Welcome to UIC !

The University of Illinois was created in 1946 as a branch of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. It was located at Navy Pier, and it offered a two-year undergraduate program. By the 1950's the university had outgrown and it had to be relocated. In 1960 a new site was announced, and it was located at 105 acres at Harrison and Halsted Streets. Many residents had to relocate, and it also caused the destruction of the historic Hull House settlement, a complex that had assisted several generations of immigrants. These among other situations were the cause of a lot of controversy. This caused many residents to feel aggravated, and few organizations were formed to try to stop the construction of UIC, but they all failed. In 1982, The University of Illinois at Chicago was formed by the consolidation of two other universities, the University of Illinois Medical Center and the University of Illinois Circle Campus. The person who had the idea of creating UIC was Mayor Richard J. Daley who said that this would be his greatest contribution to the Chicago community.

           

UIC's mission is "to create knowledge that would transforms our views of the world and, through sharing and application, transform the world." Over all UIC" main goal is to train professionals in a wide range of public service disciplines, serving Illinois as the principal educator of health science professionals and as a major healthcare provider to underserved communities." While observing some of the buildings in the UIC campus and reading my classmates blogs I am very glad and proud to be part of a school that follows their mission and goal. I observed the Behavioral Sciences Building, BSB,UIC theater, UICT, and the Education, Performing Arts and Social Work, EPASW. All of these buildings represent UIC's mission statements.

           

BSB

UICT

EPASW

In EPASW, students who are studying performing arts are receiving and creating knowledge while they share it through artistic presentations in plays at UICT. Some of the students transform the world when they decide to bring a positive message throughout their plays. BSB offers a variety of classes, such as Chemistry and Sociology which I attend. These classes help other students and me train to become professionals, and contribute with UIC's mission.

I have the same opinion as those of my classmates Nicole, Candace, and Alyssa . We believe that UIC has a lot to offer, and it is willing to help all of its students accomplish their academic goals. As Nicole indicated in her blog, "As the Mission Statement states, the University of Illinois at Chicago is here to help as many students with educational opportunities. SSB makes this clear by the offices it houses and the students those offices help out every day!" I agree with her because I have visited SSB, and I have found the building very helpful. I often go to the LARES tutoring center that is located in SSB, and it has helped me a lot to improve my grades. "The Writing Center is a resource to help students improve their academic writing; [Whether] it’s for an assignment for English, [a] scholarship essay, [a] thesis statement and anything else you can think of," Candace affirms in her blog. You can locate the Writing Center in Grant Hall. I believe having a writing center in a university is great. I am sure that the writing center will help me improve my writing skills as well as those of many other students. In Alyssa's blog she explored the residency halls and states "The feeling of neighborliness I experienced in these buildings was refreshing, and its diversity is able to provide all students with both a sense of home and an opportunity to explore other cultures." Reading Alyssa's blog inspired me to go visit my friend who dorms and see what the residency halls. While I was visiting it was evident that the dormitories at UIC are a safe and clean environment for all the students that leave home to begin their college life.

           

UIC is a university that offers great education, and it is willing to assist its students accomplish all their aspirations. The students acquire knowledge through training in a safe environment. I am very proud to be a UIC student and I will take advantage of all the helpful programs it offers.