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USF Encounter Staff Members Earn Awards at 2024 ICPA Conference

USF Encounter logo

Joliet, Ill. – Staff members of USF Encounter, the student news magazine published through the University of St. Francis (USF) Communication and Media Arts (CMMA) Department, earned awards based on their work submitted for the 2024 Illinois College Press Association Conference held at the DoubleTree Chicago on February 16-17, 2024. Participating in the conference were over 200 attendees representing over 35 higher education institutions.

USF honorees at the 2024 ICPA Conference included:

  • Sports Page Design – Saba Amir (2nd Place – Small School Category)
  • Opinion Page – Mars Angulo and Saba Amir (1st Place – Small School Category)
  • Feature Story – Alex Mielcarz (Honorable Mention – Small School Category)
  • Sports News Story – Braden Kidd (2nd Place – Small School Category)
  • Sports Feature Story – Alex Mielcarz (2nd Place – Small School Category
  • General Excellence Print – USF Encounter Staff (Honorable Mention – Small School Category)
  • Ron Wiginton Chicago Photo Contest – Harlie Mast (Honorable Mention)

USF faculty member Scott Marshall, Ph.D., served as chair for this year’s ICPA conference, and USF faculty member Brien McHugh, MFA, led a conference session titled “Leveraging Your Journalism Skills for a Non-journalism Job.” Former USF faculty member Terre Layng Rosner, Ph.D., also led a conference session titled “AI in News: How to Use It for Good.”

About USF Encounter

According to its official website, the USF Encounter “strives to write educational and persuasive information regarding the university, city and world. The student led and student written publication comes in a printed monthly magazine as well as an online platform.” For more information, visit usfencounter.stfrancis.edu.

About the Illinois College Press Association

According to the Illinois College Press Association’s Constitution, the ICPA works to “stimulate greater interest and development in journalism in the colleges and universities of Illinois and to create a spirit of emulation and cooperation which will foster this end.” Membership eligibility is open to all Illinois four-year college student newspapers. Visit illinoiscollegepress.wordpress.com for more information.

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The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 53,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu.

University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.

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American Red Cross Blood Drive at USF on Tuesday, March 12

Joliet, Ill. – The American Red Cross is experiencing an emergency shortage as the nation faces the lowest number of people giving blood in 20 years. Help those in need as the University of St. Francis (USF) hosts its next American Red Cross blood drive on Tuesday, March 12, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Assembly Hall Gymnasium at USF’s St. Clare Campus, which is located at 1550 Plainfield Road in Joliet. The drive is open to the community.

For an appointment, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit redcrossblood.org and enter “60435” in the red “Find a Blood Drive” box on the home page. You can save up to 15 minutes when you donate blood by using RapidPass. Visit redcrossblood.org/RapidPass for more information.

If you are an eligible type O, B – or A – donor, consider making a Power Red donation. Red blood cells are the most commonly transfused blood component.

For more information, please visit redcrossblood.org.

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The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 53,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu.

University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.

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Joliet Symphony Orchestra Presents “Remember” on February 24 and 25

Joliet, Ill. – The Joliet Symphony Orchestra (JSO) is pleased to announce the third concert series of its 2023-2024 Season with Artistic Director & Conductor, Dr. Sean Paul Mills, leading a program featuring works by Aaron Copland, Florence Price, Leonard Bernstein, and John Knowles Paine.

Titled “Remember: A Celebration of Music ‘Made in America’”, the JSO will be performing Aaron Copland’s “An Outdoor Overture”, Florence Price’s “Andante moderato”, Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story (selections)”, and John Knowles Paine’s “Symphony No. 1 in c minor” on Saturday, February 24, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, February 25, at 4 p.m. Both performances will take place in Sexton Auditorium, which is located in the Harold & Margaret Moser Performing Arts Center on the University of St. Francis campus at 500 Wilcox Street in Joliet.

New to the JSO this season is a series of free pre-concert discussions titled “Noteworthy.” These discussions will take place 45 minutes prior to each performance and provide audience members with an opportunity to learn more about the composers, selections, orchestra, and soloists as well as ask questions and interact with the conductor and guests.

Tickets for JSO concerts are available through the JSO website at jolietsymphonyorchestra.org, the Music at Moser website at stfrancis.edu/music-at-moser, and at the door beginning one (1) hour before each performance. Ticket pricing is  $10 per adult; $5 per senior, USF alumni & non-USF student; and USF students, music educators, and youth (18 and under) are admitted free of charge with a current ID.

Please join us as we continue a season of exploration and discovery featuring both familiar and new works for symphony orchestra. The JSO 2023-2024 Season Finale in April will feature trumpeter Gilmar Cavalcante as soloist in Johann Nepomuk Hummel’s trumpet concerto along with works by Ferdinand Herold and Antonin Dvorak.

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The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 53,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu.

University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.

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American Red Cross Blood Drive at USF on Wednesday, February 14

Joliet, Ill. – The University of St. Francis (USF) is hosting its next American Red Cross blood drive on Wednesday, February 14, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Assembly Hall Gymnasium at USF’s St. Clare Campus, which is located at 1550 Plainfield Road in Joliet. The drive is open to the community.

For an appointment, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit redcrossblood.org and enter “60435” in the red “Find a Blood Drive” box on the home page. You can save up to 15 minutes when you donate blood by using RapidPass. Visit redcrossblood.org/RapidPass for more information.

If you are an eligible type O, B – or A – donor, consider making a Power Red donation. Red blood cells are the most commonly transfused blood component.

For more information, please visit redcrossblood.org.

: :

The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 53,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu.

University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.

