A Community of Poets
First appeared in in January 2010 under Profiles
Janice Harrington’s recent success as a poet, author and college professor is deeply rooted in her more than two decades as children’s librarian and storyteller, where her work fostered a powerful ear for vivid rhythm and imagery. You could say Harrington’s latest incarnation as a professor in the University’s creative...
What Lies Beneath
First appeared in Illinois Alumni in January 2010 under Profiles
If Michael B. Johnson ‘88 ENG were a Pixar movie character he would be Sully, the large, furry, green-with-blue-spots star of Monsters, Inc. Like Sully (voiced by actor John Goodman), Johnson’s voice is deep and resonant; he is a hail-fellow-well-met; modest in an “aw-shucks-just-doing-my-job” way; and he is all about...
Online Writing Instruction: No Longer a Novelty
First appeared in NCTE Council Chronicle in November 2009 under Features
As the Internet and new technologies permeate every aspect of our lives, teaching is no exception. “More and more people are looking to find ways to teach writing online that are effective, make sense, and are as good if not better than on-site classes,” says Scott Warnock, assistant professor of...
Laurie Halse Anderson:Human Beings Need Stories
First appeared in NCTE Council Chronicle in November 2009 under Profiles
The way Laurie Halse (rhymes with waltz) Anderson sees it, her main job is to tell stories that young people will read. “More than anything that’s my job, to tell stories so that kids will keep reading and developing their literacy skills. If I can do that then I can...
A Civil Engineer Takes on Biological Systems
First appeared in Institute of Genomic Biology in October 2009 under Profiles
Civil engineering is not the most traditional route to tissue regeneration research, but that is how chemical and biomolecular engineering professor and IGB researcher Hyun Joon Kong began his journey. Kong’s original interest was colloidal rheology, the study of the effect of colloidal interaction on the deformation and flow of...
Collaboration Imagination
First appeared in Illinois Alumni in August 2009 under Features
A high school boy teaching computer skills in Africa. An inner city administrator fulfilling her vision of a playground. A rural chemistry teacher linking to a professional community. What is the connection of these people - and hundreds of others - to the University of Illinois? Retooling its land-grant mission...