across the campus.[175]
In July 2022, the university announced that it was partnering with local businesses to invest $300,000 to combat violent crime in Champaign County.[176]
In September 2022, the City of Champaign transferred responsibility for a large swath of Campustown from CPD (Champaign Police Department) to UIPD, claiming that doing so would reduce response times and improve the quality of service. As part of the jurisdictional reforms, the city agreed to pay a substantial portion of the cost to hire seven new officers to patrol the new coverage area.[177]
Violent crime fell sharply in 2022 compared to the year prior, with shootings and homicides declining by 50 and 47 percent, respectively. The city attributed the decrease in crime to improved staffing levels and the installation ofautomatic license plate readers.[178]
The Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics fields teams for ten men's and eleven women's varsity sports. The university participates in theNCAA's Division I. The university's athletic teams are known as the Fighting Illini. The university operates a number of athletic facilities, includingMemorial Stadium forfootball, theState Farm Center for men's and women'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 the2005 season, withBruce Weber's Fighting Illini tying the record for most victories in a season. Their run ended 37–2 with a loss to theNorth Carolina Tar Heels in thenational championship game. Illinois is a member of theBig Ten Conference. Notable among a number of songs commonly played and sung at various events such ascommencement andconvocation, and athletic games are:Illinois Loyalty, the school song;Oskee Wow Wow, thefight song; andHail to the Orange, the alma mater.
On October 15, 1910, the Illinois football team defeated theUniversity of Chicago Maroons with a score of 3–0 in a game that Illinois claims was the firsthomecoming game, though several other schools claim to have held the first homecoming as well.[179][180] On November 10, 2007, the unranked Illinois football team defeated the No. 1 rankedOhio State football team inOhio Stadium, the first time that the Illini beat a No. 1 ranked team on the road.
TheUniversity of Illinois Ice Arena is home to the university's clubcollege ice hockey team competing at theACHA Division I level and is also available for recreational use through the Division of Campus Recreation. It was built in 1931 and designed by Chicago architecture firm Holabird and Root, the same firm that designed the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Memorial Stadium and Chicago's Soldier Field. It is located on Armory Drive across from the Armory. The structure features four rows of bleacher seating in an elevated balcony that runs the length of the ice rink on either side. These bleachers provide seating for roughly 1,200 fans, with standing room and bench seating available underneath. Because of this set-up the team benches are actually directly underneath the stands.[181]
In 2015, the university beganMandarin Chinese broadcasts of its American football games as a service to its Chinese international students.[136]
The U. of I. currently has no mascot.[183]Chief Illiniwek, also referred to as "The Chief", was from 1926 to 2007 the official symbol of the U. of I. in university intercollegiate athletic programs. The Chief was typically portrayed by a student dressed inSioux regalia. Several groups protested that the use of a Native American figure and indigenous customs in such a manner was inappropriate and promoted ethnic stereotypes. In August 2005, the National Collegiate Athletic Association expressed disapproval of the university's use of a "hostile or abusive" image.[184] While initially proposing a consensus approach to the decision about the Chief, the board in 2007 decided that the Chief, its name, image and regalia should be officially retired. Nevertheless, the controversy continues on campus with some students unofficially maintaining the Chief. Complaints continue that indigenous students feel insulted when images of the Chief continue to be present on campus.[185] The effort to resolve the controversy has included the work of a committee, which issued a report of its "critical conversations" that included over 600 participants representing all sides.[186]
There is a grassroots campaign of students and alumni to officially recognize thebelted kingfisher as the mascot of the U. of I.[187][188] Female belted kingfishers are orange and blue (the school's colors) and the bird is native to Illinois.[189] A Kingfisher costume has been created and has made appearances on campus.[190] The campaign to adopt the mascot is not seeking to change the name "Fighting Illini."[191] Multiple Indigenous organizations have also expressed support for the Kingfisher.[192]
Twenty-seven alumni and faculty members of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have won aPulitzer Prize.[193] As of 2019[update], the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni, faculty, and researchers include 24 Nobel laureates (including 11 alumni). In particular,John Bardeen is the only person to have won two Nobel prizes in physics, having done so in 1956 and 1972 while on faculty at the university. In 2003, two faculty members won Nobel prizes in different disciplines:Paul C. Lauterbur for physiology or medicine, andAnthony Leggett for physics.
