University of Illinois at Chicago

The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is the Chicago campus of the University of Illinois.

Related Topics:
Chicago - University of Illinois

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

With 36,000 students, UIC is the largest university in the Chicago area. According to statistics from the UIC web site, 1 in 57 adult Chicagoans, 1 in 10 college graduates in Chicago, and 1 in 6 Illinois physicians are graduates of UIC.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UIC has been named as one of the most affordable universities in the United States by the magazine U.S. News & World Report, and it is listed as a college "best buy" in Barron's Best Buys in Education.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Initially located on Navy Pier, the University of Illinois at Chicago began in 1947 as a two-year college, mainly to serve GI Bill students returning from World War II. In 1965, it moved to its current location which was then called the Circle Campus and became a four-year college. Most of the campus was designed by architect Walter Netsch of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. The extensive use of concrete earned it the nickname the "Concrete Campus". The current UIC was created in 1982 through the consolidation of two University of Illinois campuses; the Medical Center campus, which was established in the 19th century and the "Circle Campus".

Related Topics:
Navy Pier - 1947 - GI Bill - World War II - 1965 - Walter Netsch - Skidmore, Owings and Merrill - Concrete - 1982 - University of Illinois

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UIC has expanded, and is now part of Chicago's Near West Side. The campus now has more than 100 buildings that cover 300 acres (1.2 km²). Its approportioned annual budget is just over $1 billion dollars.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the early 2000s, UIC has tried to help improve the quality of life in Chicago through the Great Cities Program. It combines efforts such as teaching, research, and other services. The medical center also contributes by providing health care to more than 400,000 people per year. It is ranked amongst the best health care providers in the country by U.S. News and World Report. With nearly 1300 students, including those at campuses in Peoria, Rockford and Urbana-Champaign, UIC's College of Medicine is the largest medical school in the United States. (Wayne State University has the nation's largest single-campus medical school.) http://www.uic.edu/depts/mcam/aboutcom.htmlhttp://www.med.wayne.edu/about_the_school

Related Topics:
United States - Wayne State University

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1999, UIC hired Stanley Fish away from Duke University to be its Dean of Arts and Sciences. The intention was to improve the quality of its programs, particularly for graduate students. After four years of mixed results, Fish stepped down from his position at the end of the 2003-04 school year, under heavy criticism from state legislators that he was simply trying to hire "rock star faculty" that never saw the inside of a classroom and demanded excessively high salaries. Fish stayed on as a Professor of English at UIC for one year before retiring entirely. His last class at UIC was a course in literary criticism and theory entitled, "Religion, Citizenship, and Identity."

Related Topics:
Stanley Fish - Duke University

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 2001 the UIC CBA program was awarded the NASDAQ Center of Entrepreneurial Excellence Award.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UIC is known for its Great Cities program, in which the UIC community of faculty, staff, and students is involved with programs around the Chicagoland area to improve the quality of life in Chicago.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

UIC has recently undergone great landscape transformation. Its South Campus project includes two new dorms for more than 1,500 students, academic offices, and 930 units of private residential housing, including University Village. New retail establishments and additional athletic fields have also been added on the South Campus. UIC also recently renovated its student union into Chicago Center East. Currently, UIC is building a new student activity center across the street from the student union.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~