University Marketing and Communications
Illinois State University’s
in-house marketing agency.
Spotlight on UMC

Q&A with state climatologist Trent Ford ’11: Why is Illinois becoming a tornado hotspot?
The record-breaking tornado activity for 2026 in Illinois is "remarkable," according to Dr. Trent Ford '11, who has served the people of Illinois as state climatologist since 2019.
Community activist Willie Holton Halbert ’77 plants seeds of confidence at inaugural Miss Juneteenth Pageant
Building confidence and celebrating African American culture was the focus of the Bloomington-Normal Miss Juneteenth Pageant, organized with the help of Willie Holton Halbert '77.