Alumni and faculty have invented theLED and thequantum well laser (Nick Holonyak, B.S. 1950, M.S. 1951, Ph.D. 1954),DSL (John Cioffi, B.S. 1978),JavaScript (Brendan Eich, M.S. 1986),[194] theintegrated circuit (Jack Kilby, B.S. 1947), thetransistor (John Bardeen, faculty, 1951–1991), thepH meter (Arnold Beckman, B.S. 1922, M.S. 1923),MRI (Paul C. Lauterbur), theplasma screen (Donald Bitzer, B.S. 1955, M.S. 1956, Ph.D. 1960), color plasma display (Larry F. Weber, B.S. 1968 M.S. 1971 Ph.D. 1975), the training methodology called PdEI and the coin counter (James P. Liautaud, B.S. 1963), the statistical algorithm calledGibbs sampling in computer vision and the machine learning technique calledrandom forests (Donald Geman, B.A. 1965), and are responsible for the structural design of such buildings as theWillis Tower, theJohn Hancock Center, and theBurj Khalifa.[195]
MathematicianRichard Hamming, known for theHamming code andHamming distance, earned a PhD in mathematics from the university's Mathematics Department in 1942.[196]Primetime Emmy Award-winning engineerAlan Bovik (B.S. 1980, M.S. 1982, Ph.D. 1984) invented neuroscience-based video quality measurement tools that pervadetelevision,social media andhome cinema.[197] Structural engineerFazlur Rahman Khan earned two master's degrees, and a PhD in structural engineering from the university.[198]
Illinois alumni and faculty have founded numerous companies and organizations. Notable founders includeMarc Andreessen, co-founder ofAndreessen Horowitz (2009);Jerry Sanders, co-founder ofAMD (1969); andJerry Colangelo, founder of theArizona Diamondbacks (1995).George Halas, who founded theChicago Bears (1920) and co-founded theNFL, andReshma Saujani, founder ofGirls Who Code (2012), also made significant contributions. In technology, Marc Andreessen andBrendan Eich co-foundedMozilla Corporation andNetscape in the 1990s, whileLarry Ellison andBob Miner co-foundedOracle (1977). Other tech innovators include Nathan Gettings (Palantir Technologies, 2003),Luke Nosek andMax Levchin (PayPal, 1998),Martin Eberhard (Tesla, Inc., 2003), andStephen Wolfram andTheodore Gray (Wolfram Research, 1987). Additionally,Hugh Hefner foundedPlayboy Enterprises (1953),Thomas Siebel co-foundedSiebel Systems (1993), andJerry Yue founded Brain Technologies, Inc. (2010). Other prominent companies likeYelp (2004) andYouTube (2005) were co-founded byJeremy Stoppelman,Russel Simmons,Steve Chen, andJawed Karim.[199][200][201] Alumni have also led several companies, includingMcDonald's,Goldman Sachs,BP,Kodak,Shell,General Motors,AT&T, andGeneral Electric and others.[194]
Alumni have founded many organizations, including theSusan G. Komen for the Cure andProject Gutenberg, and have served in a wide variety of government and public interest roles.Rafael Correa, President ofThe Republic of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017, secured his M.S. and PhD degrees from the university's Economics Department in 1999 and 2001 respectively.[202]Nathan C. Ricker attended Illinois and in 1873 was the first person to graduate in the United States with a certificate in architecture.Mary L. Page, the first woman to obtain a degree in architecture, also graduated from the U. of I.[203] Disability rights activist and co-organizer of the504 Sit-in,Kitty Cone, attended during the 1960s, but left six hours short of her degree to continue her activism in New York.[204]
In sports, baseball pitcherKen Holtzman was a two-time All Star major leaguer, and threw twono-hitters in his career.[205] In sports entertainment,David Otunga became a two-timeWWE Tag Team Champion.
Eta Kappa Nu (HKN) was founded at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as the national honor society for electrical engineering in 1904. Maurice LeRoy Carr (B.S. 1905) and Edmund B. Wheeler (B.S. 1905) were part of the founding group of ten students, and they served as the first and second national presidents of ΗΚΝ. The Eta Kappa Nu organization is now the international honor society forInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.[206] The U. of I. collegiate chapter is known as the Alpha chapter of ΗΚΝ.[207]Lowell P. Hager was the head of the Department of Biochemistry from 1969 until 1989 and was elected to theNational Academy of Sciences in 1995.[208]
James Holzhauer, thefourth-highest-earning American game show contestant of all time and holder of severalJeopardy! records, attended University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He was a member of theWorldwide Youth in Science and Engineering Team that won the state competition for the university, contributing by taking first place in physics and second in math.[209] Holzhauer graduated with aBachelor of Science degree in mathematics in 2005.[210]
Univ of Illinois
Univ of Illinois- Compare to:
40°6′38″N88°13′42″W / 40.11056°N 88.22833°W /40.11056; -88.22833
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