University Laboratory High School (Urbana, Illinois)
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The University Laboratory High School, also known as Uni High or just Uni, was established in 1921 and is a
laboratory school A laboratory school or demonstration school is an elementary or secondary school operated in association with a university, college, or other teacher education institution and used for the training of future teachers, educational experimentatio ...
located on the engineering section of the
University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
campus in
Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. It is a principal city of the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, which had 236,000 residents i ...
. Its enrolls about 300 students, spanning five years (the traditional
grades Grade most commonly refers to: * Grading in education, a measurement of a student's performance by educational assessment (e.g. A, pass, etc.) * A designation for students, classes and curricula indicating the number of the year a student has reach ...
912, preceded by a combined 7th-8th grade year known as the "subfreshman" year).


Funding and relationship to the University of Illinois

Uni's two primary sources of funding are private donations and the statewide per-pupil distribution financed in the Illinois state budget. It is also supported by mandatory school fees and a contribution from the University of Illinois Provost's office. Uni does not receive any property tax revenue due to enrollment being competitive vs. dependent upon residency in a particular district. For many years, the school was funded by the
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United States. Established in 1867, it is the f ...
as an institution to experiment with educational curriculum and to teach university students majoring in education. The University of Illinois withdrew most of its support in the early 1980s. The "laboratory" aspect persists in certain classes. An experimental math course was taught in the early 2000s and teachers continue to experiment in small, creative, ways. The relationship to the university provides a number of benefits to the students. Students get full access to the university's library system†. Students over the age of 15 with sufficiently high grades can enroll in courses at the university. Credit earned in this manner may then be applied to future study at the university level. Additionally, Kenney Gym, the university's former men's gymnasium, is used by Uni for physical education and by the volleyball and basketball teams. † The high school library is a branch of the university library system and for this reason has been called "the largest high school library in the world." In 2022, the school changed its colors to match those of its parent institution.


Admissions and academics

Students apply to enter Uni as part of the incoming "subfreshmen" class which, although composed of seventh and eighth grade aged students, completes a year at eighth grade level before continuing on to the ninth grade. Roughly 65 students are admitted each year, keeping the school's total enrollment near 320 students. Admission decisions are based on previous academic history, extracurriculars, teacher recommendations, a personal statement, and a timed writing sample. The school no longer requires scores on the
Secondary School Admission Test The Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) is an admission test administered by The Enrollment Management Association in the United States to students in grades 3–11 to provide a standardized measure that will help professionals in indepen ...
as part of its admission process. Students may apply during their sixth or seventh grade years. Whether immediately after graduation, the vast majority of students go on to enter a four-year college or university, although some choose to defer a year to study abroad, volunteer, or work. Uni High has an excellent academic reputation. Many students are among the most accomplished in the nation every year. For example, the school had three national merit scholarship winners in both the 2021 and 2022 academic graduating classes. Given that only 2,500 winners are selected nationwide every year out of about 4 million high school graduates, Uni High graduates were approximately 74 times more likely than an average high school student to become national merit scholarship winners.


Extracurriculars

Uni has had numerous successes in interscholastic competitions, including competitive chess (administered by the
Illinois High School Association The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National F ...
) and academic competitions. Students also participate in many clubs through the school, both for fun and to give back to their community.


Chess

The school's chess team has won the IHSA's team chess tournament seven times (1978, 1979, 1986, 1991, 1992, 1994, and 2009), and has been runner-up three times (1976, 1980, 1989). They came in second in the US National Championship in 1978 on a tiebreak. Members of that team included Thomas Krause, Robert Sah, Mark Zvilius, Jonathan Atkin, and Steven Schran. The team was coached by David Sprenkle, a Uni alum and ranked chess master. Currently, the school has no competitive chess program.


Toshiba ExploraVision

Since the competition's inception, students at the school frequently participate in Toshiba
ExploraVision ExploraVision is a scientific national contest held in the United States and Canada, a joint project by Toshiba Corporation and the National Science Teachers Association. Designed for K–12 students of all interest, skill and ability levels, Expl ...
, a science competition where students submit projects imagining theoretical inventions for the future. Under Biology teacher David Stone, ten teams placed first in the regional competition and of those, five went on to place first nationally (1996, 1997, 2009, 2010, and 2016) and one placed second (1998). Stone's last team, May Yang and Maher Adoni (both class of 2021), placed first at regionals in 2019. Under Biology teacher Cynthia Smyser (class of 1992), one team has placed second nationally (2020). Lawrence Zhao and Dina Hashash of the class of 2022 also placed first nationally in the competition before coming to Uni in 2017.


