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

SIUC officials have announced that faculty members will lead a $1.2 million, multi-county emergency preparedness effort funded by the federal government.  Nicholas Pinter, professor of geology in the College of Science at SIUC, is the lead investigator on the grant, which will assist 17 Southern Illinois counties in assessing their disaster risks and making plans for disaster mitigation.  SIUC faculty will work with colleagues from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and with five Illinois regional planning commissions in assisting local agencies with writing pre-disaster mitigation plans.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency — FEMA — is funding the work, which Pinter said will continue through 2010.  The money is administered through the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.

There are more Salukis attending classes this semester.  Enrollment and registration numbers at SIUC indicate increased freshman retention and a higher total campus count than last spring semester.  As of Jan. 28, a total of 19,789 students are registered for classes both on- and off-campus, compared to 19,655 at this time last year.  On-campus numbers - including freshmen and transfer students - show increases, indicating that both freshman retention and recruitment is on the rise.  There are 264 more on-campus freshmen - 2,425 this spring semester compared with 2,161 last year at this time.  Of those freshmen, 94 are new students beginning their SIUC careers this semester.  Transfer student numbers also show improvement, with a total of 968, compared to 887 last spring.

The Hillary Clinton for President Campaign recently rented the theater at Dunham Hall for former U.S. President Bill Clinton to promote her bid for president.  The standing-room-only event marked the first visit by a sitting or former president to the University.  More than 30 media outlets and 1,000 students, faculty, staff and community members attended.

Hundreds of high school students from throughout the state will pour into SIUC this month to participate in the annual Engineering Day.  The celebration, aimed at introducing high school students to engineering concepts, includes entertaining challenges such as "The Saluki Egg Drop," in which students figure ways to protect an egg dropped from one story high.  Other activities, which SIUC College of Engineering faculty and staff supervise, include 2-liter bottle rocket launches and keeping dry ice from melting.  Engineering Day is set for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 19, at the SIUC Engineering Building.  Engineering Day is part of Engineering Week, a worldwide tradition that dates back to 1951 and honors engineers and engineering achievements.  This year's event marks the 27th Engineering Day event at SIUC.

A full scholarship to SIUC is up for grabs at the inaugural Steven Barwick Piano Scholarship Competition, set for March 8 at the Old Baptist Foundation Recital Hall on campus.  The postmark deadline is Feb. 11 for applications from high school juniors and seniors who wish to compete for four scholarships and cash prizes.  The grand prize is a full-tuition-paid scholarship to SIUC and a $300 cash award.  The remaining prizes include smaller SIUC scholarships and cash awards - $300 for first prize, $150 for second, and $50 for third prize.  The competition jury determines the scholarship amount for the first, second and third place winners.  All winners also receive a certificate commemorating their achievements.  More information and eligibility requirements about the scholarship are available at www.siu.edu/~music/BarwickCompetition.html.

A student organization is hosting Bringing the Rainbow to the Colorless Sea, a roundtable conversation, from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20, in the Mississippi/Illinois Room, on the second floor of SIUE’s Morris University Center.  PRIME, which stands for Promoting, Recruiting, Increasing, Minority Educators is sponsoring the event.  Increasing minority student enrollment, retention and success, as well as celebrating difference and diversity will be some of the issues addressed during the conversation.  Members of PRIME will engage in discussion with area school administrators, community leaders and SIUE personnel.

A leading organization for hydrologists is moving its headquarters to SIUC, the home of its new executive director.  Rolando Bravo, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering in the College of Engineering at SIUC, is the new executive director of the American Institute of Hydrology.  Bravo assumed the leadership of the international organization this month after a vote by the group's executive committee.  Along with Bravo's new position, the group also agreed to move its headquarters to SIUC.  Bravo said having the organization based at SIUC will bring prestige and more students to the College of Engineering and particularly the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.  The initial length of the arrangement is five years, meaning SIUC will be an epicenter of the hydrology and water resources field at least through 2012.

