Carbondale Calendars and Events
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East St. Louis Calendars and Events

College leaders representing Illinois public and private higher education conveyed an urgent message as they met with Gov. Pat Quinn on earlier this month: find a way to restore funding for the Monetary Award Program (MAP) for the upcoming spring semester and avert the very real possibility that thousands of Illinois’ neediest college students will not be able to continue their education.  The rare multi-sector alliance of higher education leaders is united in its support of the state’s oldest need-based student aid program on behalf of all students, and advocated the restoration of $200 million for MAP for the remainder of the state fiscal year.  The fiscal year 2010 state budget provided for only half of the necessary funding for the current academic year, leaving a devastating shortfall in MAP funding that would eliminate state funding for more than 137,000 Illinois students, nearly half of whom have an annual family income of less than $20,000, as reported by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.

SIUE has reached the largest overall enrollment in the history of the school at 13,940, breaking the previous high of 13,700 recorded in 1970. The record enrollment numbers were released on the heels of U.S. News & World Report ranking SIUE as one of the “Top Up-And-Coming Schools” in the nation, fifth among Midwest master’s granting institutions and among 77 schools from all degree categories throughout the country. In the “Top Up-And-Coming Schools” category, SIUE was cited in U.S. News by its peers and reported as an “up and coming school firmly focused on improving the job they’re doing today.” All the rankings are in the magazine’s Best Colleges of 2010 issue that hit newsstands last month. SIUE Provost Paul Ferguson released the fall numbers, which include undergraduate, graduate and professional schools. The new freshman class of 1,940 is up from 1,922, representing the largest group of new freshmen ever. The figures represent the fifth consecutive year of growth in new freshmen enrolled at SIUE.

SIUC will celebrate Latino Heritage Month in coming weeks with guest speakers, dancing, workshops, films, food and entertainment.  “Embracing the Fierce Urgency of Now” is the theme for the 2009 Latino Heritage Month. All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.  Among the highlights is a visit by Oscar A. Herrera Sept. 16. A native of Mexico City, he speaks five languages, has studied cultures extensively and owns Herrera Computer Solutions, a business he started at the age of 17.  For additional information, contact Student Development Multicultural Programs and Services at (618)453-5714 or look online at www.stddev.siu.edu.

Mal Goldsmith, professor of health education in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education at SIUE, is president-elect of the American School Health Association (ASHA).  Goldsmith will serve a one-year term as president-elect and then a two-year term as president. He has previously served on the association's board of directors and the executive committee. The organization also has awarded him a presidential citation and a distinguished service award. The ASHA's mission is to protect and promote the health of children and youth by supporting coordinated school health programs as a foundation for school success. Goldsmith recently finished a six-year term as chairperson on the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing. He also has served as president of Eta Sigma Gamma, the National Health Education Honor Society.

The 14th annual Professional Responsibility Day is Saturday, Sept. 12, at the SIU School of Law at SIUC.  The event introduces first-year students in the law school, the SIU School of Medicine and SIUC’s MEDPREP program to critical and ethical issues they will likely encounter during their professional careers.  About 250 first-year students will participate this year. MEDPREP helps eligible students prepare for careers in medicine, dentistry or other health-related fields.  The seminar begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Hiram H. Lesar Law School Building.  Ross Silverman, professor and chair of the Department of Medical Humanities in the medical school, Dr. Kevin Dorsey, dean and provost of the medical school, interim law school Dean Frank G. Houdek, and W. Eugene Basanta, the Southern Illinois Healthcare Professor of Law, will deliver opening remarks.

Author and journalist Eric Weiner comes to SIUC to talk about his search for happiness, or, more specifically, where, in what place, happiness might be found. His answer is more one of concept than of actual geography, and the result will certainly make his audience think, and perhaps laugh or cry as well.  Weiner has spent a lot of time in unhappy places. As a foreign correspondent for National Public Radio, he visited scenes of tragedies and natural disasters and war and plague. His recent book, “The Geography of Bliss: One Grump’s Search for the Happiest Places in the World,” published in 2008 by Hachette Book Group, explores the opposite side of the emotional spectrum.  Weiner will deliver the Charles D. Tenney Distinguished Lecture, sponsored by the University Honors Program, beginning at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 22 in Ballroom D of the Student Center. The event is free and open to the public.

