Monthly Archives: May 2026

Krista Gray Receives Chancellor’s Staff Excellence Award

Posted on by
Chancellor Isbell and Krista Gray

Krista Gray, Archives Program Officer for the Illinois History and Lincoln Collections, has been named a recipient of this year’s Chancellor’s Staff Excellence Award (CSEA). This prestigious annual honor recognizes the exceptional contributions of staff who support the university in a wide range of essential ways. 

Gray has a Master of Science in Information from the University of Michigan and joined the Library in 2015. She is being recognized for her initiative, technical expertise, and leadership on several complex projects. Gray has been instrumental in the Archon to ArchivesSpace migration, tackling its most challenging aspects with skill and persistence. Her thoughtful communication and collaborative approach have also strengthened preparations for the new Archives & Special Collections building. In addition, her innovative solutions and commitment to accessible metadata have streamlined workflows and enhanced discovery and access to our collections.

Lynne Thomas, Head of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library, noted, “Krista’s commitment to improving our systems both in terms of digital and physical infrastructure and our ability to leverage them as users has been unparalleled, and I was delighted to join several other colleagues in documenting this stellar work at the campus level for her nomination. Please join me in congratulating Krista on this well-deserved achievement.” Gray was honored at an April 30 campus presentation, along with 14 other recipients of CSEA awards. Along with the recognition, the designation comes with a $1,500 cash award.

“Parthenon at Illinois” Digital Humanities Project Launches with Support from the Campus Research Board

Posted on by
Mary Ton, Christa Deacy-Quinn, Victoria Austen, and Elias Petrou
Mary Ton, Christa Deacy-Quinn, Victoria Austen, and Elias Petrou

A group of scholars and professionals from across the University of Illinois campus has come together to create a new digital humanities project: Parthenon at Illinois. The team includes two Library faculty, Mary Ton, Assistant Professor and Digital Humanities Librarian, and Elias Petrou, Assistant Professor and Classical Studies Librarian, along with Victoria Austen, Assistant Professor, Department of Classics, and Christa Deacy-Quinn, Senior Collections Manager at the Spurlock Museum. The project has received a $30,000 financial award from the Illinois Campus Research Board, which was established in 1932 to serve the campus as a conduit for the distribution of funding to support faculty members’ research projects and creative activities.

Parthenon at Illinois studies the long history of replication through the lens of historic plaster casts of the Parthenon friezes at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Spurlock Museum of World Cultures. The project adapts cutting-edge 3D digitization and manufacturing techniques to make digital and physical replicas of the Illinois cast collection.  “While technologies like 3D printing and modeling are often linked to STEM, a humanities perspective reveals their place within a much longer tradition of replica-making. I’m particularly excited to collaborate with Victora, Elias, and Christa to study how different stakeholder communities interact with our digital and physical replicas,” said Ton, who serves as the principal investigator (PI) for the project.

Petrou and Austen, who serve as co-PIs, voiced their excitement for outreach opportunities beyond campus. “This grant is important because it enables us to bring the history and cultural significance of the Parthenon to the Greek community in Chicago through dedicated events and outreach. By working together, we aim to celebrate shared heritage, promote dialogue, and create new opportunities for engagement with the past,” said Petrou. Austen added, “Collaborating on such an interdisciplinary project will also foster important long-term connections on campus between multiple units.”

Deacy-Quinn, who has served as the caretaker of the cast collection since 1991, said, “I am excited to re-engage with the plaster casts in a new way. By making replicas of these historic casts, we can explore more pathways of learning and accessibility.”

Project updates will be shared in English and Greek through the Parthenon at Illinois website.

Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe Speaks at United Nations General Assembly

Posted on by
Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe

In December 2025, Lisa Janicke Hinchliffe, Professor and Coordinator for Research Professional Development, delivered remarks at the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting to review the 20-year outcomes of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+20).

The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was first launched in Geneva in 2003 and concluded in Tunis in 2005. This UN-led initiative established a global multistakeholder framework for addressing information and communication technology issues, including digital inclusion, cybersecurity, development, and digital cooperation, and aims to build a people-centric, inclusive, and development-oriented information society where everyone can create, access, utilize, and share information.

The December meeting gathered government representatives, United Nations leadership, youth, and other stakeholders to look back on the past 20 years of progress and “deliberate a digital future that serves people and sustainable development.” Hinchliffe, who serves on the Governing Board of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), spoke about the vital role of libraries as a vital part of a healthy information infrastructure.

“It was a great honor to represent IFLA and the world’s libraries at the UN General Assembly. Libraries are keystone organizations of the information society, and I was pleased to bring that message to the global stage,” said Hinchliffe.

Hinchliffe’s full remarks can be found on the Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship (IDEALS).