University of Illinois at Chicago

University of Illinois at Chicago
UICLogo.jpg
Motto: Teach, research, serve, care.
Established: 1858, 1946, 1965
Type: Public
Endowment: $120 million[1]
$2.197 billion[2] (systemwide)
Chancellor: Eric A. Gislason (interim)
Paula Allen-Meares (pending, as-of 16 January 2009)[3]
President: B. Joseph White
Provost: Michael Tanner
Faculty: 2,300
Undergraduates: 15,148
Postgraduates: 6,766
Location: Flag of Illinois Chicago, Illinois
Campus: Urban, 311 acres (1.3 km2)
Public transit access: UIC-Halsted (CTA)
Colors: Indigo Blue and Flame Red            
Nickname: UIC Flames
Mascot: Sparky D. Dragon
Athletics: NCAA Division I
Horizon League
Website: www.uic.edu

The University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-funded public research university located in Chicago. It is the second member of the University of Illinois system and is the largest university in the Chicago area, serving approximately 25,000 students within 15 colleges, including the nation's largest medical school, with research expenditures exceeding $290 million.[4] Playing a critical role in Illinois healthcare, UIC also operates the state’s major public medical center and serves as the principal educator of Illinois’ physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses and other healthcare professionals. UIC is also accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.[5]

UIC participates in NCAA Division I Horizon League competition as the UIC Flames in several sports, most notably Basketball. The UIC Pavilion is not only the home to all UIC Flames basketball games, it also serves as the home for the Chicago Sky and several concerts throughout the year.

Contents

History

Beginnings

UIC College of Medicine
History at a glance
University of Illinois School of Medicine Established 1858
Incorporated 1913
University of Illinois Navy Pier Campus Established 1946
University of Illinois at Chicago Circle Established 1965

The University of Illinois at Chicago traces its origins to several private health colleges founded during the late nineteenth century, including the Chicago College of Pharmacy, which opened in 1859, the College of Physicians and Surgeons (1882), and the Columbian College of Dentistry (1891).[6]

The University of Illinois was chartered in 1867 in Champaign-Urbana, as the state's land-grant university.[7] The Chicago-based health colleges affiliated with the University in 1896-97, becoming fully incorporated into the University of Illinois in 1913, as the Colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmacy. Medical education and research dramatically expanded in the succeeding decades, leading to the development of several other health science colleges, which were brought together as the Chicago Professional Colleges of the University of Illinois. In 1961, these colleges became the University of Illinois at the Medical Center (UIMC).

Expansion after World War II

Following World War II, the University of Illinois increased its presence in Chicago by creating a temporary, two-year branch campus, the Chicago Undergraduate Division.[8] Known as 'Harvard on the Rocks' and housed on Navy Pier, the campus accommodated primarily student veterans on the G.I. Bill.[9] The campus was not a junior college, but rather had a curriculum based on Urbana's courses, and students who successfully completed the first two years requirements could go on to Urbana and finish their degree.

University of Illinois Navy Pier Campus

Classes at the Navy Pier Campus began in October 1946, and approximately 4,000 students enrolled each semester. As Chicago had no comprehensive public university at that time, most students were first generation college students from working families, who commuted from home. Demand for a public university education in Chicago remained high, even after the first wave of veterans passed, so the University made plans to create a permanent degree-granting campus in the Chicago area. After a long and controversial site decision process[10], in 1961, Mayor Richard J. Daley offered the Harrison and Halsted Streets site, in Chicago's historic Near West Side, for the new campus.[11]

Named the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle (UICC), the new campus opened in February 1965.[12] The Circle part of the name referred to the nearby Circle Interchange.It was designed by the famous Skidmore, Owings and Merrill corporation, a Chicago based architectural firm that is responsible for most of today's tallest skyscrapers. [13][14][15] Unlike the Navy Pier campus, Circle was a degree-granting institution. Many of the newly recruited faculty came because it was connected to a strong research university and they pushed for rapid development into a research-oriented school emphasizing graduate instruction. Within five years of the campus' opening, virtually every department offered graduate degrees.

Consolidation

In 1982, the Medical Center and Circle Campus consolidated to form the current University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). This merger strengthened the University's potential for scholarly excellence, and pushed UIC to Carnegie Research 1 institution status in 1987.[16]

UIC launched its latest initiative in 2000, the development of South Campus, providing increased resident living space and research facilities.

Academics

Organization

Downtown Chicago and UIC's James Stukel towers in the foreground
Another view of the Loop from UIC including the Sears Tower shrouded in spring fog.

