Roger B. Tedrick, president of Tedrick Insurance in Mt. Vernon, was appointed to the SIU Board of Trustees by Gov. Rod Blagojevich on February 6, 2004. He currently serves as chair of the Board; chair of the Board's executive committee; member of the Board's Finance Committee; Board representative to the Board of Directors, Southern Illinois University Foundation; and alternate Board representative to the Board of Directors for the Association of Alumni, Former Students and Friends of Southern Illinois University, Incorporated.

Tedrick is a long-time supporter of the University's Carbondale campus. He is a past member of the SIU Foundation Board and is a past member of the SIU Alumni Association Board.

He was born in Vandalia, but spent much of his childhood in Carbondale where his late parents, Ralph and Nola Tedrick, had a rooming house on the edge of the Carbondale campus for 15 college boys. He attended University High School and graduated from SIUC in 1970 with a bachelor's degree in political science.

More recently, he co-chaired the Undergraduate Academics Committee for Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, SIUC's long-range plan. He has also represented alumni and friends of the University on many high-level searches for the Carbondale campus.

Tedrick is committed to seeing all campuses within the SIU system excel, even when state finances are tight. He says SIUE is poised to grow with the Metro East area as it expands, and believes the SIU School of Medicine is critical to the future of rural health care in Illinois.

He lives in Mount Vernon with his wife, Sally. They have two grown daughters, Lori and Sarah, and two grandsons.

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Ed Hightower was appointed to the SIU Board of Trustees in 2001. He currently serves as vice-chair of the Board and chair of the Board's Academic Matters Committee. He also serves as member of the Board's Executive Committee; member of the Board's Architecture and Design Committee; Board representative to the Board of Directors, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville Foundation; and alternate Board Representative to the Board of Directors, Alumni Association of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Hightower, of Edwardsville (Ill.), is known nationally as an outstanding Division I basketball referee, officiating in ten NCAA Final Four tournaments. In 1999, he was named one of the top 100 St. Louis area athletes of the century, and he has received numerous awards for his professional officiating.

But as much as he enjoys basketball, Hightower makes it clear that his work as superintendent of the Edwardsville Community Unit School District is his top priority. He has served in the position since 1995 and before that was assistant superintendent for Alton schools.

Hightower is committed to the district's teachers and students. He has been recognized locally and nationally for his contributions to education, winning the 1989 Illinois Distinguished Principals Award and recognition in the 1992 Who's Who of American Educators. In 1993 he won the Illinois Principal of the Year award and the National Distinguished Principals Award.

In 1990 he received the Elijah P. Lovejoy Human Rights Award and the Illinois Jaycees 10 Outstanding Young Persons Award. He serves on the Board of Directors for Lewis and Clark Community College, St. Anthony's Hospital. He is also active in the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce and the Edwardsville Rotary Club.

He holds bachelor's, master's and specialist degrees from SIU Edwardsville and a doctorate in education administration from St. Louis University.

He and his wife, Barbara, have two daughters, Julie and Jennifer.

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John Simmons, an attorney from East Alton, was appointed to the SIU Board of Trustees by Gov. Rod Blagojevich in February 2004. He currently serves as secretary of the Board; member of the Board's Executive Committee; chair of the Board's Architecture and Design Committee; member of the Board's Finance Committee; Board representative to the Merit Board, State Universities Civil Service System; Board representative to the Board of Directors, Alumni Association of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and alternate Board representative to the Board of Directors, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville Foundation.

He grew up in southern Illinois and earned a bachelor's degree in political science from SIUE in 1991. While an undergraduate, he served as president of the SIUE student body and was a member of the Deans' College, a program for honors students. He is a past member of the SIUE Alumni Association Board.

Simmons earned a law degree from Southern Methodist University after leaving SIUE. Before he began his college studies, he served in the U.S. Army as a combat engineer, earning an honorable discharge in 1988.

Simmons hopes to give back to his alma mater during his term on the Board, bringing a fresh perspective to issues and challenges public universities will face.

Simmons and his wife, Jayne, have four children.

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Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointed Keith R. Sanders, former executive director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, to the SIU Board of Trustees in December 2004. He currently serves as chair of the Board's Finance Committee, member of the Board's Academic Matters Committee, and member of the Board's Audit Committee. He also serves as Board representative to the Joint Trustee Committee for Springfield Medical Educational Programs and Board representative to the Board of Directors for the Association of Alumni, Former Students and Friends of Southern Illinois University, Incorporated.