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U.S. News Names Three USF Online Programs Best Among Private Schools in 2024

Joliet, Ill. – U.S. News & World Report recently released its 2024 Best Online Programs rankings, and the University of St. Francis (USF) is proud to announce that five of its online programs – including three named as the best private programs in Illinois – were honored this year.

Recognized USF programs included:

  • Online Graduate Business Programs (excluding MBA) – #1 ranked private program overall in Illinois (46th percentile nationally);
  • Online Graduate Education Programs – #1 ranked private program in Illinois (12th percentile nationally);
  • Online MBA Programs – #1 ranked private program in Illinois (40th percentile nationally);
  • Online Nursing Programs – #4 ranked private program in Illinois (41th percentile nationally), and;
  • Online Bachelor’s Programs – #3 ranked private program in Illinois (27th percentile nationally).

As online education programs gain in popularity and demand, USF continues to leverage its comprehensive history of offering quality options that meet the changing needs of students interested in earning undergraduate and graduate degrees. Visit stfrancis.edu/admissions-aid/online for more information on USF’s online programs.

For more information on U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 Best Online Programs rankings, click here.

About U.S News & World Report’s Ranking Methodology

U.S. News has been publishing school rankings in the education sector since 1983 and has done so specifically for online degree programs since 2013. At both the undergraduate and graduate levels, U.S. News calculates rankings based on a variety of factors, which hold different weights depending on the ranking category. A program’s score for each factor, or ranking indicator, is calculated using data that online programs report to U.S. News in an annual survey. The rankings methodologies for online programs are separate from those for U.S. News’ Best Colleges and Best Graduate Schools rankings. Ranking methodologies are typically updated on an annual basis.

Additional details are available here.

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The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 53,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu.

University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.

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USF Faculty Members Publish Academic Journal Articles

Joliet, Ill. – Three USF faculty members in the College of Arts & Sciences were recently published in academic journals in their respective fields of study.

Dr. Jackie Wittke-Thompson

Dr. Jackie Wittke-Thompson, professor of biology, had two articles published in notable journals in the biology education community. She is a member of FlyCURE and the Genomics Education Partnership.

“FlyCURE is a group of geneticists from across the USA that are working to locate specific mutations that were created in the fruit fly by Dr. Jacob Kagey (PI). All the research work is done by undergraduate students under the supervision of a faculty member. USF students in my BIOL151 Beginning Investigative Experiences in Biology and BIOL255 Genetics courses have been part of this project,” she explained.

“The Genomics Education Partnership is a group of geneticists, bioinformaticists, biochemists, and more that are working together to annotate genes in different eukaryotic organisms (such as fruit fly, parasitoid wasps, and the Puerto Rican parrot). All the work is done by undergraduate students under the supervision of a faculty member. USF students in BIOL255 Genetics, BIOL322 Molecular Biology, and BIOL375/376 Advanced Investigative Experiences in Biology have been part of this project,” she added.

Both publications are focused on the impact of these course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) on undergraduate students.

Read “Fly-CURE, a multi-institutional CURE using Drosophila, increases students’ confidence, sense of belonging, and persistence” at https://www.stfrancis.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/merkle-et-al-2023-fly-cure-a-multi-institutional-cure-using-drosophila-increases-students-confidence-sense-of-belonging.pdf.

Read “Supporting the democratization of science during a pandemic genomics Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) as an effective remote learning strategy” at https://www.stfrancis.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/lopatto-et-al-2023-supporting-the-democratization-of-science-during-a-pandemic-genomics-course-based-undergraduate.pdf.

Dr. Laura Honegger

Dr. Laura Honegger, associate professor of social work, co-authored a journal article with former USF professor Stacy Dewald and several members of the Will County Problem-Solving Court. Honegger and her team have been working together for the past few years and were thrilled that the article, about their collaborative research partnership and lessons learned, was published.

“The article describes an interdisciplinary researcher-practitioner partnership between the Will County Problem-Solving Courts and the University of St. Francis’s Departments of Criminal & Social Justice and Social Work. Collaborators reflect on the mutually beneficial relationship that produced policy-informed research, new internships, and enriched classroom experiences,” Honegger said.

Read “An interdisciplinary researcher-practitioner partnership: lessons and perspectives from researchers and problem-solving court personnel” at https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/CHVPQY25WNC7C8F2QKPV/full?target=10.1080/1478601X.2024.2306351.

Dr. Anna Ioanes

Dr. Anna Ioanes, assistant professor of English at USF, authored a journal article titled “Everybody’s Kathy: Acker, Laing, and the Autofictional Turn” published in the journal Women’s Studies. The article was about the literary influence of novelist Kathy Acker on contemporary autofiction.

“This work analyzes the contemporary attention being paid to late-twentieth-century feminist avant-garde author Kathy Acker. Critical and creative attention to Acker’s work is taking shape in conversation with the development of autofiction and auto theory as important contemporary genres,” Ioanes said.

“Analyzing one particularly significant example, Olivia Laing’s autofictional novel Crudo, the essay demonstrates that Acker’s paranoid disposition and appropriative aesthetic techniques meet a contemporary moment shaped by digital media, resurgent white supremacist political violence, and debates about the relationship between critics and artworks,” Ioanes added.

Read “Everybody’s Kathy: Acker, Laing, and the autofictional Turn” at bit.ly/3U3B4KN.

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The University of St. Francis, in Joliet, Ill., serves close to 4,000 students nationwide and offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and certificate programs in the arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and social work. There are over 53,000 USF alumni across the globe. For information, call 800-735-7500 or visit stfrancis.edu.

University of St. Francis: Bigger thinking. Brighter purpose.

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