The University of Illinois at Chicago offers 74 bachelor degrees, 77 master degrees, and 60 doctoral degrees[17] through its 15 colleges:[18]

UIC also offers eleven inter-college programs, including the Cancer Center, the Center for Structural Biology, the Neuroscience program, the Council for Teacher Education, the Graduate Education in Medical Sciences, the Guaranteed Professional Programs Admissions program, the Moving Image Arts program, the National Center of Excellence in Women's Health, the Office of International Affairs, the Study Abroad Office, and the Office of Special Scholarship Programs.

The university's interim chancellor is Eric A. Gislason. There are seven vice chancellors, one CEO for administrative functions, and fifteen college deans. There is also a library dean and three regional deans for various colleges of medicine[19].

Diversity

UIC's East Campus in October

The University of Illinois at Chicago consists of approximately 25,000 total students, of which nearly 15,000 are undergraduate students. UIC is the nation’s 4th most diverse university.[20] The demographic statistics in 2005 were as follows.

Race Number Percentage
Caucasian 6,561 43.3%
Asian American 3,849 24%
Hispanic 2,499 16.5%
African American 1,377 8.9%
Middle Eastern 1,013 6.7%
Native American 37 0.02%

The chancellor operates six different committees for Asian-Americans, Blacks, Latinos, Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgenders, persons with disabilities, and women.

Pervasiveness

UIC is a pervasive presence in Chicago, Illinois, and the US. One in ten Chicagoans with a college degree is a UIC alumnus.[21] Approximately one in six Illinois doctors is a graduate of the UIC College of Medicine (the nation’s largest medical school). One in three Illinois pharmacists is a graduate of the College of Pharmacy. And more than one third of the state’s dentists are graduates of UIC’s College of Dentistry.

Rankings and Statistics

University Hall, located on UIC's East Campus

Overall

UIC is one of 96 American universities receiving the highest research classification ("RU/VH") by the Carnegie Foundation[22]. Under the prior Carnegie classification system, UIC was one of 88 "Research I" universities[23]. In 2005, National Science Foundation statistics on research funding ranked UIC 48th out of more than 650 universities receiving federal research money. UIC's level of research funding surpassed one Big Ten university and the University of Chicago[24].

2007 rankings from the Institute of Higher Education in Shanghai placed UIC in 59th-76th place (tied) among universities in North America and in 102nd-150th place (tied) worldwide. [25]

UIC has been publicly recognized as a diverse and welcoming community. US News & World Report repeatedly ranks UIC in the top 10 most diverse universities in the nation. In 2006, UIC was ranked by Advocate College Guide as one of the nation's top 100 GLBT friendly campuses.

Broad Subject Areas

In 2008 rankings by the Institute of Higher Education in Shanghai, UIC tied for 51st-76th in the subject area of social sciences[26] and 76th-107th in the subject areas of medicine[27] and life/agricultural sciences[28].

Program-Specific

In 2007, a study in the Chronicle of Higher Education ranked the College of Business Administration #1 for scholarly output among US business schools granting a PhD in business administration. The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine's survey of more than 700 American schools ranked UIC’s entrepreneurship program 9th (undergraduate) and 12th (graduate).

In 2008 US News & World Report ranked UIC's undergraduate business program 58th and the undergraduate engineering program 57th in the United States. US News & World Report also ranked UIC's part-time MBA 24th out of over 300 programs nationally and the graduate finance program 19th; undergraduate program rankings were accounting (28th) and finance (22nd). UIC's graduate accounting program was ranked 30th in 2003.

2007 graduate rankings by US News & World Report include [29]:

2008 graduate rankings by US News & World Report include [30]:

The June 2007 issue of the Communications of Association for Computing Machinery published a ranking of graduate computer science programs based on recent scholarly publications. That list ranked UIC 34th, tied with Caltech, among the top 50 U.S. graduate programs. There are approximately 200 US PhD graduate programs in computer science.

The UIC pharmacy, nursing, applied health sciences, public health, social work, and urban planning programs are consistently ranked among the top in the nation [31] [29] [30]. The College of Dentistry is one of only two such programs offered in the State of Illinois [32].

Campus

Jane Addams' Hull-House Museum

UIC is composed of three campuses supporting more than 25,000 students and 2,300 faculty members and staff[33]. These campuses cover 311 acres (1.3 km2) in the Little Italy and the University Village section of Chicago.

