SIU President's Communique (5-18-2012)

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Weekly Communiqué (May 18, 2012)

SIUC Project Will Enrich Campus Life, Enhance Safety
Luer Named Associate Dean of SIUE School of Pharmacy
SIUC Engineering Team Finishes in Top Six in Cornell Cup
SIUC Earns Recognition for Volunteerism
SIUE Science Team Wins EPA Recognition
SIUC Names Coal Research Center Director
New $1.7 Million Grant Funds Asian Carp Research
“The Other 40” Showcases Business Talent at SIUE
Grant Will Enhance SIUC’s Recycling Efforts
Commencement Set for SIU Medical School on May 19
SIU Board of Trustees Approves Contracts
SIUC’s Mallory Duran-Sellers Named MVC Player of the Year

1. SIUC Project Will Enrich Campus Life, Enhance Safety

Plans for a pedestrian mall to be built this summer on the east side of SIUC’s Faner Hall will enrich campus life and enhance student safety. The $1.25 million project will include replacing the current walkways, and add fresh landscaping, raised planters, seating areas, and improved outdoor lighting. Work should be completed by mid-August. The landscaping project is from Faner Drive south to the Student Center, and connects with landscaping from the pedestrian overpass to the area between the site of the Student Services Building and Parkinson Hall. The revamped area will be more pedestrian friendly by eliminating the staid paved walkways with multi-colored concrete and various aggregate materials, and project a more welcoming environment for students to meet.

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2. Luer Named Associate Dean of SIUE School of Pharmacy

Mark S. Luer from the SIUE School of Pharmacy has been named associate dean for professional and student affairs. School of Pharmacy Dean Gireesh Gupchup made the appointment, which was confirmed by the SIU Board of Trustees at its regular May meeting last week on the SIUE campus. Luer has served as the school’s director of clinical programs since 2010. In that role, he fostered the development of affiliated residencies and established a foundation for clinical program expansion. Prior to joining the SIUE faculty, Luer held faculty positions at the University of Illinois-Chicago College of Pharmacy and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Pharmacy. He earned bachelor’s and doctorate degrees in pharmacy from the Saint Louis College of Pharmacy. He completed two residencies and a research fellowship at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. Luer also completed the AACP Academic Leadership Fellows Program (ALFP) in 2006 and is a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy.

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3. SIUC Engineering Team Finishes in Top Six in Cornell Cup

SIUC students engineered their way to a high finish at a contest open to all colleges and universities in the United States. The team, advised by Haibo Wang and Ning Weng, both associate professors of electrical and computer engineering, and April Peterson, a 2010 graduate in civil and environmental engineering, received an honorable mention as one of the top six teams in the Cornell Cup USA national competition. The team received word after competing May 4 and 5 in Orlando, Fla. The Cornell Cup USA, presented by Intel, is aimed at motivating students to create newer and better embedded technology designs. The competition, in its inaugural year, also gives student team members the opportunity to strengthen their resumes and demonstrate their professional design skills, which companies want. Students also must find ways to go from the proverbial drawing board to reality.

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4. SIUC Earns Recognition for Volunteerism

For the fifth consecutive year, SIUC has earned national recognition for its commitment to volunteerism. The Corporation for National and Community Service announced recently that the University has earned a place on the 2012 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. The award honors students, faculty and staff for their commitment to improving communities and lives through community service, service learning and civic engagement. The Honor Roll debuted in 2006 and SIU Carbondale has been on the list each year since 2007. CNCS collaborates with the U.S. Departments of Education and Housing and Urban Development, Campus Compact and the American Council on Education to sponsor the program. The Honor Roll recognition covers the 12-month period from July 1, 2010, through June 30, 2011. Between August 2010 and June 2011 alone, more than 3,100 University students contributed more than 43,000 hours of service through Saluki Volunteer Corps. Meanwhile, they raised more than $86,519 for local, national and international causes and organizations.

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5. SIUE Science Team Wins EPA Recognition

Soon it may be possible for Americans to partly improve their health by eating mushrooms enriched with a mineral nutrient called selenium. And it could be said that it was partially due to the efforts of a SIUE science project team. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded the SIUE science team with an Honorable Mention at its recent People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Student Design competition in Washington, D.C. The SIUE students included: Samuel Haddad, a senior biological sciences major, Jie Hong, a graduate environmental sciences student, and Jennifer Morrissy, a graduate environmental sciences student. Dr. Zhiqing Lin, associate professor of biological sciences and environmental sciences, was their advisor. The team was chosen in the EPA’s second and final phase of the competition, which awarded and recognized college and university teams for their innovative environmental solutions. The EPA competition was held during the 8th Annual National Sustainable Design Expo on the National Mall. More than 45 teams, including SIUE, showcased their projects designed to protect the environment, encourage economic growth and use natural resources more sustainably. Fifteen university and college teams from across the country were awarded more than $1 million in grants. SIUE did not receive money in the last round, but was given an honorable mention.

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6. SIUC Names Coal Research Center Director

A long-time researcher at SIUC will lead its flagship coal research center on an ongoing basis, after serving as its interim leader since last summer. Tomasz S. Wiltowski, professor of mechanical engineering and energy process, will become director of the Coal Extraction and Utilization Research Center. Wiltowski, who has served as interim director since September, follows John Mead, who retired last year. Wiltowski earned his Master of Science degree in chemical engineering from Technical University, Cracow, Poland, in 1974 and earned his doctorate in catalysis from the Institute of Catalysis and Surface Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences in 1984. He arrived at SIU Carbondale in 1985 and has worked with the staff of the Coal Research Center since 1990. His research interests include coal and biomass gasification, hydrogen production, Fisher-Tropsch synthesis of liquid fuels, and heterogeneous catalysis, and he has brought in at least 39 grants from state and federal agencies and private industry, totaling more than $8.5 million, to pursue such research over the years. Wiltowski also has three patents to his name and is the recipient of multiple awards.

