blog posts

• 

  Join PAR May 4 for ‘The State of Statehouse Reporting’

  Apr 25, 2022 9:00 am52 views

  Jason Piscia, PAR Director, invites you to a Zoom event the Public Affairs Reporting program is hosting at noon on May 4 on a report released earlier this month by the Pew Research Center which details the number of journalists who cover America's statehouses, including our own here in Springfield.

• 

  Join us April 28 for a discussion about nonprofit news

  Apr 13, 2021 1:30 pm20 views

  As privately owned media companies fight for survival and search for a funding model that is both sustainable and provides vital and trustworthy news coverage of local communities, we’ve seen more nonprofit journalism organizations (NPJs) emerge to report on specific topics and/or geographic areas that other newsrooms won’t or can’t adequately cover.

• 

  Journalism: Where we’ve been, where we’re going

  Apr 20, 2022 9:00 am39 views

  My talk focused on the critical role of local journalism and how cutbacks in local newsrooms over the years have affected media outlets' abilities to adequately cover their communities, providing residents with the information they need to make informed decisions.  My report wasn't all gloom, however.

• 

  July Public Affairs Minute

  Jul 14, 2021 10:00 am88 views

  July Fourth is upon us and it’s time to celebrate the birth of the nation. In many respects, I hope we can treat this summer like no other in recent memory!  Although there may still be a need for health monitoring and some restrictions to make sure we are fully “out of the woods,” it’s still good to see the “light at the end of the tunnel.”

• 

  July Represents a Month of Renewal for our College and University

  Jul 14, 2022 8:45 am45 views

  As of July we are now officially the College of Public Affairs and Education.

• 

  June Public Affairs Minute: Time for Action

  Jun 11, 2020 9:00 am20 views

  In the midst of coping with the devastating COVID 19 Pandemic, we are now facing yet another complicated societal tragedy stemming from the death of an African American, George Floyd, at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The outrage, especially in the African American community, has spilled out across the country with protests, marches and demonstrations. This event and the response reveals the sharp racial and other divides that still exist in this country.  Those of us with degrees in the public affairs and professional disciplines, like those from our College, understand and lament the lack of progress in American society on so many fundamental social issues.

• 

  Labor Day…Work…And the New Semester!

  Sep 6, 2021 10:00 am10 views

  Is Labor Day a recognition or equally a celebration of the concept of work?

• 

  Last Chance to Register for the Railsplitter’s Banquet

  Mar 21, 2023 12:00 pm47 views

  You are invited to attend this in-person event located at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum at 212 N 6th St, Springfield, IL 62701, with Federal District Court Judge Brian Stacy Miller as the keynote speaker.  Help celebrate the public service award recipient.  Registration ends March 24th.

• 

  Legislative Internships and What’s Next

  Aug 19, 2021 11:00 am210 views

  Change is in the air. It’s that time of year and the UIS Campus is beginning to look like a college campus again with students coming and going in larger numbers than in over a year. Throughout this time, the Illinois Legislative Staff Intern Program has continued placing students with the Illinois General Assembly.

• 

  Let me State the Obvious – 2020 has been a Heck of a Year

  Nov 10, 2020 10:30 am14 views

  Those of us in Public Affairs (professors, practitioners, public officials, students and keen observers) are always trying to learn from previous events and past decisions and try to predict or forecast the future to some extent. The goal is to take those lessons and learn and do better the next time around. At least we try in a public policy context.

• 

  Let’s all use July 4th to celebrate and learn!

  Jul 3, 2020 9:00 am21 views

  Once again it’s the July 4th Holiday. A celebration of Independence Day for our nation. But it’s also a sure sign of summer, barbeques and family gatherings, fireworks, and trips to the mountains, lakes and beaches. Well, it traditionally has been. COVID 19 has likely put a wrench into many family plans and vacations. For many of us, we will still try to get away somewhere, maybe locally get together with friends and colleagues, maybe even teach or take courses! But no matter what you do, perhaps the best Fourth of July wish from us to you is to please stay safe and healthy!

• 

  LGBTQ Elected Officials & Candidates – Is Representation Fair and Equal?

  May 21, 2020 9:00 am209 views

  Political scientists have established that identity can influence representation by bringing issues to the policy process that were not previously addressed. Unfortunately, LGBTQ policy suffers from significant underrepresentation.