The campus layout is compact and marked by small windowed, concrete buildings. Considerable effort has been expended to modify the original Netsch campus plan to create the feel of a traditional college campus. The area in front of the main administration building, University Hall, has been the site of several costly renovations in the last decade.

The East Campus is a 15-minute walk from downtown Chicago. The juxtaposition of campus and commercial density was a direct result of large-scale urban renewal led by Mayor Richard J. Daley[10]. The proximity to downtown and public transit tends to attract students who want to experience life in a large city but have a typical college campus.

The East Campus is located in the Little Italy/University Village neighborhood of Chicago and just south of Greektown. The nearby neighborhoods contain many shops, restaurants, bars, bookstores, cafés and museums. It was designed as a unified architectural vision by brutalist architect Walter Netsch. The original plan for east campus included second-story walkways that connected all of the buildings. These were taken down in phases during the early 1990s as part of a plan to "open up" the campus.

The West Campus is home to UIC's health sciences program. The colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Dentistry, Applied Health Sciences and Public Health, as well as the Library of the Health Sciences are all located on the West Campus. The West Campus is in the heart of the Illinois Medical District, where the University of Illinois Medical Center is located.

South Campus sits on the former Maxwell St, another historically important area which UIC now occupies. There are no strictly educational buildings here; South Campus is composed of residence halls, athletic facilities, and a large presentation space (the Forum). The neighborhoods abutting East and South campuses have already gone through the transitional stage with several large-scale developments creating thousands of new residences.

The Chicago Transit Authority's Blue Line, part of the Chicago 'L', runs through the median of the Eisenhower Expressway along the north side of the campus. Three Blue Line stations are close to the university: UIC-Halsted, Racine, and Illinois Medical District. The Pink Line serves UIC's west campus on Polk Street and runs directly to Ogilvie Transportation Center.

Student Housing

South campus residence halls (TBH, MRH) on famous Maxwell St.

UIC offers 12 residence halls for its students. The East Campus contains four residence halls, the South Campus contains three, and the West Campus contains three as well. Many residents in east and south campus housing have a view of the Chicago skyline. When the Circle Campus was built, then-UICC was strictly a commuter school. Until the South Campus expansion, UIC students were still predominantly commuters. However, the administration has worked to change the campus to one where most students are residential [34]. Nearly 6,000 students live within one-and-a-half miles of campus [35]. 3,800 students, including over half of all freshmen, live in UIC's 10 residence halls

[36]. There are also thousands of affordable apartments within walking distance to classes.

On the East Campus, Commons West and Commons South are traditional halls with double rooms opening into a common hallway; each floor shares a common bathroom. Courtyard and Commons North are cluster-style buildings with rooms grouped to share a small private bathroom. These four buildings are connected to the Student Center East which houses a cafeteria, the campus bookstore, a convenience store, bowling/billiards, a barber shop, and the Inner Circle (an assortment of fast food restaurants).

West Campus housing is composed of the Single Student Residence (apartments for graduate students), Polk Street Residence (cluster style rooms), and Student Residence Hall (a traditional dormitory).

South Campus is home to Marie Robinson Hall and Thomas Beckham Hall, both apartment style buildings. In the fall of 2007, James Stukel Towers opened containing suite style rooms with a bathroom and living room.

In keeping with UIC culture, students often referred to residence halls by abbreviations instead of their full names (e.g. "TBH" instead of "Thomas Beckham Hall").

Student Recreation Facility

UIC Student Recreation Facility Entrance
UIC Student Recreation Facility Atrium

The UIC Student Recreation Facility (SRF) is a state-of-the-art recreational complex for UIC students. Opened in spring 2006, the SRF features a three-story climbing wall; multipurpose courts for games such as basketball, indoor soccer, tennis and many others; and a pool with adjoining lazy river. A few NBA players practiced and worked out at the facility in the summer of 2007 including Eddy Curry.

Other amenities include:

Medical Center

UIC is a major part of the Illinois Medical District (IMD). While IMD's billing itself "the nation's largest urban medical district" may be up for debate, the district is a major economic force contributing $3.3 billion to the local economy and supporting 50,000 jobs [37].

Campus Renovations

Pic2-12215.jpg

With the major $550 million South Campus expansion now complete, the university has focused its attention on renovating existing facilities on campus. The focus on renovations is in part due to a constrained state budget; state funds for new buildings are currently scarce. Since renovation is less costly, this approach is being used to update facilities.