Academic teams

Uni High has several academic teams that compete each year and typically place highly in their respective competitions. These include Science Olympiad, Scholastic Bowl, WYSE Academic Challenge, Japan Bowl, and various math competitions. The Uni High Scholastic Bowl team has qualified for the IHSA State Competition in four consecutive years, placing 4th in 2014 and 1st in 2015 in Class A before being bumped to Class AA and finishing 2nd in 2017. Throughout the season, which roughly runs from September to March, the team participates in a variety of tournaments and competitions. The program was started as a club in 2013 by Bruce Li and members of the Class of 2015, who then secured sponsorship from the school's administration to begin competing as a team in the 2013-2014 season. Uni has since grown into one of the strongest teams in the state, winning the NAQT State Championship in 2018 and the IHSA Class AA State Championship in 2019. In 2019, Uni placed second at the National Academic Quiz Tournaments High School Championship and third at the Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence National Scholastic Championship. In 2023, Uni won the IHSA Class A State Championship. Tim Cho (class of 2019), member and leader of the Scholastic Bowl team, competed on Teen Jeopardy in 2018 and returned for the Reunion Tournament in 2023. Since 1997, Uni has been an annual participant in the Academic Challenge, which consists of a series of tests in various academic fields, including biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering design, English, mathematics, and physics. The competition is open to high schools in Illinois and Missouri. For nine consecutive years from 1998 to 2006, as well as in 2008, 2009 and 2011, Uni was the state champion in the smallest division (enrollment under 300). In 2007, Uni competed in the next larger division and placed 2nd, despite the school's smaller enrollment in the 9th through 12th grades.


Service clubs

Uni High's
Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a U.S. non-governmental, and tax-exempt 501(C)(3) Christian nonprofit organization which seeks to build affordable housing. The international ...
club works with the Habitat affiliate in
Clarksdale, Mississippi Clarksdale is a city in and the county seat of Coahoma County, Mississippi, Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. It is located along the Sunflower River. Clarksdale is named after John Clark, a settler who founded the city in the mid-19t ...
. They hold several fundraisers throughout the year in order to send money to Clarksdale, as well as having an annual trip to Clarksdale every February during Agora Days where students work on houses. The club was founded by history teacher Bill Sutton and run by him until his retirement in 2017. The club is now run by history teacher Ben Leff (class of 2001). Several Uni alums have moved to the Clarksdale area to work with Habitat for Humanity or to work in various schools and after-school programs. Uni High's connection to Clarksdale allowed Anja Theissen and Uni High alumni Bianca Zarahescu, class of 2007, to found Spring Initiative, a program which mentors students and prepares them for greater academic success, personal growth, and an opportunity to overcome poverty. Habitat and Spring host events throughout the school year for students including the Sprabitat Dodgeball Tournament and Sprabitat Haunted House. Uni has a Food Pantry club that volunteers at and raises money for the Wesley Food Pantry. The school also has a club called United for Uganda, which raises money for a grassroots organization in Uganda calle
Come Let's Dance
During the 2013-2014 school year, the club started a program through Come Let's Dance to sponsor a child in Uganda's education each year.


Madrigals

The madrigals are a group of student singers who perform throughout the year, most notably at the Winter Party at the end of the fall semester. Before the Winter Party, the madrigals typically lead students through the halls, out of their last final exam, with candles and singing. The group was founded in 1948 and originally consisted of twelve members but now has grown to seventeen. In the 1970s, the group adopted Elizabethan style attire which they still wear at their appearances. In 2017, music director, Richard Murphey organized a reunion of past madrigals including some singers from the 1950s.


School traditions


Agora Days (since 1977)

Agora Days, a four-day school week in late February when students, parents, faculty, alumni and friends of the school can teach hour-long classes about a wide range of topics, which have included popular cake decorating and massage classes. Students are required to take a number of academic-oriented classes, but classes based on playing sports, watching films or TV series, and studying video games also exist. Students have the same eight-hour schedule on each of the four days. During Agora Days, for the past two decades, Sprabitat Club has sent about a dozen upperclassmen (primarily seniors) to
Clarksdale, Mississippi Clarksdale is a city in and the county seat of Coahoma County, Mississippi, Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. It is located along the Sunflower River. Clarksdale is named after John Clark, a settler who founded the city in the mid-19t ...
to build houses, meet locals, and learn about local history. After a year off due to
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
, the 2022 trip split students among two sites to mitigate the virus: one in Tutwiler, Mississippi and the other in Clarksdale. Students also wore masks when indoors. The two groups ate dinner together at Meraki Roasting Company.


