ANNUAL SPRING ELECTRICAL OUTAGE 2025                     

Listed below is the schedule for the Annual Spring Break Electrical Outage.  We are sending out the notice now to give everyone an early heads-up for scheduling and planning purposes.  As it gets closer to March, additional reminder notices will be sent out. 

The following buildings WILL NOT have electrical power on the dates listed.   

Saturday, March 15, 2025 7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (10 hours) 

1. Old Main
2. Pemberton Hall / Pine Honors College 
3. Student Services Building (Portable Generator to be used for Data Center)
4. Old Steam Plant (will run off of generator power during outage)
5. Physical Science Building
6. Physical Science Building Chiller
7. Martin Luther King Jr. University Union FOOD COURT ONLY
8. Blair Hall

It’s FPMs intent to complete all the required service on the 8 areas listed here on Saturday March 15,2025. The focus will be on buildings 1 – 4. However, if unforeseen circumstances arise, the remainder of the required service will be performed on Sunday, March 16, 2025.

Thank you for your assistance and flexibility as we plan 2025's annual service outage. 

SURS representatives will be on campus Wednesday, March 5 to conduct face to face retirement counseling sessions with eligible employees who schedule an appointment.

The schedule is now open and will close Friday, February 21, 2025.  Sessions will begin at 8 a.m. and run through 4:30 p.m.  Sessions will be held in the MLK University Union, Casey and Greenup rooms. Appointment requests will be taken on a first come/first served basis.  Please call early to reserve your desired time!

Please see the following for more information on SURS counseling sessions, and to register.

Scheduling a Counseling Session or Written Estimate with SURS

This fun session provides tips, tricks, and activities that allow us to find what's best for our personal self-care. Prioritizing ourselves and continuously taking care of our well-being will set students up for success!

Join us for another great Webinar from Be Well Illinois!  Smart Money Moves: 10 tips to set yourself up for long-term financial success will occur on Thursday, January 30 at noon.  No matter your age or circumstance, there are 10 key tips to help you set yourself up for long-term financial success.  From having a tax strategy and keeping an eye on your credit score to allocating assests and maximizing your retirement plans, there is something for everyone to learn.  Come celebrate good financial health through money management!

To register please use the link in your email from Be Well Illinois or CLICK HERE.

Join us for an Exhibit Opening and Artist Talk

Booth Library invites the EIU campus and greater community to a reception celebrating the launch of a new exhibit: PLAY, an exhibition to celebrate enjoyment and interactivity. Join us on Wednesday, January 29th at 2 p.m. in the library’s Marvin Foyer for light refreshments and discussion by our student exhibitors.

Featuring work by EIU Graphic Design students and EIU Art Education students, The PLAY exhibition first debuted at the Glenn Hild Gallery located in the Doudna Fine Arts Center last fall. Students from ART 3921, Graphic Design II, along with Samantha Tableriou, Associate Professor of Art, will discuss how they collaborated as teams last spring to reimagine and redesign four classic board games. The redesigned games, complete with boards, packaging, cards, and game pieces, are on display within the Marvin Foyer.

Design teams include:

Game: Payday

• Kaylee Albers
• Logan O’Laughlin
• Sam Pickett
• Anna Turner

Game: Through the Decades

• Gabby Hetzel
• Leon Lomax
• Shaley Murray
• Chad Smith

Game: Wizards and Warlocks

• Quinteen Bien
• Eli Elkins
• Lynn Judy
• Jenna Peck

Game: Sorry Not Sorry

• Sarah Brown
• KeiKei Carey
• Holly McReynolds
• Serra Pizano

The exhibit will continue through March 7.

Join us on Friday, January 24, 2025, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Tarble Arts Center for a closing reception to celebrate the fall exhibitions An Other World, Touch Me: A Flat File Exhibition, and Famous Black Americans: The Dolls of Ida Roberta Bell. This event will be free and open to all with free refreshments served. 

LIONS IN WINTER is an annual literary festival that has included author readings, craft talks by featured writers in fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction, editors panels, book fairs, and more.

Wednesday, January 29 and Thursday, January 30

The 2025 Lions in Winter festival features three internationally known writers: The Heartbreak Years author Minda Honey, teacher and the author of Maddalena and the Dark Julia Fine, and 2024 Kate Tufts Discovery Award winner Jacqui Germain.

