Carbondale Calendars and Events
Edwardsville Calendars and Events
East St. Louis Calendars and Events

SIUC will hold its annual Saluki Family Weekend Oct. 19-21.  Saluki Family Weekend is for currently enrolled students and their families.  It's a chance for the whole family to experience some of the perks that come with attending SIUC, including cultural and sporting events, a beautiful campus and a dynamic, small-city environment.  One family will get extra special treatment as winners of the Family of the Weekend contest.  The contest prize package includes two nights stay at Little Grassy Lodge at Touch of Nature Environmental Center, Saluki gear and tickets to the Saluki Family Association Breakfast Buffet.  Families can enter the contest by taking an online trivia test at www.salukifamily.siu.edu.  Contest participants can also print the questionnaire and fax it to New Student Programs at (618)453-2109.  The deadline is Oct. 12.  (Here's a hint: answers to the questions are found in other pages throughout the SIUC Web site.)  Families can purchase tickets for the various events through the Student Central Ticket Office on the second floor of the Student Center or by calling (618)453-3478.

The National Institutes of Health has selected the city of St. Louis and Macoupin County as sites for the National Children’s Study, the largest study of child and human health ever conducted in the United States.  The extensive population-based study looks at the health and development of children by following them from before birth to adulthood.  Saint Louis University School of Public Health, the lead institution, is partnering on the project with Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Nursing, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and St. Louis Battelle Memorial Institute.  The SIUE School of Nursing will receive nearly $4 million for the project, the largest research grant in the University’s history.

The SIUC School of Music's Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Christopher Morehouse, makes its Carnegie Hall debut in March 2008 at the New York Band and Orchestra Festival.  SIUC performs at the 8 p.m. concert on March 26, 2008, in the Issac Stern Auditorium on the Ronald O. Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall.  They have one sound check before the performance.  The SIUC group is one of two showcase ensembles at the festival.  Six high school bands and orchestras compete during the day, and SIUC and the Northamptonshire Orchestral Wind from England perform during the evening.  The auditorium seats 2,800.  To get a taste of what SIUC plans to bring to Carnegie Hall, members of the University and surrounding community can check out the SIUC Wind Ensemble at the SIUC Annual Fall Band Concert.  The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 17 at Shryock Auditorium.  Tickets are $7.50 or $3 for students.

Josephine Barnes, director of the Office of Research and Projects (ORP) in the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Graduate School, recently was named as recipient of the Distinguished Service Award from the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA).  Among five recipients, Barnes is being recognized for “sustained and distinctive contributions to the organization.”  She has served as a presenter at numerous NCURA meetings and conferences, including as chair of the National NCURA Minority Participation Task Force and serving as faculty on the special traveling NCURA/UNCF Fundamentals Workshop.

A "well-kept secret" for SIUC is most definitely a secret no more, thanks to a quartet of talented young fashion design and merchandising students.  After a recent major competition and show, fashion aficionados from the Midwest and beyond know that SIUC boasts a fashion design program and a very successful one at that.  Just earning spots in the Emerging Young Designer of the Year Fashion Competition and Show in St. Charles, Mo., on Sept. 21 was a huge honor for Emily Harris, Erica Hollinshead Stead, Rina Park and Feng "Vicky" Li, all seniors majoring in fashion design and merchandising.  The SIUC quartet claimed first place in eveningwear, art to wear, daywear and the President's Prize for Best in Show.  Many of the competitors at the event were from art and design schools.  SIUC is one of few universities nationally and the only public institution in the state offering majors in fashion design and also in merchandising.

Nicholas Till, of Springfield, a graduate student in the SIUE School of Nursing, is a Nurses Educational Funds Inc. (NEF) scholarship recipient.  The national organization advances the profession of nursing through the promotion of graduate education.  Till will receive a $2,000 scholarship and joins an elite group of 11 master’s candidates from across the United States who also received the award.  Ann Popkess, an instructor of primary care-health systems nursing in the School, is recipient of a $4,000 national scholarship recognizing her academic achievements and leadership potential.  She is among 15 doctoral degree candidates across the country receiving this prestigious award.  Popkess is a doctoral candidate at the Indiana University School of Nursing.

Catherine Bertini, the former head of the United Nations World Food Programme, will visit with students and present a public lecture at SIUC.  Bertini's appearance is at 7 p.m., Monday, Oct. 15, in the SIUC Student Center Ballroom B.  Bertini has a long history of international and national public service in humanitarian relief and nutrition policy, including serving for 10 years as executive director of the U.N.'s World Food Programme.  She is a professor of public administration with the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.  In June, Bertini joined the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Agricultural Development team as a senior fellow.  The event is part of the Gil and Jean Kroening Lecture Series.  Gil Kroening, former dean of the SIUC College of Agricultural Sciences, and his wife, Jean, a Carbondale Realtor, established the fellowship that brings a distinguished speaker to campus annually to address issues such as U.S. and world agriculture, food and environmental issues.

Richard Yakimo, assistant professor of primary care/health systems nursing in the SIUE School of Nursing, recently was elected a Distinguished Practitioner in the National Academies of Practice in Nursing.

