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

High school students preparing for advanced education know college is going to be different from high school, but they don't always understand how different or different in what ways - particularly when it comes to course work.  SIUC helps answer some of those questions at an open house on Feb. 18.  The open house features a sample class lecture for Psychology 102, a Core Curriculum choice for the social science requirement.  Meera Komarraju, named the outstanding faculty member in the Core Curriculum last year, will present the half-hour lecture.  Students who attend the lecture get a sneak preview of how a college professor might interact with students and what actually happens inside the classrooms.  Register online at http://admissions.siu.edu/openhouse.htm or by calling (618)536-4405.  Staff recommends arriving half an hour before the event begins in order to find convenient parking and to give yourself time for provided refreshments.  Other open houses are set for March 29 and July 18.  The March open house coincides with SIUnity and Diversity Day.

A service learning project for first-year pharmacy students through the SIUE School of Pharmacy could help save lives in the region.  The File of Life program is the focus of the students’ service learning project this spring.  In partnership with the Area Agency on Aging of Southwestern Illinois and the Illinois Visiting Nurses’ Association, student-pharmacists will work at locations throughout Southern Illinois, helping community members fill out a medical information form that will be included in the File of Life, which is a magnetic pocket that is kept on a refrigerator and a card that is carried with individuals at all times.

Some of the nation's best independent films have been showcased during the first 29 years of the Big Muddy Film Festival at SIUC.  As the student-run film festival celebrates its 30th anniversary starting later this month, another extraordinary lineup of documentary films is among the festival's record 78 juried films.  The 11-day festival is Feb. 21 through March 2 at various venues on campus, in Carbondale and around Southern Illinois.  A record number of competition films prompted organizers to begin the festival - one of the oldest film festivals affiliated with a university - a day earlier than initially planned.  A total of 29 documentaries highlight this year's competition.  The festival also features 26 narrative films, 13 experimental films and 10 animations films.  A complete listing of competition films is at http://www.bigmuddyfilm.com/30th-2008/films.htm.

A Nobel Prize laureate, award-winning journalists, an Illinois congressman who has won widespread bipartisan praise, a corruption-fighting federal prosecutor and a medical doctor honored by Time magazine highlight the spring schedule for SIUC's Paul Simon Public Policy Institute.  Speakers include Wole Soyinka, the 1986 Nobel Prize winner for literature; Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Peoria; Ray Suarez, senior correspondent for PBS' "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer"; New York Times chief Washington correspondent David E. Sanger; and Dr. Tieraona Low Dog, a former member of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine.  The events are free, and institute officials encourage SIUC students and the general public to take advantage of these opportunities.  For more information on any of these programs, as well as a complete schedule, contact the institute at (618)453-4009 or visit www.paulsimoninstitute.siuc.edu.

Students from the East St. Louis Charter School recently spent a weekend helping the homeless in the area.  Blankets were rolled, 1,000 box lunches were prepared and items were distributed by volunteers through Project Compassion of Belleville, a nonprofit organization with an outreach ministry to the area’s homeless.  Among the volunteers were nine seniors from the Charter School.  The East St. Louis Charter School is operated by the SIUE East St. Louis Center.

Today Shryock Auditorium, tomorrow the world.  The winners of the annual student solo competition hosted by the School of Music at Southern Illinois University Carbondale highlight the Stars of Altgeld performance, beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 19 in Shryock Auditorium.  Stars of Altgeld - referring to Altgeld Hall, home of the School of Music - is part of the Southern Illinois Symphony Series.  The student soloists also help kick off the Music for Young Listeners - Klassics for Kids program for 2008 on Tuesday with a performance geared to children ages 3 to 6.  The performance is at 10 a.m. in Shryock Auditorium.  The concert is free and will last about 40 minutes.  Tickets are $19 for general admission, $6 for students.  Tickets are available in advance at SIUC ticket offices at the SIU Arena or the SIUC Student Center.  They are on sale at Shryock Auditorium beginning one hour before the performance.  Tickets may be ordered from Ticketmaster at (866)448-7849 or online at www.ticketmaster.com/shryock.