Handprints (since 1979)

After graduation, each senior has the opportunity to leave a painted handprint on the walls of the school. Starting in the lounge, the unique and colorful handprint designs now sprawl along the first floor hallway.


Big Show (since 197?)

Big Show is a student directed and acted sketch comedy show that is put on by the school every year in the South Attic during the weeks after the spring musical. Since its inception as a variety talent show for the school, it has evolved into the comedy program that students know now. In the 1980s, Big Show began to take on themes rather than remain just a talent show, in the 1990s, students experimented with improvisational comedy, and in the 2000s, students began creating video sketches.


The Wylde Q. Chicken Award (since 1998)

The Wylde Q. Chicken Award, sponsored by the graduating class of 1972, is meant to recognize "spontaneous creativity," "unbidden originality," and "extraordinary acts in ordinary circumstances." It is awarded annually at the end of the school year; recipients are chosen by a panel of judges from the class of 1972 along with past winners of the award. Previous winners have included a series of promotional posters for the 50 states in the first floor restrooms, the staging of the American Revolution in comic strip form, and a
Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...
-style adaptation of Shakespeare's ''
Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...
''.


X-Week (2013–20??) / X-Dinner (since 20??–present)

X-Week is an annual fundraising tradition at the school. Members of Student Council choose one or two charities, which are usually local, to donate the money to. Each day, a different class hosts a fundraiser. The senior class hosts the annual Senior Auction during the Friday of X-Week every year. They auction off a wide variety of items, which usually include class notes and baked goods, as well as more eccentric options such as a movie night at a teacher's house or the opportunity to go on a safari with a few members of the senior class. Big Show is the culminating event of X-Week. In recent years, the multiple events of X-Week have been discarded in favor of a joint X-Dinner leading up to Big Show.


Senior Project (since 2014)

The Senior Project was developed in 2014 by Assistant Director of Student Life Karl Radnitzer, who got the idea from a similar program at
New Trier High School New Trier High School (, also known as New Trier Township High School or NTHS) is a public four-year high school whose main campus for sophomores through seniors is in Winnetka, Illinois, United States, with a campus in Northfield, Illinois, for ...
in Winnetka, Illinois. The project allows second-semester seniors to explore interests in a more career-oriented way than they would in a typical classroom. The project connects students with mentors in the Champaign-Urbana community who can help them explore their academic interests outside of the school building. Students come up with ideas for projects and submit them for approval to a Senior Project committee. If a project is approved, students then spend their second semester doing work for their project around three times a week. Students have worked in various labs at the University of Illinois, at the Crisis Nursery, at Carle Hospital, and at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts.


Subfreshman Oral History Project (since ??)

Every year, the subfreshman social studies class spends part of the second semester working on an oral history project. Social Studies teacher Melissa Schoeplein (class of 1994) and her class works with WILL radio station to conduct interviews on a certain topic, which varies by year. Past topics have included inside views of the military, people with disabilities, counterculture, the right to marry, and affirmative action in education. Subfreshmen are split into groups to conduct interviews. Each group member is assigned a role (either interviewer, team captain, technician, or scribe) in the interview, and the groups spend several weeks researching relevant information on their subject's life before conducting the interview. A group of older students, called WILL Interns, work with the interview material produced by the subfreshmen and turn it into an hour-long documentary published on the WIL
Illinois Youth Media
page.


Subbie Retreat and Subbie Buddies (since ??)

High schoolers known as "subbie buddies" are assigned subfreshmen at the beginning of the schoolyear as advisors on adapting to the school. At the end of their first week, subfreshmen participate in a day of class bonding through games and activities known as the "subbie retreat." The retreat usually ends with a capture the flag game which pits the subfreshmen against the subbie buddies. Throughout the year, subbie buddies host events for the subfreshmen which, in the past, have included a tri-holiday party, dodgeball games, and a corn maze.


Sprabitat Dodgeball Tournament (since ??)

