courtesy LAS News Magazine, Winter 2015 edition

In the late 1800s, with the University of Illinois facing growing enrollments and limited space, renowned University architect Nathan Ricker designed a distinctive teaching and research building at the heart of campus that he hoped would endure through the ages. He produced a gem—the Natural History Building.

This historic structure has hosted generations of students studying geology, biology, and other disciplines. Distinguished scholars have taught, established laboratories, and conducted groundbreaking research within its walls.

But designs and infrastructure that worked for the 19th and 20th centuries do not meet today’s teaching and research demands. The Natural History Building has reached a critical juncture and it must evolve dramatically to continue to serve our campus. Thus, the University has begun a $70 million renovation that preserves the building’s historic exterior while transforming the interior into a new world of state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratories, and meeting spaces.A Vision

The renovation of the Natural History Building will create a dynamic education and research center. It will house classrooms, laboratories, and offices for current and future generations of geologists, geographers, and atmospheric scientists, and will be the center for biological and environmental education for students from across campus.

IB students will gain skills to examine challenges such as the outbreak of a new infectious disease or the causes and consequences of declining biodiversity. They will combine an understanding of basic natural history with new technologies that will bring breakthroughs in fields such as genomics. The holistic approach of the School of Integrative Biology will prepare students to tackle complex problems ranging from understanding evolutionary processes to developing biofuels.

For more on the NHB Renovation, including naming opportunities, and the story of a mysterious time capsule, please visit LAS News magazine.

Consider registering for ENG 315: Learning in Community

Student teams working on real projects with community partners
Open to all students, all majors, all levels

LINC is an interdisciplinary, inquiry-guided service-learning course in which students provide meaningful service through the conception, development, and implementation of projects in collaboration with non-profits and community partners. Each section of the course is dedicated to a nonprofit organization that has proposed one or more projects of importance to the organization.  There are both new and continuing partners each semester. Choose a section based upon your interests and/or skills or your desire to learn something new!

Early in the semester you will meet a representative from your partner organization, learn more about the organization and its mission, and begin a semester project that addresses the needs of the organization. You will engage in a variety of research, service and fieldwork activities outside of class to gain knowledge needed for the project, and that knowledge is then discussed for understanding, applied, analyzed, synthesized, and evaluated in class. Class time is also used to help students delegate tasks, make decisions, process new information, engage in reflective discussions, learn core course content, collaborate with teammates, and receive guidance and feedback on the projects. Throughout the semester you will identify and explore topics that will assist you with the execution of your project. The semester concludes with a public poster presentation in which teams present the accomplishments of the project, value added to the community organization, and lessons learned.

As a result of this course you can expect to gain knowledge and skills in conducting research, understanding social and environmental issues, analyzing community and organizational needs and assets, defining problems, generating and analyzing solutions, identifying and mobilizing resources, project scoping, planning, and execution, teamwork and leadership, communication, problem-solving, critical thinking, professional writing, and civic responsibility.

For more information and to see projects for Spring ’15, visit http://linc.illinois.edu/spring-15-projects

This weekend is our Spring Open House. Come out and enjoy this beautiful Spring weather here at the conservatory. The conservatory will be dressed with some spring blooming shrubs and flowers. This weekend we will have an orchid plant sale for a fund raiser for the conservatory. The Central Illinois Orchid Society will be here to answer any questions you may have about orchids. In addition to the show and sale, on Sat., one of the members of the Orchid Society will do a workshop on ‘How to repot your orchid’. It will be at 1:00 on Sat., March 10th in room 1103. Also, the Orchid Society is offering to repot your orchid for a small fee of $5.00 if you bring your own pot or you can purchase a pot from the Orchid Society for a minimum charge.

Lastly, Dianne Noland’s Floral Design class is doing to shows of ‘Floral Design to Music’. These are always fun to watch. The shows are at 11am and 1pm in room 1125

The hours for our Spring show are:

Saturday March 10th: 10-3
Saturday March 10th: 1:00 workshop on ‘How to Repot your Orchid’ room 1103
Sunday March 11th: 1-3

Thank you and I hope you will make us part of your weekend activities.

Debbie Black