The Illini Union family looks forward to hosting the 2017 Welcome Week with fun activities and events to greet all new and transfer students to campus! From Monday, August 21^st-Saturday, September 2^nd, the Illini Union and Campus Recreation will be hosting fun and exciting events. There will be retail and food specials, a comedy show, a craft event, a poster sale, latenighter, movie nights, skating specials, and more! Don't forget to have your student come to the Quad on Monday, August 28 for their FREE first day of school photo. Just like when they were in elementary school, we will take their first day of school photo so they can send you a copy.

View the full 2017 Welcome Week schedule here!

Deciding whether or not to get a job in college is one of the toughest decisions a full-time student may have to make, and it’s a decision many parents have mixed feelings about. There are definitely benefits beyond the modest paychecks, like covering extra expenses, getting involved in the community, and networking. If your student does make the decision to get a job, there are many resources to help them find a good fit. Getting a campus job is a good idea because university employers will always work with class schedules. Below are some resources to help find campus jobs!

Click here to search positions on the Virtual Job Board!

Click here to join the Illini Union team!

Come out for a day of learning about many of the thousands of Registered Student Organizations on the Illinois campus. Campus offices and local organizations will also be lining the Quad for students to get a taste of how diverse the university is and what it has to offer. The Illini Union vendors will be there, along with the Rec Room. Special performances by the Marching Illini and other RSOs will take place. With over 600 RSOs present, your student is bound to find something they are interested in. This event will take place on Sunday, August 27th, on the Quad from noon - 4 p.m.

Click here to view 10 tips on how to handle Quad Day, brought to you by the Daily Illini!

Dad’s Weekend 2017 is November 10-12! Many events will be taking place, such as a football game, a BBQ tailgate, a concert, brunch, and more! Families may attend the events of their choice and make their weekend the best it can be. Some events require advance ticket purchase, so please read through the website carefully. A full schedule of events and ticket information is on the Illini Dad’s Association website.

View the Dad’s Weekend website here!

After you send your last child off to school, wipe away the tears, and come to terms with their impending adulthood, it’s time to think about what you’ll do with your empty nest. What will you do with your new-found free time and space? Here are some ways to ease (and celebrate) the transition to an empty-nester lifestyle.

Find things that you’re passionate about

Many empty nester parents realize that since the kids were born, every bit of the family’s resources has been focused on their upbringing. Now that they are occupied with their own lives, spend some time exploring: What brings you happiness? What hobbies are you curious about trying, or maybe picking up again after a long break? Have you been longing to have a craft room or more time to go fishing with your friends? Now is the time to try out new pursuits.

To continue reading this article, click here.

The Illini Union Parent and Family Programs Office is committed to providing all University of Illinois families with up-to-date information, resources to assist you in the role that you play in your student’s success, and a point of contact to answer questions or address your concerns. Complete the contact information form and make sure you have access to everything the Parent and Family Programs Office has to offer. Be sure to forward this to other Illini families who are not receiving our updates.

Parents and family members, just like you, have the ability to make our students’ college experience remarkable. Your contribution supports innovative programs that promote student learning, personal development, and well-being. 

Your unrestricted gift to the Parent Fund helps Student Affairs support alcohol-free programming, such as Illinites, provide personal safety training to students, and more. Your gift also ensures that regular communication and support for all families of Illinois students will continue.

To learn more about Student Affairs, click here. 

GIVE TODAY!

The 2017 Summer Illini Families Newsletter, the official newsletter of the Illini Union Parent and Family Programs Office, is now available to view online. To access the summer edition, which includes articles about moving off-campus, summer semester tips from the University Of Illinois Police Department, parent and family self-care, scholarship resources, Dad Weekend events which tickets, and much more!

To view the newsletter, click here.

As part of the Office of Inclusion and Intercultural Relations (OIIR), Diversity & Social Justice Education (DiversityEd) offers programs to create transformational education spaces. Through classes, workshops, and trainings, DiversityEd works to improve the campus climate and promote critical thinking both within our university community and in the greater society. Students must be prepared to work and live in a diverse society, and DiversityEd’s programs challenge students, faculty, and staff to apply fair-minded thinking methods in their professional and interpersonal lives. To achieve this, their programs create safe spaces for differing opinions and perspectives to be expressed through the dialogue process.

Find out more about DiversityEd on their website.

