Graham Peck named the Wepner Distinguished Professor of Lincoln Studies at UIS

Lincoln scholar Graham Peck has been named the Wepner Distinguished Professor of Lincoln Studies at the University of Illinois Springfield. 

A virtual Ceremony of Investiture honoring Peck was held on Thursday, Sept. 24 where he received a medallion that symbolizes his position as a distinguished professor. Investitures are a special celebration of academic excellence. At UIS, when a professor is chosen to be an endowed chair or distinguished professor, an investiture takes place. 

“I’m confident that Peck, along with Michael Burlingame, who is the Chancellor Naomi B. Lynn Distinguished Chair in Lincoln Studies, will continue to establish UIS and Springfield as the place to learn about Illinois’ favorite son,” said UIS Interim Chancellor Karen Whitney, while speaking at the ceremony. “Their efforts will be bolstered when The Center for Lincoln Studies opens early next year at UIS.” 

Other speakers at investiture included Provost Dennis Papini, Interim Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Science Michael Lemke and Burlingame. Following the remarks, Peck presented a lecture on “Abraham Lincoln and the Making of an Antislavery Nation.” 

Peck came to UIS in 2019 after spending 17 years at Saint Xavier University in Chicago. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1991 from California State University, Hayward, and received his master’s and doctorate in American history from Northwestern University. Graham’s published scholarship – which includes multiple articles and the book “Making an Antislavery Nation: Lincoln, Douglas and the Battle Over Freedom” – focuses on antebellum American political history. 

The Wepner Distinguished Professorship was established at UIS as the result of a $1.2 million unrestricted estate gift from a Springfield couple, Wilbur and Margaret Wepner, longtime supporters of UIS. The funds are used for scholarships and the Wepner position. As a member of the Committee for Higher Education in Central Illinois, Wilbur Wepner helped found Sangamon State University in 1969. 

“On behalf of the university, I thank the Wepners for their generous donation,” Whitney said. “Their memory and passionate dedication for their community lives on in their gift. This professorship helps UIS realize one of its primary strategic goals, academic excellence. Philanthropists like the Wepners strengthen UIS.”

Molly Lamb named the new executive director of the UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership

Molly Lamb of Chatham has been named the new executive director of the University of Illinois Springfield Center for State Policy and Leadership (CSPL). She will start in the role on Monday, June 1, pending formal approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.

Lamb comes to UIS from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) where she has worked for 11 years. She most recently served as the deputy director of IDPH’s Office of Health Protection. She began her public sector career as an emergency response coordinator for the Logan County Health Department and has taught as an adjunct faculty member at Lincoln Land Community College.

“Molly brings unparalleled enthusiasm and a wealth of ideas to this position,” said Dennis Papini, UIS provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “She advanced a variety of initiatives that are centered squarely on advancing the visibility and impact of the Center for State Policy and Leadership, and her knowledge of how state agencies work will offer her insight into collaborations with UIS.”

At IDPH, she crafted and led the successful adoption of raw milk sales regulation rulemaking in Illinois, championed the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) Vaccines For Children (VFC) immunization re-join project, managed significant organizational structural changes at IDPH and designed centralized grant system to ensure standardization, consistency and improved decision-making.

“CSPL has a rich capacity and demonstrated success in promoting evidence-based policy and practice,” said Lamb. “Evaluating and understanding governmental infrastructure, workforce needs and policy and engaging partnerships are key to advance change and build a strategic roadmap. I look forward to continuing to strengthen the visibility and capability of the CSPL to best serve UIS and Illinois, grow leadership and workforce development opportunities and promote applied research and innovation to address publicly-identified and emerging issues.”

Lamb is currently completing a doctorate in public health leadership at the University of Illinois at Chicago and is expected to graduate this year. She holds two master’s degrees from UIS in public administration and public health and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Illinois Wesleyan University.

Lamb replaces David Racine who is retiring after 10 years serving as executive director of the Center for State Policy and Leadership.

The UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership promotes evidence-based policy and practice in the public sector. The center’s mission is carried out through research that informs public decisions and understanding; internships, training programs and applied problem solving that strengthens public leadership; and journalism that educates and engages citizens in public affairs.

The center is comprised of the Child Protection Training Academy; Graduate Public Service Internship Programs; Illinois Innocence Project; Illinois Institute for Public Finance; Innovate Springfield; Institute for Legal, Legislative and Policy Studies; NPR Illinois; Office of Electronic Media and Survey Research Office.

UIS Visual Arts Gallery announces its summer Enos Park artist-in-residence

The University of Illinois Springfield Visual Arts Gallery has partnered with the new Enos Park Residency for Visual Artists to award a funded summer residency and solo exhibition. After a review of a competitive applicant pool that represented national and international applicants, German-born and San Francisco-based artist Astrid Kaemmerling has been awarded the opportunity.

Kaemmerling will be in residence at the Enos Park Residency for Visual Artists from June 9 through July 28. Her exhibit at the UIS Visual Arts Gallery, “Walking Enos Park: Who is your neighborhood?” will open with a reception on Wednesday, June 28 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. The exhibit will run from Wednesday, June 28 through Friday, July 28. The UIS Visual Arts Gallery is open for the duration of the exhibit on Saturday afternoons from 12 to 4 p.m. or throughout the week by appointment.

While in residence, Kaemmerling will develop a new project to support her exhibit: the “Enos Park Community Walking Laboratory”. She is seeking participants -- local artists, Enos Park residents and residents of Springfield -- to walk with her in Enos Park from June 11 through July 28. The “Enos Park Community Walking Laboratory” sets out to provide artist and local residents opportunities to exchange information about the neighborhood. While meandering the streets of Enos Park, artist and community members will engage in conversations about the past, present and future of the district with a specific focus on arts & culture. Meet Kaemmerling for a 1 hour walk through your neighborhood, show her around and tell her who your Enos Park is and moreover what resources you think artists may need in this district. Reach her via email at EnosParkCommunityLaboratory@gmail.com to set up a walking appointment.

Kaemmerling is a German-born artist, scholar and educator based in San Francisco, California. Her work as an interdisciplinary artist spans the genres of visual, performance and media art and strives to connect place memories of the past, such as collected travel experiences, with a critical exploration of specific neighborhoods and selected urban places.

Kaemmerling has been exhibited internationally in Germany, Italy, Korea and the United States. Her work has won several awards and fellowships, such as at the Cittadellarte-Fondazione Pistoletto (Italy) and the Vermont Studio Center (Vermont). She is the founder of The International Community of Artist-Scholars, a community of artists who work at the intersection of art & research, as well as founder of The Walk Discourse, a Bay Area based laboratory for walking artists and walking enthusiasts to share walking art methodologies, practices and tools. The interest in interdisciplinary collaboration has led her to the School of Interdisciplinary Arts at Ohio University where she received her Ph.D. and completed a dissertation on walking art. Her writing has been published in peer-reviewed journals and publications.

The UIS Visual Arts Gallery is centrally located on the UIS campus in the Health and Science Building, room 201 (HSB 201). For more information on exhibition programming, please visit the UIS Visual Arts Gallery website at www.uis.edu/visualarts/gallery, or email Amanda Lazzara at alazz2@uis.edu.