Tag: College of Arts & Sciences

USF News

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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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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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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WCSF’s Snydersmith Interviews Olivia Minogue of NBC’s The Voice

Joliet, Ill. – University of St. Francis (USF) student and WCSF 88.7 FM on-air talent Will Snydersmith recently interviewed Olivia Minogue, a contestant on season 24 of NBC’s The Voice. 

The in-studio interview, which covered how Minogue landed an audition for The Voice, what her experience on the show was like, exploring new foods, and her upcoming concert at The Forge in Joliet, aired on January 18, on Snydersmith’s weekly radio program, Locally Sourced.

Locally Sourced, a radio program featuring local Joliet area musical talent, airs Thursdays from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. CST on WCSF 88.7 FM. Snydersmith is a WCSF radio club member and a digital audio recording arts (DARA) major.

Olivia Minogue, a resident of Lockport, was a contestant on season 24 of NBC’s vocal competition show The Voice who, among several other projects, is currently collaborating with Alby Odum, an instructor of digital and recording arts at USF and music producer.

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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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Art and Design Students Lend Their Talents to Support Habitat for Humanity ReStore Event

USF Art & Design program students

University of St. Francis Art & Design students Karly Ceci, Issac Rodriguez, Vada Arndt, Sammy Gonzalez, Mazi Niezgoda (along with USF associate professor Paul Erschen) collaborated with Melissa Gianakopoulos, Special Events Manager at Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Joliet, to paint over sixty holiday-themed martini glasses for the annual Habitat for Humanity ReStore holiday fundraiser, Tinsel & Tinis Girls Night Out, which took place on Wednesday, November 15, 2023. The USF students worked on the project for close to three weeks.

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Students Nominated for Annual Intercollegiate Broadcasting System Media Awards

Joliet, Ill. – Seven students from the University of St. Francis (USF) have been nominated for awards through the 2023-2024 Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) Media Awards based on their content programming that airs WCSF-88.7 FM.

USF award nominees include: 

  • Trinity Newell, “Tune In with Trin-Li”- Best Talk Program
  • Scarlett LaBudda and Evan Heise, “Keeping In Touch” – Best Public Affairs Program
  • Alex Mielcarz, Jake DiLorenzo, Mathias Woerner and Braden Kidd, “Sports Saturdays Pregame Show (Homecoming Week)” – Best Sports Pre/Post Game

Award winners will be announced during the 85th annual IBS conference on March 1-2, 2024, in New York City.

About the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System

Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) is an organization with a membership of over one thousand non-profit, education-affiliated radio stations and webcasters. Since its inception in 1940, IBS has proudly been led by volunteers who are passionate about student media. To learn more about IBS, visit ibsradio.org.

About WCSF-88.7 FM

WCSF-88.7 FM is a 100-watt radio station located in Joliet, Illinois, broadcasting an eclectic college radio music format to Chicago’s Southwest suburbs as well as Will and Grundy counties. For more information about the station and its programs or to listen live, visit wcsfradio.com.

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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.

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