Formerly the Habitat Dodgeball Tournament, the Sprabitat (Spring and Habitat for Humanity) Dodgeball Tournament occurs every year during the fall semester in Kenney Gym. Students compete in games in a bracket format to win the tournament but teams also have the opportunity to dress up and compete for the title of best costume.


Sprabitat Haunted House (since ??)

In October, Sprabitat holds a haunted house in Kenney Gym where students decorate a locker room and dress up as an array of scary characters. Students waiting to go through the haunted house can participate in a variety of events in the gymnasium and buy tickets to enter a raffle. The winners of this raffle have to opportunity to pie volunteers.


Athletics

Uni offers five no-cut sports for boys (Cross Country, Soccer, Basketball, Track & Field and Tennis) and six no-cut sports for girls (Cross Country, Swimming, Volleyball, Basketball, Soccer, and Track & Field), which usually compete in the IHSA 1A division. Members of the subfreshman class may participate in Cross Country, Track & Field, and Basketball. While the high school teams use Kenney Gym, the subfreshmen basketball teams use the smaller secondary gym facility, called Uni Gym for their practice and games. Students in P.E. class also run in the annual Illinois 5k.


Boys Basketball

Uni High is the record holder for the most consecutive boys basketball game losses in the state of Illinois with a streak of 96 games. The losing streak started in February 1974 and finally ended in November 1979 when they beat Tri-Valley High school with a score of 46-40. The losing streak extended through seven seasons including five winless seasons from the 1974/75 season through the 1978/79 season. In 2024, Uni held a series of "Kenney Krush" games, a campaign put on by the Athletics Department to increase student involvement and attendance at games. Despite free shirts being offered, only one student signed up for the first game which ended in a loss of 28-74.


Swimming

Every year from 2014 until 2019, a Uni High swimmer was named Swimmer of the Year by The News-Gazette. This streak was maintained by Ema Rajić (class of 2018), Reed Broaders (class of 2021), and Sally Ma (class of 2022) who hold most of the swimming records at the school. The diving related records are held by Samaia Jones (class of 2020). The records that Rajić set in 100 breast and 200 IM are also Illinois State Records. During her time on the team, Rajić was also a repeat two-event state champion or four time state champion. Rajić and Shiela Findley (class of 1986), who was a two time state champion in 100 backstroke, are the only team members who have won a state competition for Uni. The team used to practice in Kenney Gym but the pool closed in 2017 due to asbestos. The team practices and competes at the Urbana Aquatic Center. Swimming as a team sport is only available for girls at Uni but some male alumni have also joined college teams such as Jake Regenwetter and Andrew Lin (both class of 2022). A number of boys have competed for Uni unofficially in the 2022 and the 2023 IHSA sectionals. Lin and Regenwetter also competed individually at the state tournament.


Tennis

The school's tennis team did not achieve a winning team record until 2014, but recently has enjoyed a period of regional dominance behind a variety of star players. Uni achieved an 8-1 record in 2017, powered by the duo of Van Gundersen and Samuel Li. Gundersen and Li won second place at the IHSA Sectional tournament, and finished tied for 25th. In 2018, Gundersen and Li were joined by freshman singles player Zachary Donnini (class of 2021). The team achieved a 10-3 record and won their first sectional championship. Donnini was joined by Krishna Subbiah on the News-Gazette all-area first team. In 2019, Donnini and Arjun Tangella achieved a second consecutive sectional championship for the team, defeating Centennial High School 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Li and Subbiah qualified for state as a doubles pair and Akash Pardeshi qualified as a singles player, making it the second year in a row Uni had sent five players to state. Subbiah retired as the winningest player in Uni High History, collecting 74 varsity wins in his four years on the team. After the 2020 season was cancelled because of the
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
outbreak, only Donnini and Arav Jagroop (now senior double partners) returned in 2021. The team achieved a 12-3 record, the most regular season wins in school history. Donnini and Jagroop finished third in the IHSA sectional tournament after a semi-final loss to Central High School in the semifinals. Uni finished second as a team in their IHSA Sectional, breaking their streak of team sectional championships. As the 16 Seed entering the IHSA State Tournament, Donnini and Jagroop enjoyed a surprise run to the state semifinals. The duo defeated (#5)
Mount Zion Mount Zion (, ''Har Ṣīyyōn''; , ''Jabal Sahyoun'') is a hill in Jerusalem, located just outside the walls of the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City to the south. The term Mount Zion has been used in the Hebrew Bible first for the City of David ( ...
6-4, 6-4 to qualify for the quarter-finals and subsequently beat (#12) Vernon Grove 6-2, 6-0 to make the semi-finals. Although Donnini and Jagroop lost 6-0, 7-6(4) loss to (#2) Metamora, they led Uni High to a Top 10 finish at the State Tournament for the first time in school history and were the first tennis players from the Champaign-Urbana metro area to make the state semi-finals in over 65 years.