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7. New $1.7 Million Grant Funds Asian Carp Research

Researchers at SIUC who are leading the way in combating the invasive Asian carp species will be able to continue their work with the help of nearly $1.7 million in new grant money. The two-year grant, which will fund the University’s ongoing research on the Asian carp problem, comes from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative law. The grant is the latest in an 18-month effort to quantify the Asian carp problem and identify potential solutions. The team recently issued a report that stated the large, invasive fish now comprises more than 60 percent of the total fish biomass in one of Illinois’ major river systems.

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8. “The Other 40” Showcases Business Talent at SIUE

Because it has been reported that roughly 60 percent of business enterprises fail, SIUE’s School of Business and the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO) joined forces for the annual “The Other 40,” a showcase of student talent and enterprise to promote business success. The business pitch competition recently was held in the Morris University Center on campus. Created last year by senior business students Drew Foster and Matt McElwee, the event was organized to promote student entrepreneurship and innovation by providing individuals with the resources, skills and incentives required to launch businesses from initiation to incorporation. More than $10,000 in cash and support was awarded to the top three students and/or student groups based on innovation, achievement and growth potential. Each of the winning ideas was awarded a professional service support package in addition to a cash prize. This year, the primary funding for the competition came from the SIUE School of Business. Additional future support for the competition will come from a $120,000 grant to the School of Business for entrepreneurship education from John (MBA ’75) and Eileen Martinson of Lawrenceville, N.J. through The Martinson Family Foundation. Winners of the 2012 “The Other 40” competition are Chico Weber, a senior engineering major, who received $5,000 and a first-place prize; Ron Brier, a senior business major, who received $2,500 and second place; and graduate students Jomo Akpore, Cory Beck, Tyler Biekert and Chance Webb, and seniors Nick Santella and Scott Adcock, who won $1,000 and took third place.

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9. Grant Will Enhance SIUC’s Recycling Efforts

A new grant will enhance ongoing recycling and sustainability efforts at SIUC. The Alcoa Foundation, in partnership with the national not-for-profit Keep America Beautiful and the College and University Recycling Coalition, is providing the University with 150 recycling bins. It is part of a national program to expand recycling efforts and involves 32 colleges and universities. Work is under way to place the 150 new SIUC can and bottle bins at eight campus buildings. The new bins are being placed next to a trashcan in each location, and at most spots there are also paper-recycling bins. The goal is to make recycling as easy as possible. Alcoa sponsors a number of other recycling programs and initiatives including the RecycleMania competition for universities and colleges with SIU Carbondale as a 2012 participant, taking third place in the Missouri Valley Conference and finishing close to the top third in the overall national contest.

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10. Commencement Set for SIU Medical School on May 19

Commencement exercises for the 38th graduating class of the SIU School of Medicine will be held at noon Saturday, May 19. The ceremony will be in the Sangamon Auditorium at the University of Illinois Springfield. The commencement speaker is Dr. Fitzhugh Mullan, the Murdock head professor of medicine and health policy at George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. His talk is titled, “Doctors and Flat Screens: Social Mission in Medical Education.” During the ceremony, Alison Marie Saulog, class chair from Salem, will deliver remarks on behalf of the graduates. Dr. J. Kevin Dorsey, Ph.D., dean and provost, will award diplomas to the medical students. SIUC Chancellor Rita H. Cheng will confer the degrees.

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11. SIU Board of Trustees Approves Contracts

The SIU Board of Trustees recently awarded more than $2.5 million in contracts to three Illinois companies and a Missouri company for projects on the SIU Edwardsville campus and the SIU School of Dental Medicine campus in Alton. Christ Brothers Asphalt, Inc., of Lebanon, will resurface a portion of North University Drive and add asphalt shoulders to both North University and East University Drives at a bid cost of $1,171,933.40. The project is funded through University plant funds and is expected to be completed prior to the start of the fall semester. Byrne & Jones Construction of St. Louis will resurface the track at Korte Stadium at a bid cost of $1,145,400. The rubberized track was installed at Korte Stadium in 1994 and has exceeded its life expectancy. The project is funded through University plant funds and is expected to be completed prior to scheduled events in August. Tindall Construction Co., Inc., of Pontoon Beach, and Camp Electric & Heating Co., Inc., of Alton, were selected to manage the site work and electrical work, respectively, in the construction of the multi-discipline laboratory at the SIU School of Dental Medicine in Alton. The two contractors will complete the site utility work necessary for the project. Tindall’s bid was $143,400, and Camp’s bid was $96,575. The final electrical conversion in this portion of the project will be completed during July when students are not in the building.

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12. SIUC’s Mallory Duran-Sellers Named MVC Player of the Year

Mallory Duran-Sellers was named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year and was one of six Salukis to earn All-Conference honors earlier this month at the annual league banquet held at SIU Arena. The senior from Windsor, Colo., has had an excellent campaign in 2012 as she leads the Salukis with a .370 batting average, 61 hits, 12 doubles, four home runs, 24 RBI and 43 walks drawn. She has also scored 61 runs on the season, which broke the SIU and MVC single season records. Also quick on the base path, Duran-Sellers has a team-high 16 stolen bases and has a .990 fielding percentage on the season. A top 10 finalist for the Lowe's Senior Class Award, Duran-Sellers is a 2011 Academic All-American and 2012 Academic All-District V selection. In addition, she is a two-time first-team MVC Scholar-Athlete selection, has made the Dean's List seven semesters, and is a Top 25 Most Distinguished Senior at SIU and holds a 4.0 GPA in English education.

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