The SIU Alumni Association announces the availability of four $1,000 scholarships for Southern Illinois University Carbondale students.  The Roscoe Pulliam Memorial Scholarship is for currently enrolled or admitted SIUC students who are closely related to an SIUC alum and current member of the SIU Alumni Association.  The term "closely related" refers to children, grandchildren or siblings.  Applicants may be newly admitted students or currently enrolled undergraduate students registered for a minimum of 12 semester hours.  Deadline for applications is April 13.  Applications and details are available at the SIU Alumni Association's office at the SIUC Student Center or online at www.siualumni.com.  Interested students and their families may also call the SIU Alumni Association at (618)453-2417.  The scholarships are in memory of Roscoe Pulliam, SIU's sixth president, who served in that role from 1935 until his death in 1944.

SIUE commencement organizers are giving August 2008 graduate candidates a chance to participate in commencement exercises either during the University’s spring ceremony May 10 or the fall ceremony Dec. 20.  This year’s summer commencement was cancelled because of scheduled renovation of the Vadalabene Center, where ceremonies are traditionally conducted.

A bone marrow drive, organized by medical students at the SIU School of Medicine, will be held at 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Saturday, February 23, at the Springfield Boys and Girls Club, 300 South 13th Street in Springfield.  The event is co-sponsored by the Illinois Department of Public Health's Center for Minority Health Services.  The drive helps with the ongoing need for bone marrow from donors of every ethnic and racial heritage, though there is a critical shortage of minority donors.  Donors between the ages of 18 and 60, who meet health guidelines, are being recruited to join the National Bone Marrow Registry.  The enrollment fee is being waived for minorities so more will consider becoming part of the registry.  Other health care activities provided during the event include free blood pressure screenings and body mass index measurements.  The drive is organized by SIU's chapter of the Student National Medical Association as part of the School's Black History Month activities.

Just the thought of fresh maple syrup dripping down that big stack of pancakes is enough to make your mouth water.  You can taste it for yourself and then some at the Maple Syrupin' Pancake Breakfast and Workshop.  The public is welcome at SIUC's Touch of Nature Environmental Center for the 9 a.m. pancake and maple syrup breakfast on Feb. 16.  Breakfast is in the Sledgefoot Lounge at Freeberg Hall.  The workshop follows at about 10 a.m., at the rustic Upper 40 Cabin.  Reservations are on a first-come basis through Feb. 11 or until the event is sold out.  To register, call (618)453-1121.  The cost is $12 for adults and $6 for children ages 5-10 years.  Admission for kids under five is free.  The workshop is a hands-on adventure, giving participants the chance to relive the old pioneer days when settlers harvested sugar maple sap tree-by-tree and cooked it over the fire to produce the syrup.  Those attending the workshop will learn to identify sugar maple trees, how and why they produce the sap and about the tree's physiology.

Robin Quattlander of Nokomis recently was honored with the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation Student Leader of the Month Award for November.  Quattlander will graduate from SIUE on May 10 with a bachelor of science in Business Administration — emphasis in Marketing — from the SIUE School of Business.  The award recognizes SIUE business students who are nominated by student organizations for outstanding participation and responsibility.

The Southern Illinois women's basketball team will come together with Southern Illinois Healthcare for the second annual "Pink Out" Feb. 8 against Missouri State for breast cancer awareness.  All tickets are $2 with $1 going to the SIH Women with Hope support group.  Pink shirts will be given out courtesy of SIH to the first 1,000 fans.  All breast cancer survivors get in free.  They're invited to attend a pre-game reception in the upper concourse of the Arena and will be recognized at half time.  The Salukis will wear pink uniforms provided by Rawlings.

SIUE Women’s Basketball will bring awareness to the fight against breast cancer at the Cougars’ 5:30 p.m. game Feb. 21 against Southern Indiana.  The team joins the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association to offer free admission for fans that come to the game wearing pink.

The SIUE Men’s Track team currently is ranked the national leader in the USTFCCCA Division II Coaches Power Rankings, released by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.  The women’s team was ranked No. 6 nationally.