The first of these renovations included Grant Hall. Lincoln Hall (adjacent to Grant Hall) is now undergoing renovations. [38] These renovations will be 'green' as the renovated buildings will have geothermal power. Fifty wells are being dug 500 feet into the ground, which will provide an energy savings of 20-25%. The buildings are also to be US LEED certified.

The new fascia will be all glass and the buildings will contain state of the art facilities for faculty and students. There are plans to expand the renovation project to every lecture hall cluster if the pilot program is successful.

Athletics

Main article: UIC Flames
UIC baseball plays at Les Miller Field

UIC's team name is the Flames, a tribute to the Great Chicago Fire which started a few blocks east of campus. The mascot is Sparky D. Dragon.

While UIC has traditionally focused on basketball (and ice hockey in the more distant past), soccer and baseball have also had recent successes.

In September 2006, the men's soccer team earned its highest ranking in school history when the SoccerTimes.com College Coaches Poll pegged the Flames at #6 in the country. In November 2006, UIC defeated Western Illinois 3-0 in the opening round of the NCAA tournament before falling in the second round to Notre Dame 1-0. UIC finished the 2006 season as the nation's best defensive squad after allowing a mere eight goals in over 1993 minutes of play during 21 matches for a goals-against average (GAA) of 0.36. The GAA was tops in the nation in 2006 and it also ranked fifth all-time in NCAA history. UIC posted 13 shutouts and never allowed more than a single goal in a match. UIC also allowed just two goals after intermission the entire season. Along with the GAA mark, UIC posted the nation's best save percentage with a 0.908 rate.

In 2007, UIC soccer's successful season culminated in an Elite-Eight appearance in the NCAA tournament by way of wins over #12 St. Louis, Northwestern, and #8 Creighton. In a bid for a Final-Four appearance, UIC fell to Massachusetts 2-1. At season's end, UIC had a record of 13-6-6 and was named a top 10 team by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).

UIC's baseball team has recorded 30 or more victories in 9 straight seasons, won the last 7 Horizon League Championships, and advanced to an NCAA regional in four of the past six years (2003, 2005, 2007, 2008). UIC baseball has recorded regional wins against #1 Long Beach State in 2007 and #2 Dallas Baptist University in 2008.

Student Life

The university is located near the Taylor Street and Greektown neighborhoods, providing a diverse selection of restaurants, bars, and clubs for students who live in the area. Downtown Chicago is only a 10 minute walk or a short CTA ride away.

UIC offers a variety of organizations, including: Greek Life (30), Intramural Sports, Cultural Groups, Student Government, & Religious Groups (Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu).

UIC's monthly/weekly events: Friday Night Live, Craftime, Live Events!, Movies!, & Karaoke.

UIC's once-a-semester/year events: Recess (Mini Carnival), Organization Olympics, UIC Fashion Show, Black History Month, Taste of UIC, & Cultural Fest.

Student life, though, is often criticized by the majority of the student body to be next to nonexistent. Because of the large number of commuters to the school, students and faculty alike have a hard time to make interpersonal connections and find time to devote to clubs and sports.