Gary L. Minish, dean of SIUC's College of Agricultural Sciences, will serve as president of the American Association of State Colleges of Agriculture and Renewable Resources over the coming year.  His election took place Oct. 2 during the group's annual meeting in Fort Hays, Kan.  Minish also will continue to serve as association representative to the National Association of State University and Land Grant Colleges, a position he has held since 2005.  The 34-year-old association, known by its acronym, AASCARR, consists of representatives from 46 colleges and universities with academic programs in agriculture and renewable resources outside the land-grant system.  Minish, SIUC's agriculture dean since 2004, previously served in a variety of capacities, from scientist to teacher to administrator, during a 35-year career at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Va.

Cynthia Schmidt, associate professor of family health/community health nursing in the SIUE School of Nursing, recently won awards for her scholarly research in pediatric nursing.  Schmidt was awarded an American Nurses Foundation Grant, designating her a 2007 Midwest Nursing Research Grant Society Scholar.  Schmidt was also awarded the inaugural Annette and Henry Baich Research Award through the SIUE Graduate School.  The Baich honor is bestowed on a faculty member whose research proposal submitted for internal funding is judged the best of all proposals submitted for a given year.  These awards total more than $11,000.

Six sophomore medical students from the SIU School of Medicine recently completed their Mentored Professional Enrichment Experiences with formal presentations to the medical school community last month.  The summer program is an SIU elective between the first and second years of medical school, designed as an opportunity for students to work with physicians or researchers at SIU or other medical campuses.  The program concludes with a presentation by each student about their special studies to the SIU medical school community.  The program provides opportunities for students to explore clinical and basic science research or investigations in health-related areas and helps them learn how to design and conduct effective research projects.

Anthony Traxler, emeritus professor of gerontology in the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Department of Psychology, recently was presented the Pioneering and Leadership Award by the Local Area Network on Mental Health and Aging for his lifelong service to the elderly and to those with mental disabilities.  Traxler — who received the award at the 12th Annual and 2nd Regional Behavioral Health, Aging and Wellness Conference in Fairview Heights — was cited for his “lifelong dedication and exemplary performance in the development and enhancement of national and state programs in the field of education and services for mental health and aging.”

SIUC officials dedicated the Wall & Grand Apartments complex on Oct. 5, raising the bar for on-campus living at SIUC.  The newest addition to campus opened its doors in all three buildings for the fall semester, after breaking ground in October 2005.  With full furnishings and a modern, trendy ambience, the apartments give students a fresh housing option.  The complex sits at the corner Wall Street and Grand Avenue, just east of the Student Recreation Center and the new Student Health Center, and in close proximity to classes.  The complex houses around 400 students and staff.  Students living in Wall & Grand Apartments pay just one bill, which includes all utilities, cable TV, local telephone and Ethernet.  Individual contracts alleviate the worry of a roommate not paying or moving out.  On moving in, students have a fully furnished apartment with a stove, refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, washer and dryer, complete furniture and two bathrooms.  Freshmen 21 years old and older, sophomores, juniors, seniors and graduate students are eligible to live at Wall & Grand Apartments and can apply online at www.housing.siu.edu.

Just in time for its 50th Anniversary, SIUE has unveiled a new University Cougar logo during a special ceremony led by SIUE Chancellor Vaughn Vandegrift.  A banner was unfurled to reveal a new sleek look for the Cougar.  University officials were quick to point out the new Cougar logo will not take the place of the SIUE wordmark or the marketing logo — SIUe — but will be used primarily to support the athletics teams.

The 6-0 SIUC football team hopes to keep its unblemished record intact when it travels to Northern Iowa on Oct 13.  Kickoff is set for 4:05 p.m.  The No. 6 Salukis defeated No. 10 Youngstown State 24-17 on Oct. 6.  The Dawgs return to McAndrew Stadium Oct. 20 for a Family Weekend contest with Missouri State.  Game time is 1:30 p.m.  For ticket information, contact the Saluki Ticket Office at (618)453-2000.

A life-size bronze statue recently was unveiled at the entrance to SIUE’s Morris University Center to honor SIUE’s former living cougar mascots Chimega and Kyna.  The School Spirit and Pride Committee of SIUE’s Student Government began a fund-raising campaign in 2005 to erect a bronze sculpture of a cougar on campus.  The committee said the sculpture would be “a monument” to the live cougars that were housed on campus between 1968 and 1987.  The committee raised some $39,000 for the statue that was created by artist Dawn Weimer, of Loveland, Colo.  The entire piece is nine feet tall while the cougar itself measures 11-feet from its paw to the tip of its tail, all resting on a four-foot base.  Titled “Taking Stalk,” the sculpture depicts a stalking cougar on a rock.

Tickets to the Dec. 1 men's basketball game against Indiana sold out in less than one hour on Tuesday, Oct.  9, the Saluki athletic ticket office announced.  After a pre-sale to season-ticket holders, approximately 400 tickets to the game against Indiana remained, and they were quickly scooped up by fans eager to see Southern Illinois take on the Big Ten Hoosiers at SIU Arena.  The ticket office said it held back a supply of tickets for potential season-ticket holders, along with an allotment for students.

SIUE’s Mallory Clements (Mt. Pulaski) was named the Baden/Great Lakes Valley Conference Player of the Week after posting triple-doubles in volleyball victories over UW-Parkside and Lewis.  The junior setter recorded double figures in kills, assists and digs in the two matches.  This is the second time she has earned the league's weekly honor.