February 5, 2008

Dear SIUC Faculty and Staff:

Fernando M. TreviñoThe spring semester is well under way.  The second half of the academic year is always an exciting time, and I look forward to tackling the challenges ahead.

One of the challenges that we are addressing as a university community is enrollment.  Thanks to the hard work of Assistant Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management Victoria Valle and her staff, our enrollment numbers continue to look promising.

Compared to this same time last year, SIUC has grown by more than 130 students.  The number of first time students is up, as is the number of transfers.  It also appears that we may be turning the corner on retention.  This is all very good news for the University.  It is evidence that a lot of work undertaken by a group of dedicated people is starting to pay off.  Again, they are to be congratulated.

Thanks to the generosity of Greg and Nancy Cook, our Saluki Way project is another step closer to reality.  The Cook's have donated $1 million to the Saluki Way athletic facilities project.  During an emotional news conference at the SIU Arena, Cook said the donation is in memory of his father, a long-time Saluki Fan.  Greg is president and co-founder of Cook Portable Warehouses and majored in business administration at SIUC. 

Athletics director Mario Moccia has indicated that construction on a new football stadium begins this fall and it won't be long before our great campus has a whole new look.  I believe this is a very exciting time to be at SIUC. 

Another $1 million has found its way to SIUC - in the form of a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA.  Nicholas Pinter, a professor in SIUC's geology department, along with colleagues from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and local planners will work with 17 Southern Illinois counties to assess disaster preparedness.  It is a great community service program that should involve SIUC students and staff, and of course, faculty.  Congratulations to Dr. Pinter on this very important project.

Congratulations to Professor Peggy Stockdale, who was named as the new president of the SIUC Faculty Senate.  Dr. Stockdale assumed the duties when Dr. Ramanarayanan Viswanathan ended his term early after being named the interim dean of the College of Engineering.

Alejandro Figueroa, a December 2007 marketing graduate, was profiled by NBC's Today Show on December 25.  You can watch the profile at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v= Lryq3PqiZNg.  A car crash in 2000 left Alejandro with a traumatic brain injury.  He was in a coma for six weeks and had to learn to walk and talk all over again.  Alejandro didn't let any of that stop him.  He enrolled in SIUC's College of Business and Administration in 2004 and is now the first college graduate in his family.

More good news from the College of Business and Administration:  Siva Balasubramanian, Henry J. Rehn Professor of Marketing, has been named the North American Regional Editor of the British Food Journal.  In addition to his work in food consumption behaviors, Balasubramanian also researches new types of marketing messages such as product placement, customer relationship management, new product diffusion, and the impact of strategic business decisions on shareholders' wealth.  The British Food Journal is known worldwide for its broad and unique interdisciplinary coverage of food-related research.

William Recktenwald, SIUC's journalist-in-residence, recently won a Fulbright Senior Specialists Award from the U.S. State Department.  He will spend six weeks teaching journalism classes at two universities in Uganda.  Recktenwald retired from the Chicago Tribune before joining SIUC and is no stranger to overseas assignments.  You may recall that he was among the survivors of that devastating tsunami that swept over Sri Lanka in 2004.

Seventy-three percent (73%) of the students attending SIUC receive some form of financial aid.  Earlier this month, our financial aid office mailed out some $20 million in refund checks to about 8,400 students.  The refunds represent the dollars left over after a student's financial aid pays what is owed to the University, and is meant for such things as books and living expenses.  It also represents a large amount of money that's being pumped back into the local economy.

NICHE Magazine, a trade journal for craft gallery retailers, has selected two SIUC students to participate in its national NICHE Award competition.  Kyoung Hwa Oh, from South Korea, is a finalist in functional ceramics with "Water Vase 2," and Yoshi Fujii, from Japan, is a finalist in sculptural ceramics with "Hub."  Both students will be featured in the spring issue of the magazine.  Winners will be announced on February 17th.

As most of you probably know, SIUC hired a new football coach over the winter break.  Dale Lennon comes to us from the University of North Dakota.  We are optimistic that his success there carries over to Southern Illinois.  If you happen to see Coach Lennon, welcome him and his family to the campus and community.

SIUC's men's basketball team returns home today, February 5 for a game against Indiana State.  Tip off is at 7:05 p.m.   I encourage you to attend the game and show your support of Coach Lowry and the team.

The SIUC women's basketball team is hoping for a big crowd on Friday, February 8.  Dana Eikenberg's team takes on Missouri State at 7:05 p.m. in the SIU Arena.   That night is also the second annual "Pink Out," designed to raise awareness about breast cancer.  All breast cancer survivors will be admitted free.  Those who attend a pre-game reception in the upper concourse of the Arena will receive a "Pink-Out" shirt and will be recognized at half time.  The Salukis will wear pink uniforms provided by Rawlings.

I also want to take time to congratulate Super Bowl champion Brandon Jacobs of the New York Giants.  The former Saluki threw the block that allowed Eli Manning to toss the game-winning pass to Plaxico Burress in Sunday's Super Bowl.  It wasn't all that long ago that Brandon was delighting Saluki fans at McAndrew Stadium.

As a final note, I want to thank each of you for your hard work and dedication in moving our University forward.  Have a great spring semester.

Sincerely,

Fernando M. Treviņo
Chancellor