The Moms Association is a great way to be involved with the university and learn more about the exciting events, scholarships, and opportunities available to you and your student. While everyone is automatically a member of the association, the Board of Directors is looking for interested moms and mother figures to join the leadership team.

Board members participate in several meetings on campus (in person or by teleconference), are engaged in numerous activities during Moms Weekend, form a closer connection to the university, make new friends with other Illinois moms, and have a great excuse to visit campus a few times a year to see their student! Those with creative, organizational, and/or business skills and experience are encouraged to apply.

If interested, please complete the online application on the Moms Association website here.

You can also support the Illini Moms Association by getting Illini Moms Merchandise from the official Moms Association Online Store. All proceeds will go towards supporting our students and the campus community.

The Moms Association at the University of Illinois is looking forward to an exciting year. Be sure to like the Facebook page for the latest Moms news, events, and advice.

Looking to get involved while your student is at U of I?

We are always looking for fathers and father figures to join our Board and serve on various event committees. If you have experience and skills in event planning, organizing outings, philanthropic causes, marketing, communications, or just plain want to help out on Dads Weekend, then please click here to join the board and we will be in touch.

Whether you are interested in joining our board or not, please click here to activate your free membership with the Illini Dads Association.

All proceeds coming into the Illini Dads Association supports our students and the campus community. Founded in 1922, IlliniDads has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships and grants to U of I students and the Champaign-Urbana community. We look forward to hearing from you and meeting you at our next meeting!

For more information about the Dads Association, click here.

The University of Illinois Student Health Insurance Office makes sure students have access to an insurance plan that provides for all the health care needs while attending Illinois. The University of Illinois has chosen UnitedHealthcare to underwrite and process the comprehensive, world-wide accepted, major medical plan offered to students. Information on the Student Health Insurance Office can be found on their website, including how to enroll, what is covered, FAQs, and much more. Coverage for Fall 2017 will run from August 26th, 2017-January 12th, 2018. The Fall 2017 enrollment/change period will run from August 24th-September 26th. 

View their website here!

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is returning to a single logo – the familiar orange block “I” – throughout campus and in outreach to external audiences. The university’s logo for most of its history, the block “I” was first referenced in campus archives in 1892. Using the block “I” as the only logo will consolidate and strengthen the university brand impact. The fact that the public is presented with multiple versions of a campus logo, represents a significant problem and creates needless confusion, Chancellor Robert J. Jones said. As a component of a long-term project to unify and strengthen campus marketing efforts, Jones directed staff to modernize and unify the campus logo and to clarify rules for its use.

Read the rest of the article about the consolidation of logos.

No need for a credit card! Illini Cash is a quick, convenient, and secure way to provide funds for your student for anything from food, books, supplies, computers, and printing.  Illini Cash is accepted at most University of Illinois retail locations including the Illini Union Bookstore, the Tech Zone, the Rec Room, Starbucks, Illini Union Hotel, the Quad Shop, the Illini Union restaurant partners, University Housing and Dining, and Campus Recreation locations. 

Illini cash can be set up online through a short form and then money will be instantly available to your student. There are no fees or expiration dates for Illini Cash, making it a simple and effective way for students to make on-campus purchases.

We would appreciate the completion of this short, three question survey about Illini Cash. Thank you in advance for doing this survey!

All you need to set up Illini Cash is your student’s University Identification Number (UIN), which is located on the front of their i-card. Set up your student's Illini Cash here!

• August 24 - Freshman Move-In Day
• August 26 - Returning Student Move-In Day
• August 28 - Instruction Begins
• September 4 - Labor Day (No classes)
• September 28 - Tuition Payment Due
• October 22-28 - Homecoming
• November 10-12 - Dads Weekend

The work of choreographer and University of Illinois dance professor Abby Zbikowski is hyperphysical, exploring what happens when a body is pushed beyond its perceived limits and what it means to work toward attaining that level of physical skill. Zbikowski’s most recent work, “Abandoned Playground,” premiered in New York City in April. A review in The New York Times compared the performance to a sporting event, and the dancers to boxers readying themselves for a fight: “‘Abandoned Playground’ pits these dancer-athletes against the limits of their own strength and endurance … The challenge lies in the ferociously physical steps – an onslaught of thwacking arms, emphatic kicks, dizzying spins, swift somersaults, perilous balances and slippery contortions – and their relentless repetition.”

 Read more about this amazing U of I professor in this news article!