• 

  Local News – Needed Now More Than Ever

  May 19, 2020 8:30 am87 views

  Trif Alatzas discusses the need for local news in today’s world.  Alatzas led The Baltimore Sun team that was awarded the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting "for illuminating, impactful" investigations into city and state government.

• 

  ‘Make a little noise with your pens, your pencils, your cameras’

  Jul 21, 2020 9:00 am22 views

  John Lewis had a familiar directive when it came to standing up against racial injustice – get yourself into some “good trouble” while doing it.  As tributes to the civil rights icon and congressman pour in following his death on July 17 at age 80, journalists need to remember those words apply to them, too.

• 

  Making My Case

  Jan 23, 2023 9:00 am164 views

  Scott Pyles, a political science graduate student in the UIS School of Politics & International Affairs, discusses his experience arguing a case before the Illinois Supreme Court last week.

• 

  Many of Your Employees are Miserable: Three Reasons it Could be Your Fault

  Aug 13, 2020 9:00 am108 views

  Look around you, how many of your employees are fully engaged or immersed in their work? How many seem to be finding fulfillment or joy in what they do?  Now, how many of your employees are apathetic and, at best, grudgingly complying with directives and carrying out their roles and responsibilities?

• 

  March GPSI Student Spotlight

  Mar 17, 2021 11:00 am92 views

  The Graduate Public Service Intern (GPSI) Program has over 200 interns at any given time throughout the year. While we cannot showcase all of the incredible work our students do on a daily basis, we have decided to highlight one intern or supervisor each month. March’s feature is Marissa Jones, a second year intern working at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).

• 

  March Public Affairs Minute - Ukraine and Why It Matters at UIS

  Mar 7, 2022 1:30 pm58 views

  In our College, the impetus behind creating our new School of Politics and International Affairs (SPIA) was to recognize the importance of our political environment at home and abroad.

• 

  May 3rd is World Press Freedom Day. Thank a Journalist.

  Apr 30, 2020 11:30 am62 views

  World Press Freedom Day -- established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1993 and observed annually on May 3 -- is a chance to celebrate the free press principles we enjoy in the United States.  America’s journalists -- from the largest national outlets in New York and D.C. to the tiny newspapers in rural towns throughout the country -- work hard to reveal the truth the public needs.

• 

  May Public Affairs Minute: The Role of a Free Press in a Democratic Society

  May 12, 2020 9:00 am75 views

  Journalists are trained to be objective observers, uncover the facts, keep sources confidential and question stakeholders, citizens, politicians, corporate and military leaders, and their institutions. The purpose is to shed light, provide transparency, ferret out lies and insure accuracy. Indeed, this focus on the truth is the fundamental role of a free press in democratic society.

• 

  Mission Control: Misinformation

  Nov 4, 2021 9:30 am155 views

  Misinformation has cost us all a lot of time and is increasingly costing us more.  How do you make sure you have credible information? 

• 

  MPA- A Master of Plentiful Activities

  Apr 21, 2022 9:00 am105 views

  Research shows undergraduate students benefit immensely from active participation in on-campus activities, so why shouldn’t the same be true from graduate students?

• 

  My UIS Experience

  Mar 30, 2021 9:00 am192 views

  UIS has been an incredible steppingstone in building my future. UIS encouraged me to be open minded, adventurous, independent, and confident. These qualities led me to become the successful Attorney I am now.

• 

  New Academic Year, New Interns

  Jun 17, 2021 9:00 am128 views

  Every Spring, as GPSI says Farewell and Congratulations to a group of graduating interns, we simultaneously go through a process of hiring a new group of graduate interns.  This year, we are celebrating the success of May’s virtual interviews which resulted in 85 new hires for the GPSI program. 

• 

  New executive orders target climate change, job creation, and environmental justice

  Mar 31, 2021 8:30 am164 views

  A new Presidential Administration brings with it new people, priorities, actions, and policies. Presidents’ approaches to environmental policy, in particular, have oscillated drastically during the last several administrations depending on which party the then-President identified with. This oscillation is so familiar to us it may feel like a given - but it wasn’t always this way.

• 

  News literacy: A lesson for all ages

  Dec 22, 2021 9:00 am340 views

  As the last several months have shown us, misinterpreted or flat-out bogus information about vaccines, masks, the outcome of the 2020 presidential election and much more affects – and polarizes – all ages.

• 

  New year’s resolutions for news consumers

  Aug 17, 2021 10:00 am97 views

  The fall semester begins this week at UIS. To me, this time of year feels more like New Year’s Day than Jan. 1.  So with that in mind, allow me to wish you a Happy New Year and provide you with some new year’s resolutions.