Student Media

Alumni & Faculty

Main article: List of University of Illinois at Chicago people

In Popular Culture

External links

References

  1. ↑ "UIC Development". University of Illinois Chicago. Retrieved on September 16, 2007.
  2. ↑ "UIF Financials - Endowment Market Value Details". University of Illinois. Retrieved on September 29, 2007.
  3. ↑ "Paula Allen-Meares selected to lead University of Illinois at Chicago". University of Illinois at Chicago. Retrieved on June 27, 2008.
  4. ↑ "USNews.com: America's Best Graduate Schools 2008: Medical Schools: Which are the largest and smallest medical schools". USNews.com. Retrieved on 2007-09-29.
  5. ↑ "The University of Illinois at Chicago 2005-2007 Undergraduate Catalog". University of Illinois at Chicago. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  6. ↑ Medical Education Roots of the University of Illinois at Chicago. Office of the UIC Historian Retrieved on November 16, 2007.
  7. ↑ University of Illinois chartered, 1867. Office of the UIC Historian Retrieved on November 16, 2007.
  8. ↑ Navy Pier Campus History. Office of the UIC Historian Retrieved on November 16, 2007.
  9. ↑ G.I. Bill and History of UIC. Office of the UIC Historian Retrieved on November 16, 2007.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Permanent Campus Site Selection, 1958-1963. Office of the UIC Historian Retrieved on November 16, 2007.
  11. ↑ Chicago Circle Campus Construction. Office of the UIC Historian Retrieved on November 16, 2007.
  12. ↑ Circle Campus: 1965-1982. Office of the UIC Historian Retrieved on November 16, 2007.
  13. ↑ "Chicago Circle Campus History" (2006). Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
  14. ↑ "Interchanging Identities". Retrieved on 2008-02-02.
  15. ↑ Young, David M. (2005). "Spaghetti Bowl". Chicago Historical Society. Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
  16. ↑ Circle Campus: 1965-1982. Office of the UIC Historian Retrieved on November 16, 2007.
  17. ↑ "The University of Illinois at Chicago Fact Sheet". University of Illinois at Chicago. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
  18. ↑ "Learning @ UIC – Academic Departments". University of Illinois at Chicago. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
  19. ↑ "Administration @ UIC". University of Illinois at Chicago. Retrieved on 2008-03-05.
  20. ↑ "The University of Illinois at Chicago Fact Sheet". University of Illinois at Chicago. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
  21. ↑ http://www.uic.edu/index.html/images/UICFactSheet.pdf
  22. ↑ Carnegie Foundation List of RU/VH Universities
  23. ↑ University of Illinois - Research
  24. ↑ http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf07318/pdf/tab27.pdf
  25. ↑ Top 500 World Universities, Institute of Higher Education (Shanghai, China)
  26. ↑ Top Social Sciences Universities, Institute of Higher Education (Shanghai, China)
  27. ↑ Top Medical Universities, Institute of Higher Education (Shanghai, China)
  28. ↑ Top Life/Agricultural Sciences Universities, Institute of Higher Education (Shanghai, China)
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 America's Best Graduate Schools, 2007 Edition. US News and World Report. 
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 America's Best Graduate Schools, 2008 Edition. US News and World Report. 
  31. ↑ America's Best Graduate Schools, 2006 Edition. US News and World Report. 
  32. ↑ ADA List of Accredited Dental Programs
  33. ↑ "UIC Facilities Plan". University of Illinois at Chicago. Retrieved on 2007-06-17.
  34. ↑ "Office of the Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, Strategic Plan" (PDF). University of Illinois at Chicago. Retrieved on 05-10-2008.
  35. ↑ "New Student Fact Book 2007" (PDF). University of Illinois at Chicago. Retrieved on 05-10-2008.
  36. ↑ "Welcome to UIC". University of Illinois at Chicago. Retrieved on 05-10-2008.
  37. ↑ "Welcome to the Illinois Medical District - IMD (Facts and Figures)". Illinois Medical District. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
  38. ↑ UIC News - Fences go up on east campus as Lincoln Hall renovation begins
UIC UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
AT CHICAGO
Academics
Applied Health Sciences • Architecture and Arts • Business Administration • Dentistry • Education • Engineering • Graduate College • Liberal Arts & Sciences • Medicine • Nursing • Pharmacy • Public Health • Social Work • Urban Planning and Public Affairs
Athletics
Basketball • Horizon League • Student Recreation Facility • UIC Flames • UIC Pavilion
Points of
Interest
Electronic Visualization Laboratory • Greektown • Hull-House • Illinois Medical District • National Center for Data Mining • Little Italy • Richard J. Daley Library • UIC Forum • UIC Pavilion • UIC Skyspace • University of Illinois Medical Center • University Hall • University Village
History
Chicago Eye & Ear Infirmary • Maxwell Street • Navy Pier Campus • University of Illinois at Chicago Circle • Walter Netsch
Housing
West: Single Student Residence • Polk Street Residence • Student Residence Hall — East: Commons West • Courtyard • Commons North • Commons South — South: Marie Robinson Hall • Thomas Beckham Hall • James Stukel Towers
Students
Alumni • Undergraduate Honors College • Chicago Flame • UIC Radio
Getting
Around
'L': Polk (CTA) • Racine (CTA) • UIC-Halsted (CTA) — CTA Bus: 7 (Harrison) • 8 (Halsted) • 9/X9 (Ashland) • 12 (Roosevelt) • 38 (Ogden/Taylor) • 60 (Blue Island) • 156 (LaSalle) — UIC Shuttle: Commuter Shuttle • Intercampus Shuttle
Horizon League

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College of DuPage • College of Lake County • Richard J. Daley College • Elgin Community College • Harper College • Joliet Junior College • Kennedy-King College • Kishwaukee College • Malcolm X College • MacCormac College • McHenry County College • Moraine Valley Community College • Morton College • Oakton Community College • Olive-Harvey College • Prairie State College • South Suburban College • Triton College • Harry S Truman College • Harold Washington College • Waubonsee Community College • Wilbur Wright College
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