A journey into the arctic
Illini hockey unites roommates
The 100th anniversary of an ill-fated exploration IN BUZZ
SPORTS, 1B
The Daily Illini
Thursday January 31, 2013
www.DailyIllini.com
The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871
Vol. 142 Issue 91
Grainger Foundation gives largest gift in UI history BY LAUREN ROHR STAFF WRITER
Officials announced Monday that The Grainger Foundation gave $100 million to the College of Engineering — the largest gift the University has ever received. These funds will be designated to faculty recruitment and scholarships within the college. “(The donation) will allow us to do things we couldn’t have possibly done without this very gen-
erous infusion of money,” said Chancellor Phyllis Wise. “It’s a really transformational gift that will have impact across the campus and beyond.” Wise said funds from this gift, which is the largest gift given to any public university this academic year, will primarily support the growing areas of bioengineering and “Big Data,” a field that focuses on computing and analyzing large data sets.
The gift allows for the creation of the Grainger Engineering Breakthrough Initiative, which is “intended to position the college for future growth and development,” said Michael Bragg, interim dean of the College of Engineering. Of the $100 million, about $40 million is allocated toward creating endowments for 35 addi-
Team hosts contest for data-driven application SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL FLOPS Winner of contest gets $15,000; app will be free for 12 months
See GRANT, Page 3A
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BY EMMA WEISSMANN STAFF WRITER KELLY HICKEY THE DAILY ILLINI
The renovation of Everitt Laboratory will be possible due to the Grainger Foundation’s $100 million grant to the College of Engineering that was announced Monday.
ARCTIC ADVENTURES
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NETFLIX SAYS
EMILY OGDEN THE DAILY ILLINI
Mark Toalson (left) and Wes Cravens, of Champaign, discuss their ideas at the Illinois Open Technology Conference held at the Champaign Public Library on Wednesday, January 30.
Creators of local currency UC Smiles to research other currencies BY JANELLE O’DEA CONTRIBUTING WRITER
After launching a new form of currency on Nov. 1, UC Smiles has begun spending a second University grant of $15,000, which will help fund a documentary researching the initiative. UC Smiles are the brainchild of Seonmi Kim, executive director of the project. Kim received a $12,000 grant in December 2010 from the University’s Office of Public Engagement to start the UC Smiles project, which was used to promote the new form of currency. In the fi rst three months of circulation, the number of Smiles sold increased
from 3,000 to more than 16,000. Now with the Focal Point grant, the non-profit organization will be able to research the effectiveness of the initiative later this spring. Using the funds, Kim and Tracy Satterthwaite , executive director of public relations for UC Smiles, will take trips to Toronto and Berkshire, Mass., in early March to study successful local currency movements. Satterthwaite said following their return, they want to create a documentary focusing on the value of local currency and why local shopping is important to a community’s economy.
The fi rst public engagement grant funded the logo designer, brochure designer and website developer. Other expenses covered by the grant include printing costs, such as paper and ink, copying fees, web hosting and food for the UC Smiles board and committee meetings. The public engagement grant also covered the costs of the Oct. 27 launch party. Since receiving the second grant, the organization has spent a portion of the money on similar expenses covered by the public engagement grant. Bart Basi, owner of Cheese & Crackers in Champaign, said the UC Smiles project
is a wonderful idea for improving Champaign-Urbana’s economy. Basi chose to approach Kim and the rest of the UC Smiles team in December about using the currency at his shop, and he chose to become an exchange store for Smiles, as well. “There’s no drawback. It’s only a positive for businesses,” Basi said. “As far as I see it, businesses should be begging to participate in the program.” Bill Mermelstein of International Galleries in Urbana said the program may need a little more time to get going, but
See UC SMILES, Page 3A
Early December 2012 More than 6,000 UC Smiles sold Dec. 10 2010 Public Engagement Grant awarded
2010
Late December 2012 More than 12,000 UC Smiles sold
In 2009, the University’s Civic Commitment Task Force approved seed funding for community engagement projects. The UC Smiles project was awarded grants by the Public Engagement Office and the Graduate College to jump start the UC Smiles, a local currency. Source: www.ucsmiles.org
INSIDE
2013
2012
Local currency initiative years in the making
FREE
City to work with minority- and femaleowned businesses
STAFF WRITER
See TECHNOLOGY, Page 3A
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New program in Champaign to help more area businesses
BY ATOOSA SAYEH
The Illinois Open Technology team is holding a contest for individuals and teams to create applications that use public data and address Champaign residents’ needs. The contest winner will be awarded $12,000, and the application will be available for free for one year. Daniel O’Neil is a member of the Illinois Open Technology team and the executive director of Smart Chicago Collaborative. He discussed the goals of Illinois Open Technology on Wednesday with local residents who were interested in participating.
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Nov. 1 2012 UC Smiles launches
January 2013 More than 16,000 UC Smiles sold
Oct. 27 2012 Party at Independent Media Center in Urbana to promote and sell UC Smiles October 2012 97,000 UC Smiles printed
The city of Champaign is in the process of fi nalizing a program that would increase city collaboration with minority- and femaleowned businesses. The Champaign City Council unanimously approved the proposed “Minority and Women Business Development Program” on Tuesday as an initiative to “increase opportunities for disadvantaged businesses in Champaign County and the surrounding areas,” according to ’s study session memorandum. The program, developed by city staff from both the public works and community relations departments, consists of three components: city construction contracts, small business development and workforce development. The proposed program lays out a timeline of initiatives for the next three years. In 2013, the city plans to work through each component of the program with goals of dividing large construction jobs into smaller projects, developing training programs for small businesses and partnering with major Champaign employers. A plan for the program was a direct result of years of community feedback from Champaign citizens, business owners, union representatives and government members who wanted to “level the playing field for all businesses by acknowledging the barriers, challenges and opportunities that exist,” according to the memo. City Manager Steve Carter said the program is especially necessary now as a result of population growth and an increase in the city’s diversity in the past few years. “I think it’s important that we recognize that we will be doing things a little bit differently in the future,” Carter said. According to census data in 2007, women-owned firms made up 28.3 percent of the 13,525 fi rms in Champaign County. Black-owned fi rms represented 8.8 percent of businesses and Hispanicowned firms represented 1.9 percent. Data was not available for any other minority group. In fiscal year 2012, the city contracted about $25.6 million in respect to goods and services, said Dennis Schmidt, one of the creators of the program and Champaign Public Works Director. Of that contracted work, about 7 percent went to minority- and female-owned businesses. “I think when you look at the council’s goals, as well as our goals and the interpretation of those goals, one of the objectives we have here is we want to grow those numbers,” Schmidt said. Amy Maurer, senior project engineer at Kaskaskia Engineering Group, LLC , said the firm is female-owned and has recently begun doing
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See BUSINESS, Page 3A
Police 2 A | Corrections 2 A | Horoscopes 2 A | Opinions 4 A | Crossword 5 A | Comics 5 A | Greeks & Campus 6 A | Spor ts 1 B | Classifieds 4 B | Sudoku 4 B
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