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.
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.
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).
Four TLAS Librarians (Sara Holder, María Emerson, Evie Cordell, and Sarah Christensen) accept the Student Success Champion Team Award on behalf of their department at the 4th Annual Student Success Symposium
The Teaching, Learning, and Academic Support (TLAS) team has received two recent recognitions for their excellent work in the areas of student success and campus partnerships. In February, the entire department—Sara Holder, María Emerson, Kirsten Feist, Alex Deeke, Piper Martin, Sarah Christensen, Evie Cordell, David Ward, Carissa Phillips, Sanga Sung, Merinda Hensley, Wendy Gregory, and Gregg Homerding—was awarded the 2026 Student Success Champion Team Awardat the Student Success Symposium. The award exemplifies the mission of Student Success @ Illinois by honoring a team for extraordinary performance and contributions to student success at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“This recognition is a testament to [TLAS’s] outstanding contributions and unwavering commitment to fostering student success within our academic community. [TLAS’s] dedication, innovative approaches and tireless efforts have set them apart as true champions of student achievement,” said the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs & Provost.
Additionally, TLAS was awarded the Illinois Promise Campus Partner Award by the Scholar Support Programs team. Illinois Promise is an award package offered to newly admitted students at Illinois who have the greatest amount of financial need. Scholars join a diverse community of students who benefit from uniquely tailored resources and programs throughout their time on campus. TLAS partners annually with the Scholar Support Programs team to host the “Main Library Tour and Duck, Duck, Food Truck” event, which introduces students to Library resources to help them thrive.
“Our team in Scholar Support Programs (SSP) never loses sight of the fact that our goals are impossible to reach without the dedicated work of our many campus partners. We have always felt that the TLAS team has exemplified what we look for in a campus partner: systems, services, and people anchored in serving the whole student and offering opportunities tailored to meet the unique needs of the students we serve,” said Richard Porter, Assistant Director of Scholar Support Programs.
From assisting researchers at the Information Desk to hosting signature events like De-Stress Fest, the TLAS team provides inclusive services and spaces that support student academic and life success. TLAS faculty and staff teach students curriculum-integrated research and information literacy skills, provide advanced research and scholarship preparation through the Savvy Researcher workshop series, and offer the Library 101 eText and other online guides that provide a self-paced introduction to the Library and core research resources. TLAS hosts events, workshops, and ongoing support services that reflect the University of Illinois’ commitment to collaboration, inclusion, empowerment, and wellness. By meeting both personal and basic needs—through resources like the food pantry and family study rooms—and fostering creativity and wellness through activities like craft making and stress management workshops, TLAS creates a welcoming environment that supports the diverse needs of students.
A warm congratulations to the TLAS team for these well-deserved recognitions!
