Carbondale Calendars and Events
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East St. Louis Calendars and Events

The life and work of one of the nation's most highly respected civil rights proponents will be the focus of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Recognition Week at SIUC beginning Jan. 20.  "Passing the Torch from Generation to Generation" is the theme for the celebration.  Among the events:  Barry Scott will give a glimpse into who the late King was and what he stood for as the keynote speaker for a Jan. 22 commemorative event.  Scott will re-enact several of King's most famous speeches.  He's quite knowledgeable about King's life and works and garnered praise from the late Coretta Scott King for his realistic representation of her husband.  Scott is the founder and artistic director of the American Negro Playwright Theater at Tennessee State University.  He'll wrap up his presentation with a question and answer session.  The special week also includes a remembrance dinner featuring Chicago Sun-Times columnist Laura S. Washington, an awards presentation, an open microphone night, a community project, a freedom march, a special exhibition and more.  For more information about the events, contact Student Development Multicultural Programs, located on the third floor of the SIUC Student Center, at (618)453-5714 or look online at www.stddev.siu.edu.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, long a champion of those with intellectual disabilities and the driving force behind the creation of Special Olympics, will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from SIUC's College of Education and Human Services during its commencement ceremony May 10.  The SIU Board of Trustees voted to confer the degree, which honors accomplishments benefiting society or outstanding scholarship, during its regular meeting in Edwardsville on Jan 17.  For Shriver, it will be a homecoming of sorts.  Although the Massachusetts native earned her bachelor's degree from Stanford University during the 1960s, she attended summer courses at SIUC taught by the late William H. Freeberg, founder of an innovative camping program for the mentally challenged.  Known these days as Camp Little Giant, this nationally recognized program provides such traditional camp experiences as boating, swimming, arts and crafts, and other outdoor activities to impaired children and young people with the aim of boosting both confidence and independence.

A grant worth $134,075 to the SIUE School of Education's Department of Curriculum and Instruction will be used to educate teachers from across the nation about Abraham Lincoln and his influence in shaping modern America.  The project, Abraham Lincoln and the Forging of Modern America, is being organized by SIUE faculty members: Principal grant writer, Caroline Pryor, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction, and the project's co-director, Susan Breck, associate professor of curriculum and instruction.  Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, Landmarks of American History and Culture: Workshops for Schoolteachers will take part in two, one-week sessions: June 22-27 and July 20-25.  Organizers hope to attract 50 teachers at each event.

A team of engineering students from SIUC recently snagged honors at an international engineering contest in Taiwan.  The students demonstrated their work in developing wireless Internet sensors and several applications for such networks at the annual Creativity in Action Design Competition there.  The team's work is an offshoot of a $1 million Federal Highway Administration's Intelligent Transportation Systems grant garnered by Shing-Chung "Max" Yen, director of the Materials Technology Center at SIUC.  Yen and the students are working on Internet-based wireless sensors and databases aimed at providing near real-time data and analysis of transportation structures, such as bridges.  The hybrid system, which combines integrated sensor networks with wireless and Internet technology, could improve safety and efficiency in transportation systems and other applications.  The SIUC team won the prize for creativity in technology integration by demonstrating three applications for the wireless Internet-based sensor network.

Two graduate students in Southern Illinois University Carbondale's School of Art and Design are finalists in the prestigious NICHE Award art competition for 2008.  Kyoung Hwa Oh, from South Korea, is a finalist in functional ceramics with "Water Vase 2," and Yoshi Fujii, from Japan, is a finalist in sculptural ceramics with "Hub.”  As finalists, the two will be among the students featured in the spring issue of the magazine.  NICHE Magazine, a trade journal for craft gallery retailers, sponsors the annual competition.  Professionals compete separately from students.  Besides ceramics, students can enter categories such as fiber, jewelry, metal, wood and mixed media.  The annual award competition is for American and Canadian craft artists who want to sell their art through craft galleries and retail stores.  A jury selects the handful of finalists and the winners, judging on technical excellence, market viability and creativity.  According to NICHE publicity, the jury considered more than 1,100 entries this year.