Badminton

Though the school does not have an official badminton team, Andrea Li (class of 2024) won the IHSA state title in 2022 after a second-place finish in 2021. Li was Uni High's first state champion and the first from
Central Illinois Central Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois that consists of the entire central third of the state, divided from north to south. Also known as the ''Heart of Illinois'', it is characterized by small towns and mid-sized cities. Agri ...
Li successfully defended her state champion title in 2023 and 2024.


Football

Uni currently has no football team. In the 1950s the administration fielded a 6-man team that included Donald Neville (class of 1950), Steve McNamara (class of 1951), and Peter Stearns (class of 1953). Despite no football experience, Camden Coleman (class of 2018) walked-on to the Vanderbilt football team his freshman year. He played
safety Safety is the state of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings The word 'safety' entered the English language in the 1 ...
for the team and became team captain the following year which he retained through his 5th year in the 2022-2023 season.


IHSA Academic All-State Winners

Five Uni alumni have won the IHSA Academic All-State award: Ariel Zodhiates (class of 2000), George Gunter (class of 2014), Annemarie Michael (class of 2017), Arielle Summit (class of 2018), and Kate Ahmari (class of 2023). Every year each school can nominate one female and one male athlete who have at least a 3.50 GPA over their first seven semesters and have participated in two IHSA sports in both their senior and junior years. 12 spots are awarded annually.


Building

The building that houses University Laboratory High School was built from 1917 through 1918 and was designed by
Holabird & Roche The architect, architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago school (architectu ...
in the Late Gothic Revival style, with James M. White as the supervising architect. An earlier design for an H-shaped structure with two wings had been rejected in 1914, and it was not until May 1916 that the go-ahead was given to begin construction on the new design, which was estimated to cost $143,500. When the building was completed, it was almost immediately converted into a general hospital for the Students’ Army Training Corps and School of Military Aeronautics for the duration of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. It was released to the high school before the 1921-22 school year.


Kenney Gym

Two blocks west of Uni sits the Kenney Gym and Annex, which is used by the school for athletics. Kenney predates Uni by two decades and was used by the University of Illinois for a variety of needs including their
men's basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
team, women's volleyball team, and men's wrestling team. Uni shares the gym with the men's gymnastics team. As well as athletic team practices, the school holds P.E. class at Kenney Gym, making use of the gymnasium, track, and weight room. Because of piping below the 100-year-old hardwood, the floors have warped, creating dead spots where balls do not bounce correctly and a safety hazard for students. In 2022, Uni sanded the floors to remove these spots and started a fundraiser to get the floors completely renovated.


Eastward demolition and construction plans

For some time, two houses sat on the east side of the school. One building housed the humanities departments (foreign language, fine arts, and English) and advancement offices while the other housed the math department. These buildings were torn down due to their deteriorating state sometime before 2017 which caused these departments to move to the main building and Kenney Gym. In 2022, Director Majerus submitted a proposal to University of Illinois to expand the school into the green space which has occupied the lot adjacent to the school since the houses were torn down. This proposal, if approved, would demolish Uni Gym which sits on the other side of the green space. Many students and faculty have expressed support for the demolition of Uni Gym. Suggested replacements include a cafeteria, a pool, and more classrooms.


Century celebration

The school celebrated its hundredth anniversary in 2021. Beginning in October 2021 and lasting until October 2022, the school promoted different themes throughout a "year of celebration" including Athletics and the Arts. During the year, the school named 99 alumni to their Class of Century, spanning from the class of 1924 to the class of 2018. As of January 16, 2023, the school has raised $4,959,401 through donations to the Century Celebration fund. The year of celebrating was capped off with a Century Celebration Weekend from October 14 through 16. During this weekend, the school hosted a dance for alumni, a gala, and a "state of the UNIon" address delivered by Dr. Elizabeth Majerus, the director of the school. George Will, class of 1959, gave the keynote speech at the gala. The school also used the celebration to change its school colors from royal blue and orange to the navy blue and orange to match the colors of the University of Illinois.