• 

  Not Voting is Never an Option

  Oct 13, 2020 9:00 am66 views

  In my role as Dean of a College of Public Affairs, I am bound to the promotion of civic engagement, participation in democratic institutions, and encouraging citizens to vote and participate in our system of government.

• 

  November Public Affairs Minute - Civility

  Nov 9, 2021 11:15 am139 views

  There is one concept that emerges above all in trying to seek a solution or a way forward in our current divisive political environment and social discord. That missing ingredient is civility.

• NPR Illinois is happy to say our newest program, Community Voices, is passing the six-month mark.

  Apr 8, 2021 2:00 pm116 views

  When you’re young, it’s important to announce you’re not just six or seven, but “And a half!” NPR Illinois is happy to say our newest program, Community Voices, is passing the six-month mark. Co-host Bea Bonner and I have enjoyed the start of this new concept in elevating the perspectives and the breadth of our listeners and neighbors. You hear this phrase every episode, “Community Voices is events you might have missed and conversations with neighbors, artists, and area business people.”

• 

  One Last Thought

  Jul 21, 2022 9:00 am329 views

  In August of 2017, I was fortunate to be offered my dream job as Director of the Office of Graduate Intern Programs in the Center for State Policy and Leadership at UIS.

• 

  Opening the Pipeline to Public Service

  Jul 15, 2021 10:00 am405 views

  A common question we get asked by prospective students in the Office of Graduate Intern Programs is, “Am I guaranteed a job after graduation?”

• 

  Other People’s Money: Married Women and Indebted Husbands in U.S. Law

  Mar 18, 2021 10:45 am108 views

  I am currently writing a book that explores the rights of debtors in the United States in the late nineteenth century.  In the chapter I’m currently revising, I focus on these themes as they related to married women. Under the common law of marriage, married women had no independent legal personality. All of this meant that wives were largely dependent on their husbands’ financial fortunes.

• 

  PAR Alumni Spotlight: Alex Degman returns to Illinois Capitol

  Mar 31, 2022 9:00 am54 views

  Public Affairs Reporting Director Jason Piscia chats with Alex Degman, PAR '09, who is returning to Springfield after nearly five years with KMOX in St. Louis as an anchor and reporter.

• 

  PAR Alumni Spotlight: Andrea Zelinski hikes 2,193-mile Appalachian Trail

  Feb 16, 2021 12:15 pm181 views

  In the years since completing the Public Affairs Reporting program in 2008, Andrea Zelinski has been covering politics and government for news organizations in Illinois, Tennessee and Texas. But in 2020, she pause her journalism career for a seven-month journey on the Appalachian Trail, the 2,193-mile hiking trail that covers 14 states.

• 

  PAR Alumni Spotlight: Daralene Jones helps reveal truth of Ocoee Massacre

  Dec 15, 2020 9:00 am239 views

  For 100 years, the story of the Ocoee Massacre remained largely untold. But thanks to the efforts of Public Affairs Reporting graduate Daralene Jones and her team at WFTV Channel 9 in Orlando, the truth of what happened to Black residents in Ocoee on Election Day 1920 is being revealed to a new generation of people in Florida and beyond.

• 

  PAR Alumni Spotlight: Hannah Meisel returns to NPR Illinois

  May 4, 2021 8:00 am115 views

  Hannah Meisel has made a handful of stops on her journalism journey since completing the Public Affairs Reporting program in 2014. But she’s never strayed too far from the Illinois political beat.

• 

  PAR grad Ray Long talks about Michael Madigan with us on March 17

  Feb 16, 2022 9:00 am136 views

  Ray Long, PAR '81, chronicles Speaker Madigan’s storied legislative career in a new book – “The House That Madigan Built: The Record Run of Illinois' Velvet Hammer”, which comes out March 22.  We’d like to invite you to join us on Zoom at noon March 17 to hear from Long about his book and his career covering Madigan.