Sandra Reaves-Phillips brings her saucy singing act — “The Late Great Ladies of Blues & Jazz” — back to SIUE’s Arts & Issues series at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, in the theater at SIUE’s Katherine Dunham Hall.  Arts & Issues is in its 23rd season of bringing world-class performers and noted speakers to Southwestern Illinois.  Reaves-Phillips’ appearance is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

A professor with 25 years at SIUC will serve as interim dean of the College of Engineering starting this semester.  Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor Don S. Rice announced that Ramanarayanan Viswanathan, professor of electrical and computer engineering, is the college's interim dean.  A search committee made up of faculty and staff members from within the college recommended Viswanathan for the position.  Viswanathan fills the position left vacant by the retirement of William Osborne, who stepped down last week after announcing he would do so in the fall.  Osborne will remain active in conducting research at SIUC, especially working with a colleague on an explosives detection technology project for the U.S. Navy.  Viswanathan said the provost's office will form a search committee to find a new dean this fall and conduct candidate interviews in spring 2009, with the goal of hiring someone who can start work in July 2009.  The college faculty is delaying the search process to avoid conflicts with the upcoming accreditation review in 2008.

The new associate dean of the College of Applied Sciences and Arts at SIUC is a three-degree alumnus and inaugural director of the School of Architecture.  Terry A. Owens became associate dean Dec. 1.  Owens earned his associate degree in architecture technology at SIUC in 1980, followed by a bachelor of science in advanced technical studies in 1981 and a master's in education in 1984.  He returned to his alma mater as assistant professor in 1986, becoming an associate professor five years later.  Owens became chairman of the Department of Applied Arts in 1993.  In 2005 the college reorganized from seven departments into four schools, with Owens as the first director of the new School of Architecture.  Owens fills the vacancy created by the year-end retirement of Fred R. Isberner, associate dean since 1992.  Jack Kremers is now the interim director of the School of Architecture.  Kremers is head of the new master of architecture program and a professor at SIUC.

Emerita Professor Shirley J. Portwood, a member of SIUE’s Historical Studies faculty for nearly 30 years, will speak at the 26th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday Celebration Luncheon.  The luncheon — with its theme of Inclusiveness: Dr. King's Dream — is set for 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, in SIUE’s Meridian Ballroom, on the first floor of Morris University Center.  Winners of the MLK Jr. Scholarship and the SIUE faculty-staff Humanitarian Award will be announced.  In addition, winners of the MLK Jr. Essay, Poetry and Visual Arts High School Competition will be announced.  The awards are given each year to recognize those who exemplify the philosophy of nonviolent social change as demonstrated by The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Lisabeth A. DiLalla, professor of family medicine at the SIU School of Medicine in Carbondale, has been awarded fellow status by the Association of Psychological Science.  Fellow status is awarded to APS members who have made sustained outstanding contributions to the science of psychology in the areas of research, teaching or service.  The APS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of scientific psychology.  Dr. Susan Hingle, associate professor of internal medicine, has been elected governor-elect of the Illinois southern chapter of the American College of Physicians.  She begins the one-year term at the annual ACP meeting in May followed by a four-year term as governor at the annual meeting in April 2009.  ACP governors provide a link between members, headquarters and the Board of Regents and are responsible for coordinating local ACP activities.

The Saluki men's basketball team takes on Wichita State at 2:05 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19, at the SIU Arena.  The Dawgs are 8-9 overall following a convincing 80-67 win at Evansville on Jan. 15.  The Salukis hit the road again on Jan. 23 when they travel to Missouri State.  The team returns to the SIU Arena on Saturday on Jan. 26 for a showdown with Creighton.  For ticket information, contact the Saluki Ticket Office at (618)453-2000.

Misi Clark, who had her number recently retired by SIUE Women’s Basketball, will become a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Hall of Fame.  The all-time leading scorer and three-time All-American is one of six honorees to be inducted at the Enterprise Rent-A-Car GLVC Spring Banquet at the Drury Plaza Hotel in St. Louis on May 20.