Controversies


Financial deficit

In 2014, an accounting review revealed that Uni had accumulated a debt of $1.05 million because teacher salaries had been charged to an account that was no longer active. As an effort to correct this error, (now former) director Jeff Walkington assembled a Strategic Vision Task Force to improve to Uni's budget model. The task force concluded that Uni's budget was unsustainable. Proposed solutions included charging tuition, making Uni into a charter school, and requesting more funding from the office of the provost at UIUC. As of spring 2019, this debt had not been rectified.


2006 girls track assistant coach arrest

In 2007, Uni High girls' track assistant coach Yuri Ermakov was convicted of criminal sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl in 2005-2006, and distributing alcohol to minors in 2006. He was given a 12-year prison sentence, which he served in 2010-2020 in the Illinois Department of Corrections facility.


2020 girls cross country head coach arrest

In 2020, after a 20 years of coaching the girls' and boys' cross country and track teams, head coach Doug Mynatt was convicted of three counts of distribution and possession of child pornography, which he had viewed both from his home in Savoy, Illinois, and from University of Illinois IP addresses. He pleaded guilty to all charges, and also admitted to having sexual relationships with two former students after they had graduated. Mynatt was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, a sentence on the low end of the sentencing guidelines and motivated in part by the 45-page letter of support he received from sympathetic Uni teachers, faculty, and parents, along with several UIUC professors.