Sanders resides in Spring Grove, Illinois.

Sanders is a long-time supporter of the University. His career in higher education spans more than four decades during which he has been a professor, dean, chancellor and state higher education executive in Illinois and Wisconsin.

His accomplishments include serving as the executive director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education from 1998 to 2002, various appointments in the University of Wisconsin system from 1989 to 1997, dean of the former College of Communication and Fine Arts at SIU Carbondale from 1983 to 1989 and professor in communications at SIUC from 1967 to 1989.

Sanders is a two-degree SIUC graduate holding both bachelor of science and master of science degrees in speech/psychology. He earned his Ph.D. in communications from the University of Pittsburgh.

He is married to Carol (Dial) Sanders. They have one son, Mark, and two grandchildren.

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Amber Suggs was elected by the students at SIU Edwardsville to serve on the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees beginning July 1, 2008. Her term ends on June 30, 2009.

Suggs is a native of Paducah, Ky., and a graduate of Paducah Tilghman High School.  She is pursuing a master's degree in public administration and serves as a graduate assistant at SIU Edwardsville's East St. Louis Center.  She earned a bachelor's degree in mass communication from SIU Carbondale and a master's degree in mass communication from SIU Edwardsville.  She is planning on a career in public service.

During the 2007-08 academic year, Suggs was the external affairs chair for SIU Edwardsville's student government.

Outside the classroom, she is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. and the Business and Professional Women's Illinois Federation.  Suggs also is a board member of the children's museum in Edwardsville and volunteers with the River Bluff Council of the Girl Scouts in the Metro East area.

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Demetrous White Jr. was elected by the students at SIU Carbondale to serve on the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees beginning July 1, 2008. His term ends on June 30, 2009.

A Chicago native, White is a graduate of Hyde Park Career Academy. He is a first-year graduate student, pursuing a master’s degree in public administration. He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology, with a minor in history, from SIU Carbondale.  He plans to pursue a career in public administration.

During the 2007-08 academic year, White served as president of the Undergraduate Student Government at SIU Carbondale. Prior to that, he was a student senator and chaired the organization’s finance committee. Also during the 2007-08 school year, White served as budget committee chair for the Illinois Board of Higher Education’s Student Advisory Committee.

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Stephen R. Wigginton, an attorney from Troy, was appointed to the SIU Board of Trustees by Gov. Rod Blagojevich in August 2005. He serves as a member of the Board's Finance Committee and Audit Committee .

He is a partner in the law firm of Weilmuenster and Wigginton in Belleville.

Wigginton earned his juris doctorate from St. Louis University Law School in 1988 and his bachelor's degree from SIU Edwardsville in 1985.

He belongs to the Missouri Bar Association, the Illinois Bar Association, and the Illinois Trail Lawyers Association among other professional groups.

He chaired the Maryville (Ill.) Planning Commission from 1994 to 1997, and served as assistant state's attorney for Madison County (Ill.). Wigginton is a member of the Illinois Bar Association's Section Council on Civil Practices and Procedure.

Wigginton's term expires in January 2011.

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Marquita Wiley began serving on the Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees on November 7, 2005, appointed by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. She serves as a member of the Board's Finance Committee and Architecture and Design Committee. In addition, she chairs the Board's Audit Committee.

Wiley, of Belleville, is a business executive with 30 years experience in the Financial Services industry. She is President of Trenier Enterprises, L.L.C. Her career includes serving as vice president for New Technology Development for Citicorp; senior vice president for Product Development at Boatman's Bank; and Senior Vice President and Central Region Executive for Bank of America's Premier Banking organization.

Wiley believes her analytical skills and experience in evaluating new concepts and ideas will help SIU move forward. She holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Marygrove College in Detroit and a master's degree in business administration from Washington University in St. Louis.

She has received many awards, including being named Corporate Executive of the Year by St. Louis American and RCGA. She received the YWCA Special Leaders Award and was featured as one of Ebony Magazine's most influential business women. She also serves on the Board of the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation.

She and her husband, Joe, have two children, Raymond and Johanna.

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