Victor Jones is the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility for the University Library at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Recognized for his work, Jones was awarded the EIU College of Education Rising Star Alumni Award, which is given out by the College of Education and Professional Studies at Eastern Illinois University.
Those receiving the CEPS Rising Star Award must have graduated within ten years from Eastern Illinois University and using their degree from the College of Education or College of Health and Human Services, have excelled in their field or career.
Scott Schwartz, Archivist for Music and Fine Arts and Director of the 
Sara Benson, Copyright Librarian in the Department of Scholarly Communication & Publishing, has received a $10,000 grant from the Office of the Provost as well as a $3,000 grant from the Illinois Student Government to support OER Incentive Grants for Faculty. Also sponsored by the University of Illinois Library, the OER Incentive Grant Funding aims to circumvent the high cost of textbooks, which can affect undergraduate students’ academic success and outcomes. Thus, the grant allows teaching faculty to use or create alternative lower-cost educational materials and resources.