• Partnerships to Prevent Child Fatalities and Train the Workforce

  Feb 9, 2021 11:00 am29 views

  Next week, the Child Protection Training Academy will mark five years of operation on the University of Illinois Springfield campus.  In February 2016, the first group of newly hired DCFS child protection investigators came to campus to experience the recently launched simulation training model developed in partnership with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.  The tiny house on the UIS campus was transformed to become a cutting-edge training facility where DCFS investigators could interact with “family members” (Standardized Patient Actors from the SIU-School of Medicine) investigating allegations of child abuse and neglect in a realistic environment.  As a result of the pandemic, the Academy has become proficient in a virtual training format and continues to use technology in areas to improve the training.  The Academy is excited to think about the potential for improvement in critical thinking of all students, especially those who enter into the workforce to advocate for children.  Learning is often limited by thinking ideas are impossible; the Academy dares to achieve the impossible.

• 

  Politics Suck: Can I get an amen?

  Oct 1, 2020 9:00 am109 views

  Now, do I have your attention? Good, but this article is not about Donald Trump or Joe Biden.

  It’s about you. It’s about me. It’s about us.

  It’s about the type of office politics that we all engage in that undermine the health of our workplaces and our own futures.

• 

  Power in Other Places: On Uprisings, Black Lives Matter, and Politics

  Aug 20, 2020 9:00 am195 views

  I have always been drawn to the politics of everyday people who act outside of and against conventional politics. This grounds my interest in the resurgence of Black Lives Matter uprisings. I am interested in those moments when presumptively “powerless” people mobilize and realize other powers than those of the established institutional apparatus of politics, an apparatus which includes the police, prisons, courts, and military.

• 

  Prepare For Pandemics And Transform Yourself Into a Global Public Health Leader with the MPH Program at UIS

  Apr 24, 2020 7:00 am1159 views

  World Malaria Day (April 25) is around the corner. Public health professionals continue to debate the safety and effectiveness of anti-malaria drugs to treat patients with COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2). The challenges in managing this pandemic go beyond developing effective treatment regimens. The necessary public health action plans need strong scientific-based research skills, which you will learn through MPH learning experiences at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS).

• 

  Preparing the Next Generation of Attorneys to Prevent and Remedy Wrongful Convictions

  Mar 24, 2021 12:00 pm99 views

  The legal maneuvers required to free an innocent person after a wrongful conviction are notoriously complex. Yet few criminal law courses address post-conviction law. To help bridge the gap, the Illinois Innocence Project (IIP) serves as an extern site for law schools.

• 

  President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: What State and Local Policy Makers and Practitioners Need to Know?

  Mar 2, 2022 9:00 am59 views

  President Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Job Act is a bipartisan law passed in November 2021 is essentially equivalent to a 5-year capital improvement program financed by the federal government and implemented by state and local governments. 

• 

  Promoting Equity through Digital Inclusion

  Oct 6, 2020 9:00 am33 views

  In today’s world where everyone needs to be able to connect through the Internet for school, work, and socialization, it is critical that we prioritize finding equitable ways to connect our urban, suburban, and rural areas.

• 

  Protecting Youth - World No Tobacco Day Observed

  Jun 1, 2020 9:00 am44 views

  World No Tobacco Day 2020:  Protecting youth from industry manipulation and preventing them from tobacco and nicotine use.  Learn about the impact that tobacco use has on the health of people, the economy, and the environmment, and how you can join the fight against the tobacco epidemic.

• 

  Protests on the Streets: Seeing From the Lens of Goodness

  Nov 3, 2020 9:00 am132 views

  A beautiful Arabic proverb teaches us that a vessel only spills that which it contains. If a cup of water falls, it will spill merely that which it holds. Our heart is also a vessel of sorts. If it harbors prejudice and hate, what it divulges is simply a manifestation of what was in it. But if it houses compassion and love, then it will accordingly release what it bears.

• 

  Purposefully Connecting and Collaborating Online

  Jun 3, 2021 9:15 am168 views

  Like many people over the past year, I found myself at the kitchen counter with my kindergartener as we peered into his computer screen and listened to his teacher.  Eyes glued to the screen, we watched his teacher move two red cubes and then four yellow, explaining the day’s math lesson.  This was a big change for both of us.  His experience being online was limited to a treasured hour on the iPad each weekend, while my work for the last decade revolved around online degree programs.

• 

  Race, Housing and Equity

  Sep 3, 2020 9:15 am222 views

  When we examine housing policy in the United States today, we find huge disparities along racial lines in terms of home ownership, the value of property, and the ability to obtain a mortgage.  These disparities still exist even when accounting for things like geographic location, down payment, and income.

• 

  Ready for the New Normal: My Research Remote Presentation

  May 14, 2020 9:00 am34 views

  Dr. Crocker's thoughts on virtual conferences, the new normal?