University of Illinois  

Laboratory High School   

 Alumni Newsletter

March 2016
 
Calendar

April 16, 2016
Uni Gala 
Location: New ECE building at University and Wright; Kavita and Lalit Bahl Meeting Room

*********

Class of 1966 reunion
June 11, 2016
1-4:30 p.m.
Lake of the Woods Lakehouse
Contact Tom Koehler

Class of 1986 reunion
TBA 2016
Contact Brent Lyles

Class of 1996 reunion
Sept. 4-6, 2016

Class of 2006 reunion
TBA

Class of 1967 reunion
April 2017
Contact Dan Brodsky

Class of 1951 reunion
TBA
Contact Joe Casserly

Classes of 1950-59 Grand Reunion
April 2017

Join us!
From the Advancement Department
Don't forget about The Uni Gala

* Saturday April 16, 2016 at 5:30 p.m.
* ECE Building, 306 N. Wright St., Urbana (Kavita and Lalit Bahl Meeting Room)
* $100 per person includes $50 tax-deductible donation
 
We will be celebrating the 35th anniversary of Uni alum James Tobin's Nobel Laureate in Economics. We will be recognizing Uni High donors including Jane Hays ('72), Dave Downey, and new Legacy Society member Irene Ang Strohbeen ('74).
 
Funds raised from the Gala will benefit the Innovations in Learning project. Innovations in Learning is a fundraising initiative for improvements to learning spaces in the school, and for creating prototype classrooms of the future.
 
For more information and reservations visit http://uni.illinois.edu/gala/ or call Josh Hall
at 217-244-1368. The deadline for reservations is April 1.

From the Director
 
Uni Director Jeff Walkington met with Uni alum George Will when Will was on campus to participate in the The New Lincoln lecture series.  

Will, an award-winning newspaper columnist, gave the second in a series of speeches reflecting on Lincoln's legacy and its relevance 150 years after his death. 

Walkington presented Will with a soccer ball from one of the Uni boys soccer team's championship games, signed by the entire team. 


Here are some of the other recent happenings at the school:
 
Energetic librarian Amy Atkinson is not content to sit back and wait for students to visit the library.  Instead, she provides an astounding amount of exciting programming to attract the students who pack the space.  In the last month or so, our library has offered everything from a talk by Mr. Leff analyzing the vote of Uni's mock-primary to a workshop on making a 3-D projector out of a smartphone, in honor of Teen Tech Week. For more on the library, visit the library blog. 

Uni High at Engineering Open House
Uni's Rube Goldberg team at the University of Illinois Engineering Open House. (Photo courtesy of Becky Mead.)

Uni High had a terrific entry in the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest at Engineering Open House again this year. Eight juniors -Andrew Stelzer, Devin Epstein, Timmy Purnell, Quinn Powers, Ezra Johnson, Henry Wilson,
The Rube Goldberg contraption in action at Engineering Open House. (Photo courtesy of Becci Powers.)
Jonah Herzog, and Daniel Vardy - worked for three months on creating a contraption with an "Original Star Wars Trilogy" theme. 

Shedd review
Following other departments, this year English is undergoing the Shedd Review process, a kind of mini-accreditation.  This month a Syracuse University professor has been here to review curriculum, observe teaching, and talk with teachers and students.  Surveys to help guide the English department's future will be distributed to all constituencies in the fall.

Office space update
A committee recently finished several months' work and proposed how departments lodged in the houses, which will come down this summer, will be able to find adequate office space in the main building.  The University is defraying all the costs of designing the new offices, providing new furniture as necessary, and making small aesthetic enhancements.
Obituary
Bill Hull, Uni High Class of '61

CHICAGO - William D. Hull, 71, beloved husband of Laura, passed away on Feb. 22, 2016, after a courageous battle with cancer. Services were held on March 1, 2016, at St. Patrick's Church in Chicago.

Bill grew up in Champaign-Urbana where he was an Eagle Scout and active in Grace Lutheran Church. He graduated from University High School and received a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois.

He began his career in advertising research with the firm of J. Walter Thompson in Chicago, then went on to develop his own firms: Strategic Marketing, Murphy Hull and Hull Research. He was a creator, planner and teacher of the practical.

He was the devoted father of Heather and Daren (Virna), fond stepfather of Michael and Greg (Carolanne), loving adoptive father of 11-year-old Jonathan, happy grandfather of Jillian and Parker, cherished brother of Marcia Licquia (Jim), and dear uncle of T.J. (Melina), Chrissy (Peter), and Nettie (Chris).

The first five years of their retirement, Bill and Laura navigated the seas in their 47-foot Beneteau, inviting family and friends to join them sailing, fishing, deep sea diving and exploring new locales.

Bill was known for his sharp sense of humor, quick wit and keeping a straight face when joking. He was a good friend to many people.

An act of kindness or a donation to another would reflect Bill's generosity of spirit and be a suitable memorial to a life well-lived.

(Obituary courtesy of The News-Gazette, Inc.)