Nov. 8 is National STEM Day! STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The I-STEM Education Initiative at the University of Illinois aims to foster accessible, effective STEM teaching and learning—from preschool through graduate education—at local, state and national levels. I-STEM strives to prepare a diverse STEM workforce to tackle pressing global challenges. This campus coalition wishes to foster STEM citizenship through communication and public engagement, foster ungraduated and graduate STEM education reform, and advocate for STEM education.
Two Illinois universities made it into the top 25 best universities in the world in 2021, according to U.S. News and World Report.
University of Chicago came in at No. 15, with Northwestern University in Evanston following close behind at No. 24. University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana placed at No. 60 and the school’s Chicago campus came in at No. 212.
Nov. 1 is National Author’s Day! One well-known author and playwright from Illinois is Lorraine Vivian Hansberry. Hansberry was born in 1930 in Chicago to Carl Augustus Hansberry, a successful real estate broker, and Nannie Louise Perry, a driving school teacher and ward committeewoman.
From a young age, Hansberry and her family were involved in the Black community and the fight for civil rights. The Hansberrys received regular visits from people like activist W.E.B. Du Bois, poet Langston Hughes and Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens.
Google recently announced plans to hire 10,000 workers in Chicago and other cities over the next five years, with a focus on recruiting Black talent as part of the company’s racial equity commitment announced in June.
Currently, Google has more than 1,300 employees in its Chicago office, which is located in the city’s Fulton Market district. The Chicago office has been ramping up its technology team in search, hardware and cloud computing.