Planning to participate in the Fall 2026 commencement ceremony? Please complete this form by noon Thursday, December 17. This will help EIU prepare for seating arrangements and create the reserved parking list.  

Saturday, December 19 - Groniger Arena

• 10 a.m. -- Undergraduate & Graduate Degrees for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; Lumpkin College of Business and Technology; College of Education, Health & Human Services; and Interdisciplinary Studies.

If you need to order regalia, please do so here.

Questions? Please contact mamorecraft@eiu.edu. 

If you are a faculty or staff member who is a parent or guardian of a student who will be participating in the 10 a.m. Saturday, December 19 commencement ceremony and you would like to present their diploma to them on stage, please fill out this form. 

If you have questions, please reach out to Megan Morecraft at mamorecraft@eiu.edu. 

BUILDINGS OR AREAS INVOLVED, AND DATE/TIME: 
Sunday, November 22, starting at 7 a.m.

Power outage one, for up to four hours affecting the following buildings…

• Old Main
• Pemberton Hall
• Blair Hall
• Old Steam Plant
• Student Services Building
• McAfee Gymnasium
• Physical Science Building
• Booth Library
• MLK Union
• Ford/McKinney/Weller Halls
• Gregg Tech. Center
• Power-Norton Hall
• Lincoln Hall
• Stevenson Hall
• Lantz Complex (Lantz, Groniger Arena, Field House, SRC)

Power outage two, for up to eight hours affecting the following buildings…

• Tarble Museum of Arts
• Coleman Hall
• Lumpkin Hall
• Klehm Hall
• Human Services
• Taylor Hall
• Thomas Hall
• Andrews Hall
• Lawson Hall

Major campus buildings NOT affected by either outage include…

• Buzzard Education Building
• Life Science Building/Annex
• Doudna Fine Arts
• U-Court
• U-Apartments
• Greek Court
• O’Brien Stadium
• Facilities Planning & Management
• Renewable Energy Center  

PURPOSE OF PROPOSED OUTAGE: Electrical testing

POSSIBLE PROBLEMS / SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS: No power, generators should run for areas typically supported by them.  Please power down personal and office equipment prior to the outage to minimize equipment impact.  Please plan accordingly for any academic research efforts around this time that is reliant on power.  Consider removing perishables from refrigerators where affected.

If employees have concerns about their work environment, they should discuss this with their supervisor.  Thank you for your patience as we continue to repair and improve our campus infrastructure.

Awareness Item for Students & Employees: Thanksgiving Break

The Residence Halls and Greek Court will close at 8 p.m. Friday, November 20, 2026.  Buildings will re-open at 1 p.m. Sunday, November 29, 2026.  Additional information is available here.

The EIU Bookstore is currently having a sale for Early Black Friday. This sale will go from November 6 through November 15, 2026 with 25% off Apparel, Gift items, and Clearance. This is an online and in-store sale. The URL is: https://easternillinois.bkstr.com/

EIU and its Department of Economics wish to extend condolences to the family, friends, colleagues, and former students of longtime professor Patrick Miner Lenihan.

Lenihan married Clara Eugenie “Genie” Osborn in August 1960, with whom he shared a life for 59 years until her passing in 2020. He and Genie traveled the world with a variety of friends, visiting six of the seven continents. Together, they settled in Charleston, Illinois in 1967 and raised 3 children, Colleen (Tim) O’Meara of Madison, Wisconsin, Michael (Kathleen) Lenihan of Cupertino, California and Sheila (Jim) Feyrer of Hanover, New Hampshire. 

Lenihan taught Economics at at EIU for 33 years, from 1967 until his retirement in 2000, with a primary focus on Labor Economics. He further cemented his EIU legacy in 2008, working with wife Genie to establish the Patrick Lenihan Graduate Fellowship in Economics. When not teaching, Lenihan enjoyed his time in Charleston golfing with a regular group. He also held many roles at Charleston Community Theatre, including chorus member, lead actor, director, and producer. In 2020, he moved to New Hampshire to be closer to family. He passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Saturday, November 7. Lenihan's full obituary is available here.

A local celebration of life will be held at a 3 to 5 p.m. open house Saturday, December 5, at the Charleston House, 956 6th Street, Charleston, Illinois.

IGP #111 - Travel was recently updated with approval by the President. Please take time to review the changes to this policy.

IGP #128 - Artificial Intelligence and Data Protection was established with approval by the President. Please take time to review this new policy.

You can get your tickets to these shows, and all future shows at Doudna, at www.eiu.edu/doudnatix. 

James and the Giant Peach
Thursday - Saturday, November 12th - 14th @ 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 15th 2:00pm
The Doudna Black Box Theatre
$15 General Admission | $5 EIU Students

Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach is now a musical for the whole family to enjoy! Featuring a wickedly tuneful score by the Tony Award-nominated team of Pasek and Paul (Dogfight & A Christmas Story the Musical) and a curiously quirky book by Timothy Allen McDonald (Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka, The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley). Critics rave: James and the Giant Peach is a "masterpeach!"

Wind Symphony & Concert Band
Friday, November 13th @ 7:30 p.m.
Dvorak Concert Hall
$10 General Admission | $5 EIU Students

Come see the EIU Wind Symphony and the EIU Concert Band for an evening of band works by Delle Cese, Grainger, Still, Schuman, Choi, Chambers, Copland, and Karrick.