Wednesday, January 29

Author Roundtable at Noon

Minda Honey Craft Talk at 4:00 PM

Jacqui Germain Craft Talk at 5:00 PM

Thursday, January 30

Julia Fine Craft Talk at 4:00 PM

Reading and Reception at 5:30 PM

The festival is free and open to the public and will be held at the Doudna Fine Arts Center on EIU's campus. Tickets are required and can be obtained from the Doudna Box Office.  For more information go to  Lions In Winter. 

Please join the Civil Service Council; in cooperation with the EIU Grounds Department, the Central Illinois Master Gardeners, and the EIU Staff Senate, in our efforts to create the Larry Shobe Memorial Garden.  The garden will be located between Old Main and Blair Hall and will provide a welcoming space for visitors and the campus community to gather.  Larry Shobe, EIU Alum and 27-year EIU Groundskeeper passed away in July of 2023.  In addition to his work in the Grounds department. Larry was a botany expert and served as a master gardener on the Illinois Public Media produced program Mid-American Gardener that airs on WEIU TV. He loved EIU and enjoyed providing tours of the beautiful gardens he created and cared for on campus.

At this time, we are seeking donations to reach the expected cost of around $7000.  Any amount you can give is appreciated.  If you wish to donate plants or volunteer time to help maintain the space, just e-mail one of the commttee memebers listed below.  

To Donate:

1. Mail checks made payable to “EIU Foundation” to EIU Foundation, 600 Lincoln Avenue, Charleston, IL 61920.  Please make a notation in the check's memo line or attach a note stating it is for the “Larry Shobe Memorial.” Checks can also be brought to the Business Office, Attention Trisha Fritts.  
2. Online gifts can be submitted at https://www.eiu.edu/giving.php.  Select an amount, then click on the box “Please select the Designation for your gift.” In the drop-down menu, select “Other Gifts” and then type a short note in the Special Instructions box “Larry Shobe Memorial,” then complete the remaining payment options and submit.
3. Employees can also drop off donations or authorize a monthly payroll deduction.  To do so, contact Trisha Fritts (trfritts@eiu.edu) in the Business Office.

If you have questions, contact:

• EIU Foundation - 217-581-3313
• Shobe Memorial Garden Committee Members
  • Michelle Morgan (mlmorgan@eiu.edu)
  • Ke’An Armstrong (ksarmstrong@eiu.edu)
  • Arlene Brown (aebrown@eiu.edu)
  • Tony Craven (jacraven@eiu.edu)
  • Jonathan McKenzie (jrmckenzie@eiu.edu) 

Booth Library now has early access to JSTOR's cutting-edge interactive research tool.  This new JSTOR feature uses advanced technologies, including AI, to help you expand your research within JSTOR's large collection of journal articles and ebooks.  It helps you find relevant materials faster by surfacing key points and arguments from the text you want to read, discover new topics and results within JSTOR, engage conversationally by asking questions about the text, and search more effectively using everyday language queries.

The interactive research tool is available on content pages for journal articles, book chapters, and research reports, and as an alternative to JSTOR’s standard keyword search.

Here’s how to get started:

1.            Go to jstor.org.

2.            Create a JSTOR personal account or sign in to your existing personal account.

3.            Ensure you have institutional access through EIU (look for the banner at the top of your JSTOR screen).

4.            Run a search and open any journal article, book chapter, or research report to start using the tool.

Get involved!  As an early user, you’ll have the opportunity to provide valuable feedback that will help shape the tool’s development. Remember, it’s a work in progress and will evolve. Because the tool is still in rapid development, JSTOR is requesting feedback, either in the tool via prompts to give interactions thumbs-up or thumbs-down ratings, or you can email JSTOR’s beta team. Your insights will play a key role in refining this exciting new feature!

Explore the interactive research tool today and take your research to the next level!  Please ask a librarian if you have any questions.

Do you have a child or grandchild who is a current student at Eastern Illinois University? The EIU Annuitant Scholarship Committee invites you to ask your student to apply for the Annuitants Association Scholarship. Following is the scholarship criteria:

1. The recipient(s) may receive the scholarship one time only.
2. The recipient(s) must be a full-time undergraduate at Eastern Illinois University and have completed at least twelve (12) semester hours at the time the award is selected.
3. The recipient(s) must be the child or grandchild of a current Eastern Illinois University employee with five or more years of service to the University OR the child or grandchild of a retired Eastern Illinois University employee with five or more years of service to the University.
4. The recipient(s) must have a minimum EIU GPA of 3.0.
5. Applicants must submit a written statement listing career goals and financial need.
6. Applicants must submit a letter of recommendation from Eastern Illinois University advisor or faculty member.
7. In the event that there are several suitable applicants, preference will be given to the recipient(s) with financial need.