The SIUE chapter of Eta Sigma Gamma, the National Honor Society in health education, has been selected to receive a chapter recognition award at the National Meeting of Eta Sigma Gamma in Denver in October. The award is given based on chapter management activities, teaching, research and participation in service projects. SIUE's chapter coordinated a Madison County Youth Forum for high school youth, a Youth Leadership Conference, World AIDS Day activities and National Condom Week programs. SIUE students in the chapter also assisted school districts with health fairs, as well as the Madison County Health Department and the Madison County AIDS Program in program initiatives.

The School of Music at SIUC takes its musical mission a step further this fall with the introduction of the Cairo String Program.  Based on the successful John Thomas String Program at Thomas School in Carbondale -- a program then-Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn named a model program in his 2006 Violin Initiative -- the Cairo program will put violins in the hands of second and third graders and provide them with free instruction. The program begins later this month.  For more information, contact the School of Music at (618)536-8742. Send donations to the SIU Foundation-Cairo Strings at 1235 Douglas Drive, Colyer Hall, Mailcode 6805, Carbondale, IL, 62901.

Aldemaro Romero, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at SIUE, recently published his new book, Cave Biology: Life in Darkness, through the Cambridge University Press, which is one of the world's most prestigious scientific publishers. In the book, Romero challenges conventional wisdom regarding the science of cave biology, also known as biospeleology. Romero said that the work is a culmination of his 30 years of work in cave biology. He wrote his doctoral dissertation on the topic and has published about 100 pieces on the subject. Romero has conducted laboratory work and field studies in caves in Mexico, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, and in the United States. He recently finished a study with his students on the southern cavefish of Arkansas and is working on a manuscript on a new species of the fish. His next manuscript to be published will be on cave fishes of China, which will be released later this year.

Topics that include feminism, racism, neoliberalism and Japanese animation comprise SIUC's Global Media Research Center fall 2009 speaker series that begins in September.  All of the events are free and open to the public.  Established in 2004, the Global Media Research Center’s mission includes assembling a core group of faculty, graduate and undergraduate students to research global media issues, establish national and international partnerships to promote research, and play host to visiting scholars and artists as it seeks to develop new courses addressing global media issues.  The Global Media Research Center is within the College of Mass Communication and Media Arts. The center’s Web site is http://gmrc.siu.edu/.  For more information about the fall speaker series, contact Laura Germann at SIUC’s Global Media Research Center at (618)453-6876 or by email at felix@siu.edu.

G.I. Jobs, a publication from Victory Media, recently named SIUE to its 2010 list of Military Friendly Schools. According to a news release sent out by the publisher, the list honors the top 15 percent of colleges, universities and trade schools that are doing the most to embrace America's veterans as students. Based in Pittsburgh, the company publishes other military-based magazines, including The Guide to Military Friendly Schools, Military Spouse and Vetrepreneur magazines. The company also annually announces national ratings in the following categories: Military Friendly Employers, Military Spouse Friendly Employers and Best Corporations for Veteran-Owned Businesses. The full list of institutions included as military friendly schools for 2010 is available at: militaryfriendlyschools.com/mfspr.

The SimmonsCooper Cancer Institute at the SIU School of Medicine is hosting its ninth “Denim and Diamonds” fundraiser in Springfield, presented by the Simmons Law Firm, on Friday, October 2.  The funds raised will support SCCI’s Side-by-Side cancer wellness program, Patient Navigator program and cancer research efforts.  Side-by-Side expands the boundaries of conventional cancer care by bringing together traditional cancer fighting tools with complementary therapies, including nutritional support, mind-body medicine, meditation, music therapy, oncology rehabilitation and spiritual support.  The Patient Navigator program helps patients “navigate” the complex health care system and connects them to the resources they may need.  Event guests are encouraged to dress in their finest denim or formal attire for the event, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 3000 S. Dirksen Parkway, Springfield.  Tickets are available by calling (217)545-2955 weekdays.

Saluki senior inside linebacker Brandin Jordan and senior punter Scott Ravanesi have been named the Missouri Valley Football Conference Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Week, respectively, the league office announced Sept. 7.  Jordan led the Saluki defense in a 31-28 loss to Football Subdivision School Marshall with a game-high 12 tackles, one sack and another game-high two tackles for a loss.  Ravanesi averaged 45.5 yards on his four punts with one being downed inside the 20-yard line. Ravanesi's long punt on the day went for 50 yards and SIU netted 41.5 yards on his punts.  Southern Illinois opens its home schedule against Southwest Baptist, Saturday, Sept. 19 at McAndrew Stadium.  Kick-off is at 6 p.m.