Notable alumni and faculty

Three alumni are
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...
laureates: * Philip W. Anderson (class of 1940), for
Physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...
in 1977 *
Hamilton O. Smith Hamilton Othanel Smith (born August 23, 1931 in New York) is an American microbiologist and Nobel laureate. Smith graduated from University Laboratory High School of Urbana, Illinois. He attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, ...
(class of 1948), for
Medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
in 1978 *
James Tobin James Tobin (March 5, 1918 – March 11, 2002) was an American economist who served on the Council of Economic Advisers and consulted with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and taught at Harvard University, Harvard and Yale Uni ...
(class of 1935), for
Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
in 1981 Other major award winners include: *
George Will George Frederick Will (born May 4, 1941) is an American libertarian conservative writer and political commentator. He writes columns for ''The Washington Post'' on a regular basis and provides commentary for '' NewsNation''. In 1986, ''The Wall ...
(class of 1959),
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...
for Commentary (1977) * Eugie Foster (class of 1988),
Nebula Award The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pr ...
–winning (2009) author Other notable alumni include (sorted by class year): * Charlotte H. Bruner (class of 1934), scholar who was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 1997 *
Ross Bell Ross Taylor Bell (April 23, 1929 – November 9, 2019) was an American entomologist with particular interest in the invertebrate natural history of Vermont, United States, and Ground beetle, carabid beetles. Together with his wife, Joyce Rockenb ...
(class of 1946), entomologist who studied carabid beetles * Tina Howe (class of 1955), American playwright best known for '' Painting Churches'' and '' Coastal Disturbances''; the latter received a Tony Award nomination for best play in 1987 * Roberta A. Ballard (class of 1957), pediatrician who contributed to
neonatal In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to Juvenile (orga ...
medicine and is an author of the book ''Avery's Diseases of Newborns'' * Mary Murphy Schroeder (class of 1958), Chief
Judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...
of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts: * Distric ...
* Clara D. Bloomfield (class of 1959), physician, cancer researcher, and the first woman to reach full professor at the
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
* George Thomas Frampton Jr. (class of 1961), lawyer and environmentalist * Fred Ausubel (class of 1962), molecular biologist * Francine Patterson (class of 1965), an animal psychologist noted as the teacher of Koko, the gorilla who could sign 1000 words and understand 2000 signs. * Frederick Marx (class of 1973), film-maker, producer of the award-winning documentary '' Hoop Dreams'' * Dorothea Blostein (class of 1976), computer scientist at
Queen's University at Kingston Queen's University at Kingston, commonly known as Queen's University or simply Queen's, is a public university, public research university in Kingston, Ontario, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Queen's holds more than of land throughout Ontario and ...
*
Andrew Appel Andrew Wilson Appel (born 1960) is the Eugene Higgins Professor of computer science at Princeton University. He is especially well known because of his compiler books, the ''Modern Compiler Implementation in ML'' () series, as well as ''Compiling ...
(class of 1976), computer scientist at
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...
and son of Kenneth Appel who proved the
Four color theorem In mathematics, the four color theorem, or the four color map theorem, states that no more than four colors are required to color the regions of any map so that no two adjacent regions have the same color. ''Adjacent'' means that two regions shar ...
*
Theodore Gray Theodore W. "Theo" Gray is a co-founder of Wolfram Research, science author, and co-founder of app developer Touch Press. Education Theodore Gray was educated at the University of Illinois Laboratory High School. He would later graduate wi ...
(class of 1982), a co-founder of
Wolfram Research Wolfram Research, Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational company that creates computational technology. Wolfram's flagship product is the technical computing program Wolfram Mathematica, first released on June 23, 1988. ...
and winner of the
Ig Nobel Prize The Ig Nobel Prize () is a satirical prize awarded annually since 1991 to promote public engagement with scientific research. Its aim is to "honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think." The name of the award is a ...
for chemistry in 2002 * Iris Chang (class of 1985) was a journalist and author (''
The Rape of Nanking The Nanjing Massacre, or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians, noncombatants, and surrendered prisoners of war by the Imperial Japanese Army in Nanjing, the capital of the Republ ...
''), and was the subject of the book '' Finding Iris Chang''. * Nina Paley (class of 1986), cartoonist, animator, free culture activist * Rahul Pandharipande (class of 1986), mathematician and professor at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH), Clay Research Award recipient * Daniel Shapiro (class of 1986), U.S. ambassador to Israel *
Shamit Kachru Shamit Kachru (born 1970) is an American theoretical physicist, a professor emeritus of physics at Stanford University, and a former Wells Family Director of the Stanford Institute for Theoretical Physics. He served as the Stanford Physics Depar ...
(class of 1987),
string theory In physics, string theory is a theoretical framework in which the point-like particles of particle physics are replaced by one-dimensional objects called strings. String theory describes how these strings propagate through space and intera ...
specialist at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
* Paul Debevec (class of 1988),
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
–winning (2010, 2019) and
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
–winning (2022) researcher in computer graphics * Ben Scott (class of 1995), policy advisor and former advisor to
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
* Erika Harold (class of 1997 but transferred to Urbana High School),
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
educated attorney, politician, and former
Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...
* Helen Estabrook (class of 1999), film producer who produced
Whiplash (2014 film) ''Whiplash'' is a 2014 American psychological drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle, starring Miles Teller, J. K. Simmons, Paul Reiser, and Melissa Benoist. It focuses on an ambitious music student and aspiring jazz drummer (Teller ...
* Jeremy Hobson (class of 1999), co-host of
NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...
's ''Here and Now'' * Tony Khan (class of 2001), Founder, co-owner, president, and CEO of
All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...
, co-owner and Vice Chairman/Director of Football Operations of
Fulham F.C. Fulham Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Fulham, West London, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of English football league system, English football. They have played home games at Craven ...
, co-owner and Senior Vice President of Football Technology & Analytics of
Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...
* Sasha Velour (class of 2004), ''
Rupaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the Drag Race (franchise), ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder (company), World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, ...
'' season 9 winner *
Jonathan Kuck Jonathan Kuck (born March 14, 1990) is an American speed skating, speed skater and silver medalist in the Winter Olympics. At the 2010 Winter Olympics, Kuck won a silver medal in the team pursuit along with Brian Hansen (speed skater), Brian Ha ...
(class of 2007), speedskater who won a silver medal in the team pursuit for the U.S. in the
2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...
* Ema Rajić (class of 2018), swimmer who competed for the Croatian team in the
2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...


References

Notes


External links


University High home page

University High student newspaper, the Gargoyle, online version

The Wylde Q. Chicken Award: Honoring Uni students who exhibit spontaneous creativity

David R. Woolley on the origin of the Wylde Q. Chicken Award

The Flow of History
{{DEFAULTSORT:University Laboratory High School Of Urbana, Illinois Gifted education Public high schools in Illinois Laboratory schools in the United States Educational institutions established in 1921 University-affiliated schools in the United States Schools in Champaign County, Illinois 1921 establishments in Illinois Projects by Holabird & Root University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign