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

A unique collection of Civil War-era documents spotlighting life in Southern Illinois during that period and the surrounding years is now available for viewing online courtesy of SIUC’s Morris Library Special Collections Research Center.  In commemoration of the war’s sesquicentennial, the “Southern Illinois Civil War” collection has become the 100th published collection in the library’s Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois Digital Collection.  The digital Civil War collection features handwritten letters, diaries and military orders spanning the period of 1861-1865 as well as the years before and after. The Ben Wiley and Mann family papers tell the story of Southern Illinois during that time period, shining a spotlight on the home front from the perspective of women whose husbands were serving in the Fifth Illinois Cavalry.

Legislators, military officials and key administrators from SIU and SIUE gathered recently in the Morris University Center’s Meridian Ballroom for the formal signing of an Education Partnership Agreement by SIUE Chancellor Vaughn Vandegrift and four-star Gen. Duncan J. McNabb, commander of the United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) at Scott Air Force Base. The Education Partnership Agreement paves the way for the expansion and enhancement of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education efforts at all levels of the education pipeline—from K-12 through undergraduate and graduate levels. It will allow professionals, including scientists and engineers through SIUE’s Center for STEM Research, Education and Outreach and USTRANSCOM, to work collaboratively to increase STEM outreach initiatives and include a broader audience of Southwestern Illinois educators and students.

Kristi Brownfield, a doctoral student in sociology at SIUC, is the Carl J. Couch Internet Research Award recipient for 2011.  The annual Couch Award, sponsored by the Carl Couch Center for Social and Internet Research, is open to graduate and undergraduate students of all disciplines. A four-person review committee judges theoretical and empirical papers on aspects of Internet research.  Brownfield’s paper is titled, “Shots to the canon: the emergence of interpretation in online fanvid discourse.” She posits that fanvids, which she defines as “clips and/or images from media such as television and film remixed to music in some sort of narrative message,” can serve as a “gauge for the diffusion of cultural narratives and cultural meaning.”  Award winners receive a cash prize and an invitation to present their research at this year’s annual conference of the Association of Internet Researchers, to be held in Seattle, Wash. in October.

The Illinois Small Business Development Center International Trade Center (ITC) at SIUE recently won the International Trade Center of the Year Award at the Illinois Export Conference Awards Luncheon. The Illinois Export Awards recognize companies that have achieved excellence in exporting and organizations that have provided substantial export assistance to Illinois companies. Governor Pat Quinn presented the awards at a June 21 luncheon in Chicago. The ITC was recognized for its performance on behalf of its clients to further Illinois export opportunities during the past year. According to ITC Director Silvia Torres Bowman, the ITC at SIUE assisted its clients in the generation of more than $71 million in export sales through its consulting, training and research services ($182 million in export sales generated in the last six years). The ITC has had a substantial presence in the entire Southern Illinois region since 1984 through various outreach centers and a former satellite office at SIU Carbondale. During the past ten years, the ITC has provided Latin America-specific counseling and training services to clients from the entire state, with the goal of improving the competitiveness of all Illinois companies through building exports to Central and South America.

A new program from the College of Business at SIUC offers a jump-start toward your goal of obtaining an MBA.  The college will for the first time this fall offer the MBA Foundation Workshops. During a two-week session just prior to the fall semester, the foundation workshops will provide incoming MBA students with the basic knowledge of core business subject areas.  The fall 2011 MBA Foundation Workshops are set for Aug. 8-12 and 15-19. The schedule each day provides intensive classroom instruction 9 a.m.-noon and 1:30-4:30 p.m.  To find out more about the MBA Foundation Workshops and how they can help you realize your dream of earning your MBA or improving your business skills, contact the College of Business Graduate Programs Office at (618)453-3030 or by emailing mba@business.siuc.edu.

Third-year students in the SIU School of Law now have the opportunity to learn about health law and policy while gaining practical experience within their fields of interest.  The law school’s nationally ranked Center for Health Law and Policy will offer the “Semester Away” program beginning this fall. The program allows students to move beyond legal theory and enables them to put practical applications in place.  The program follows the law school’s two other “Semester Away” opportunities in Criminal Trial Practice and Law and Government, which began during the 2009-2010 school year.  For now, the Semester Away program will be offered by the Center for Health Law and Policy only in the fall. The health law program recently ranked No. 19 in the country in U.S. News & World Report specialty rankings for law schools.

With teams from universities across the country, the Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (IME) student team from SIUE had plenty of competition in the 2011 Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) Design for Direct Digital Manufacturing Competition, but that did not deter them. Out of 20 teams, the SIUE IME team ranked second. Winners were announced at the SME’s annual conference and exposition held in Minneapolis, May 23-26. SIUE’s award-winning design was a customizable ceiling fan with adjustable blades, which allows for multiple air-flow rates, as opposed to the standard multiple speeds ceiling fans. Advised by SIUE’s H. Felix Lee, professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering, the IME team consisted of undergraduate students Edward Schwartzkopf Jr., Ismail Kuru, Andrew Parcels and Paul Jansen.

SIUC students in a program aimed at preparing them for research careers will present their latest projects during an event on campus.  The annual McNair Scholars Research Symposium is the culmination of the eight-week Summer Research Institute, which helps students prepare for graduate school by pairing them with faculty mentors on research projects.  Students and faculty will present their results beginning at 9 a.m. Friday, July 15, at the John C. Guyon Auditorium in Morris Library.  The students are part of the McNair Scholars Program at SIUC, which is named for the late Ronald E. McNair, a physicist and astronaut who died in the 1986 explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. John Koropchak, vice chancellor for research and dean of the graduate school, and John Nicklow, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, will present awards and mentor recognition at 3:35 p.m. following the presentations.

A research scientist at the SIU School of Medicine in Springfield has been awarded a two-year federal grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the impact of early developmental influences on aging and lifespan.  The total budget for the grant is $328,103.  Using mutant mice with a long life span, the study will evaluate the effects of introducing growth hormone in the first few weeks of life.  The results of the research may help increase understanding of the developmental influences on aging as well as how nutrition affects growth, health and life expectancy.  Andrzej Bartke, professor of internal medicine and physiology and SIUC distinguished scholar, is the principal investigator for the project.  This is the 16th grant Bartke has received at SIU for his research on longevity.

The SIUE Wind Symphony, an American university ensemble chosen to perform for an international music conference this summer, returned following a successful performance at the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles in Chiayi City, Taiwan. SIUE Music Professor John Bell led the group of performers for the once-in-a-lifetime experience. The band worked closely with local businesses this spring to raise money for the trip.

SIUC football fans are invited to the Saluki "Tag Day" event that will be held on Thursday, July 21 from 5-8 p.m. inside Saluki Stadium.  The tag day is designed to give fans the opportunity to select their season ticket location from the seating still available.  Football season ticket prices remain $95 for adults and $50 for youth. A $250 Family Pack features season tickets for two adults and three children. Faculty/staff can purchase a season ticket for $90.  The 2011 Southern Illinois football home schedule features five games and opens with Family Weekend on Sept. 24 when the Salukis host Missouri State at 6 p.m.