To apply for the scholarship, sign onto the EIU Scholarship Search on the University web site. The link to the search can be found at http://eiu.academicworks.com. When completing the information requested, please make sure that the question regarding “child or grandchild of an EIU employee or annuitant” is completed correctly.

The application deadline is March 15, 2025.

Kathy Reed, EIUAA Scholarship Chair

The UPI and the Office of the President will be hosting a town hall to provide members of the campus and broader community an opportunity to learn more about this proposed funding formula, wherein new funds would be directed to the State's public institutions based on the funding needs of each university, the needs of their students, and their unique mission. The event will take place Monday, January 27, 2025 at 4 p.m. in the Doudna Fine Arts Lecture Hall.
 
 

 

Applications are being sought for the EIU Civil Service Council scholarship established to commemorate the 35th anniversary of the EIU Civil Service Council. 

Applicants that receive financial assistance or tuition waivers are encouraged to apply.  The scholarship is intended to assist with tuition, fees, or other costs associated with attending EIU, such as housing, supplies, daycare, gas, etc.  The award is payable in Fall 2025 to your student account, and any remaining amount will be dispersed to the recipient.  Fall 2025 enrollment must be verified before the scholarship is distributed.

The recipient must:  1) be a former, current, or retired Non-Negotiated Civil Service Employee; or a child or grandchild of a former, current, or retired non-Negotiated Civil Service Employee; 2) be a current or incoming freshman, sophomore, junior, senior or Graduate EIU student at enrolled in a minimum of 6 semester hours; 3) maintain a minimum GPA of 2.5 and in good academic standing; high school seniors accepted to EIU shall enroll in a minimum of 6 semester hours of coursework and be ranked in the top 25% of their class.  Financial need shall be the determining factor if all other qualifications are equal.

Please apply online at https://eiu.academicworks.com/opportunities/15788

The deadline to apply is March 15, 2025.

If you have any questions, please contact Michelle Morgan, EIU Civil Service Council President at (217) 581- 1107 or email mlmorgan@eiu.edu.

Time reporting clarification for Monday, January 6th inclement weather:

• All biweekly paid employees that report their time via PAWS timesheet and were affected by today's late start due to weather, should report the two hours as "Emergency Closure - Non Worked."  This earn code will pay the regular hourly rate.
• Employees who were unable to work for the entire day because of the weather, may record 2 hours of Emergency Closure-Non Worked time and 5.5 hours of other time per IGP 23.
• Essential employees who were required to report to work at their required report time and worked a full day, should be offered 2 hours of flex time on future day with supervisor approval. The alternative time off must be taken by March 31, 2025.

Register Now for Renew!

Registration for Renew is now open. Renew is a program to reinvigorate the mind and body, clarify purpose, and strengthen relationships. It offers strategies for all aspects of well-being — physical, mental, social, and emotional. Participants can personalize their experience, focusing on the Renew activities most relevant and inspiring to them. With 30 activities to choose from participants never run out of ways to renew and refresh.

Motivating program features include:

• Tracking fitness and nutrition habits as you uncover a portion of a serene image in the natural world.
• A new scene each week with new surprises, animations, and activities that inspire you to reveal each masterpiece.
• Friendly Duo challenges offer extra motivation and accountability as friends support each other toward their renewal goals.
• Interactive message board (and Team Chat feature*) to give and get support.
• More than 200 delicious, healthy recipes to fuel success... and more!

Winners can choose from select prizes ($50 value) including:

• Ear buds
• Smart scale
• Activity tracker
• Magic Bullet

Logging activity is simple using your favorite tracking device or the Step Converter tool. By renewing and refreshing your well-being, you can start the year with more energy to do the things you love.

Sign up for Renew here: https://bewellillinois.renewmyway.com

In accordance with the 2022-2026 EIU-UPI Unit A agreement, Summer Research and Creative Activity Awards are available this year.  The awards are for research and creative activity projects conducted between the end of the spring semester and August 31, 2024 by tenured/tenure track faculty in Bargaining Unit A.  Approximately 16 awards of $5,000 each in the form of personal services payments will be granted.  Faculty who wish to apply for funding should apply online (https://www.eiu.edu/grants/admin) or hand-deliver their proposal to the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, 1102 Blair Hall, no later than noon on Wednesday, February 5, 2024.  Researchers who have previously received a Summer Research and Creative Activity Award should make sure all reports are on file in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.  To obtain a copy of the application materials, please visit the website (http://www.eiu.edu/grants/).  Applicants should be sure to use the most current application forms.  If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at eiugrants@eiu.edu or call (217) 581-2125.

