ACE

URBANA, Ill. – The Soybean Innovation Lab (SIL) was awarded a $335,005 grant from the Agricultural Transformation Initiative (ATI) to address malnutrition in Malawi. SIL’s nutrition team is housed in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois.

URBANA, Ill. – University of Illinois agricultural economists will host a webinar series discussing the impact of the coronavirus on agriculture in the Midwest. The webinar series will kick off on Friday, March 20, at 11 a.m. CDT.

URBANA, Ill. ­– The Academy for Home Equity in Financial Planning has a new home at the University of Illinois in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES). The academy is a hub for research, teaching and information about the role of home equity in retirement planning.

Champaign, Ill. – Environmental concerns about hydraulic fracturing – aka “fracking,” the process by which oil and gas are extracted from rock by injecting high-pressure mixtures of water and chemicals – are well documented, but according to a paper co-written by a University of Illinois environmental economics expert, the technique also poses a serious safety risk to local traffic.

URBANA, Ill. – The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois is proud to welcome nine faculty members who have joined since fall semester, 2019. Their expertise will add to the existing strengths in five academic units, as well as University of Illinois Extension, which is housed in the college.

URBANA, Ill. ­– Urban areas face increasing problems with stormwater management. Impervious surfaces on roads and buildings cause flooding, which impacts the water quality of streams, rivers and lakes. Green infrastructure, including features such as rain barrels, green roofs, rain gardens, and on-site water treatment, can provide affordable and environmentally sound ways to manage precipitation.

URBANA, Ill. – Robert G. F. Spitze was a true champion for faculty and student success during his 30-year tenure in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES). Spitze passed away on January 21, 2020.

Canadian adults with food insecurity are 10% to 37% more likely to die prematurely from any cause other than cancer compared to food-secure people, according to new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).  Craig Gundersen, distinguished professor of agricultural and consumer economics at the University of Illinois, is a co-author on the study. Read more.

URBANA, Ill. – Affirmative action policies (AAP) such as quota systems based on racial or socio-economic criteria are often recommended as a way to increase enrollment of underrepresented students in higher education. But those policies can be controversial and their results are sometimes questioned.

URBANA, Ill. – School test scores often show gaps in performance between white and non-white students. Understanding the complex reasons behind this can help reduce those gaps and promote social equality, explains Mary Paula Arends-Kuenning, associate professor of agricultural and consumer economics at the University of Illinois.

Arends-Kuenning is co-author of a study that analyzes math test scores for 9^th-grade students in Brazil and breaks down the characteristics associated with performance gaps between different racial groups.