Free screenings, foot exams, blood pressure checks and testing will be offered during a diabetes education program from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23 in SIUE’s Morris University Center.  The SIUE School of Pharmacy, in collaboration with the American Diabetes Association, is hosting the event, which will feature free lunch, vendors and professional speakers.

Andrew R. Roszak, a dual-major graduate student at SIUC, is the recipient of a prestigious national fellowship that focuses on public and private sector roles in health policy development.  Roszak is one of two 2008-2009 David A. Winston Health Policy Fellows.  The year-long fellowship provides "a unique opportunity to learn about the political system through direct exposure to public and private sector roles in health policy development," according to the Association of University Programs in Health Administration.  Roszak will begin the fellowship in June - one month after he graduates from SIUC with a law degree from the SIU School of Law and a master's degree in public administration.  The former Kankakee full-time firefighter and paramedic is continuing his work as an intern with the Illinois Department of Public Health in Springfield, where he drafts and revises administrative rules for various IDPH programs - a job has done for 15 months.  He will be studying to take the bar exam in July.

Nationally recognized award-winning photographer Jason Miccolo Johnson will share his perspectives and his work later this month at SIUC.  Johnson will present a visual call-and-response gallery talk at 7 p.m., Feb. 19, in the Student Center Illinois Room.  Admission is free, and the public is invited.  The event is part of Black History Month at SIUC.  A reception and book signing will follow Johnson's lecture.  Johnson will discuss his 2006 book, "Soul Sanctuary: Images of the African American Worship Experience," and bring numerous PowerPoint images from that work.  The book chronicles Johnson's journey to more than 200 predominately black churches in 25 states - including several in the Chicago area - over a 10-year period.  Johnson's Web site notes the book is a "day in the life of the black church from early morning preparation on through to the benediction."

Spring 2008 Open Houses at SIUE are a great way to learn about exciting, rewarding degree programs.  Open house events slated for February, March and April will offer prospective students the chance to explore academic programs, tour the SIUE campus, visit residence halls and talk to representatives from the offices of Admissions and Student Financial Aid.  The Schools of Nursing, Business, Education and Engineering will host open houses for students interested in undergraduate and graduate programs.  The School of Pharmacy will host an open house for students interested in a Pharm.D. degree.  For more information, visit http://www.siue.edu/prospectivestudents/visit/open_houses.shtml.

Job opportunities for nurses and medical assistants will be discussed at a job fair 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, February 23, at the SIU School of Medicine in Springfield.  The job fair is open to the public without charge and will be held in the SIU building at 327 W. Calhoun, on the north end of the medical school's campus along Rutledge Street in Springfield.  Department representatives will be on hand to talk to applicants about the various specialty areas where job opportunities are available.  Benefits and employment counselors also will be available.  For more information, contact SIU's Office of Human Resources in person at 327 W. Calhoun Ave., via phone 545-0223 weekdays or online at www.siumed.edu/ohr/.

SIUE has been selected the favorite to claim the 2008 Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship in a vote of league coaches.  The Cougars collected 168 total points and 12 of the 14 first-place votes to top the GLVC Preseason Coaches' Poll.  SIUE has won back-to-back league titles and is coming off the school's first NCAA Division II Championship.  The Cougars completed the national title run with a 49-8 record and won 16 straight games to close out the year.  They claimed the national title in the longest championship game in Division II history, defeating 2nd-ranked Lock Haven, 3-2, in 12 innings.

In a season littered with close losses, SIUC finally found a way to win a nail-biter, beating No. 14 Drake Feb. 13 and ending the Bulldogs' 21-game winning streak.  The Salukis led by as many as ten points in the second half, but had to hang on to win 65-62.  Next up for the Dawgs is a Feb. 16 road game at Wichita State.  Tip off is at 6:05 p.m.  The Salukis return to the SIU Arena on Feb. 20 to face Northern Iowa.  That game begins at 7:05 p.m.