***REVISED NOVEMBER 5, 2026***

BUILDINGS OR AREAS INVOLVED:  12th Street north of the Greek Court Egg
DATE/TIME: 11/02/2026 – 11/23/2026 11/30/26
PURPOSE OF PROPOSED OUTAGE:  Installation of new steam lines and Electrical Duct bank
SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS:  The proposed location of the road closure will occur on 12th Street just north of Greek Court road and south of the entrance to Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity.  Red outlined box in pic indicating closed area of 12th St.

If employees have concerns about their work environment, they should discuss this with their supervisor.  Thank you for your patience as we continue to repair and improve our campus infrastructure.

Dear Colleagues,

The University will be closed in observance of the 2026 Thanksgiving holiday on the following days:

• Thursday, November 26, 2026
• Friday, November 27, 2026

EIU also will observe the 2026 Holiday season and the 2026/2027 New Year's Eve/New Year's Day on Eastern's four official holidays:

• Thursday, December 24, 2026
• Friday, December 25, 2026
• Thursday, December 31, 2026
• Friday, January 1, 2027

Please note all offices must remain open through December 23, 2026. The University will reopen for full service on Monday, January 4, 2027.

In addition, per IGP #7.5, paid Gift Days for 2026 will be observed on:

• December 28, 2026
• December 29, 2026
• December 30, 2026

Employees, including probationary employees, will not have to use their own leave time for these days. Essential employees of the University will still be required to work on one or more of the Gift days. Vice Presidents and/or Directors will identify those areas/employees deemed essential for University operations. An employee(s) identified as “essential” will be allowed to flex the Gift days at another time but must use that time by March 31, 2027. For more information regarding Gift days please visit here.  

Employees who are in probationary status who wish to use time outside of the Gift days (example, December 22, 23, January 4), will be allowed to use any available accrued leave or take leave without pay during the Holiday season, with supervisor approval. Probationary employees who wish to use accrued leave during the holiday period must submit the Civil Service Employee Request for Accrued Leave During Probation form online and available here.  

Supervisors are encouraged to approve time-off requests, unless the employment is required for essential duties during that period, or the time off impedes the ability for the office to remain open through December 23, 2026. Should an employee choose to take leave without pay, please note that accrued leave, sick leave and service credit will not be earned.

Please note that the following eligibility rules apply for holiday compensation:
Employees must be in an approved pay status, with or without pay, on the last scheduled workday before the holiday and the first scheduled workday following the holiday in order to receive holiday pay. Employees who are subject to the provisions of a prevailing-rate agreement or a collective bargaining agreement will be paid according to the terms of the respective agreement. 

Time reporting codes have previously been created for use on time sheets and leave reports.  If you do not have to work on December 28, 29 or 30, please report it under University Gift Day – Non-work (763).  If you must work on any of the Gift days, please report applicable time under University Gift Day – Time worked (764).  If you must work and flex your day(s) at another time, when you use that day, you will use the 763 – University Gift Day – Non-work at that time.

As in previous years, please make note of the adjusted monthly payroll schedule for December. The pay date for December will be on January 4, 2027.

Inquiries regarding this information may be directed to the Benefits Office at (217) 581-5825 or by e-mailing benefits@eiu.edu.

Thank you!

Human Resources

Intramural Programs are BACK! Registration for our Fall 2026 IM Programs is open, Spring 2027 will open up on December 12, 2026.

Anyone who is a member of the SRC can join in on the fun! Students, faculty, staff, alumni -- we want everyone to connect, compete, and enjoy IM Programs.

Find a list of programs and schedules at Eastern Illinois University :: Campus Recreation - Intramural Schedules.

AN UPDATE FROM FACILITIES PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT
Seventh Street Traffic Pattern Changes Begin Monday, August 10, 2026

BUILDINGS OR AREAS INVOLVED: 7^th Street between Doudna Circle Drive and Roosevelt Drive
DATE/TIME: Beginning Monday, August 10, 2026, until further notice
PURPOSE OF CHANGE: Safe roadway passage for EIU & Community Members   

DETAILS:

• Beginning Monday, August 10, 2026, 7^th Street between Doudna Circle Drive and Roosevelt Drive will be reopened but only to southbound* traffic.
  • *Andrews Hall residents will still have access to the Andrews Hall Parking Lot from the south via the lot entrance west of 7th Street. 
• Signage and barricades will be placed accordingly for traffic control.
• Expect heavy CUSD1 bus and personal vehicle traffic on this stretch of road between 7 and 8:30 a.m. and from 2:15 to 3:30 p.m. on traditional school days.
  • Between and outside these times, expect increased construction traffic associated with the ongoing utility tunnel repairs and Thomas Hall remodel.

Facilities Planning and Management personnel thank you in advance for your awareness and adherence to these safety precautions.

Beginning March 16, 2026, parking lots between the Student Services Building, the Old Steam Plant, and south of Blair Hall will be closed as part of a comprehensive upgrade to EIU's campus infrastructure. NOTE: ADA parking spaces immediately south of Blair Hall will remain open, and an ADA‑compliant ramp will be installed to accommodate east–west pedestrian traffic at the northwest corner of the Student Services Building.

Please review a map of the parking lot availability HERE, noting the additional details below.*