Part of your responsibility in driving a university owned vehicle is to report any accidents involving that vehicle to Mike Hutchinson, the University Risk Manager. You will need to come to Old Main - Room 1140 within 48 hours to fill out a claim report. If there is a police report, please bring it with you. Incidents involving damage to university property must also be reported. If you are unable to come into the office, call (217) 581-2921.

Student Insurance provides the student worldwide protection 24 hours a day.  The Plan has a $100 deductible per diagnosis and pays up to 70% of eligible expenses for physician and hospital expenses, lab and x-ray, surgery, ambulance transport, physical therapy, maternity expenses, mental health and substance abuse issues. The Student Insurance Plan also reduces copays for prescription medications at the Medical Clinic, from SBL Prairie Pharmacy. 

Unlike an HMO or PPO, the Plan does not have a network, giving students a choice in their care and provides coverage for treatment the student receives while they are at home, at school, and wherever they may travel. 

Student Insurance is an economical way to reduce or eliminate out-of-pocket expenses when family health plans do not cover 100% of medical costs because of deductibles, co-payment amounts, limitations on specific benefits, and out-of network penalties.  The Student Insurance Plan complements the family health plan.  Most students find it beneficial to carry both, particularly if the family plan has a deductible and/or coinsurance.

You can find more information about the Plan at www.eiu.edu/studentinsurance or by contacting our office at 217-581-5290. There are 2 short videos on the website that do a nice job of explaining all about the Plan.

Spring 2025 semester students enrolled in 5 or more hours (any program format), are eligible for coverage. Please note, students enrolled in an on-campus program taking 9 or more hours,

Graduate Assistant, and international students enrolled in an on-campus program with a minimum of 3 hours are automatically billed for coverage.

Students wishing to enroll in the Student Insurance Plan must complete the Enrollment Form, available under the “My Health” tab in the students PAWS account. The deadline to enroll in the Plan is January 27, 2025. The cost of the coverage is $120.00.

Student Insurance provides the student worldwide protection, 24 hours a day. The Plan has a $100 deductible per diagnosis and pays up to 70% of eligible expenses for physician and hospital expenses, lab and x-ray, surgery, ambulance transport, physical therapy, maternity expenses, mental health, and substance abuse issues. The Student Insurance plan also covers prescriptions at the Medical Clinic, from SBL Prairie Pharmacy.                                   

Unlike an HMO or PPO, the Plan does not have a network, giving students a choice in their care and provides coverage for treatment the student receives while they are at home, at school, and wherever they may travel. When you have other insurance, the Plan coordinates with the primary carrier. Student Insurance is an economical way to reduce or eliminate out-of-pocket expenses when family health plans do not cover 100% of medical costs because of deductibles, co-payment amounts, limitations on specific benefits, and out-of-network penalties. The Student Insurance Plan complements the family health plan. Most students find it beneficial to carry both, particularly if the family plan has a deductible and/or coinsurance.

You can find more information about the Plan at www.eiu.edu/studentinsurance or by contacting our office at 217-581-5290. There are 2 short videos on the website that do a nice job of explaining all about the Plan.

The Spring 2025 Student Insurance fee will be automatically assessed to students enrolled in an on-campus program taking 9 or more hours; graduate assistants under contract to the University; and international students enrolled in an on-campus program taking 3 or more hours.

Students wishing to waive the Student Insurance Plan must complete the Waiver Form available under the “My Health” tab in the students PAWS account. The deadline to waive coverage for the Spring 2025 semester is January 27, 2025.

EIU offers a 403(b) plan for eligible employees.  A 403(b) plan is a tax-deferred retirement program that permits an employee to reduce his or her compensation on a pre-tax (or Roth, if applicable) basis and have the contribution deposited into a 403(b) investment.  

The IRS has released new contribution limits for 403(b) plans, which can be found at this link: Eastern Illinois University :: Benefit Services - 403B Universal Availability Notice

To enroll in a 403(b) program, you must complete a Salary Reduction Agreement (SRA) Form, found on the HR Forms tab here: Eastern Illinois University :: Human Resources - HR Forms

For more information on 403(b) or other Retirement or Investment plans, please go to the "Retirement" tab on the Benefits webpage, found here: Eastern Illinois University :: Benefit Services - Index  

If you have questions about retirement options, please contact the EIU Benefits Office at (217) 581-5825 or benefits@eiu.edu.