A Message from the Dean - April 2022
The end of the 2021-2022 academic year is upon us! April has been a whirlwind of special, annual and end-of-semester events. For the first time in two years, people were able to gather in campus spaces for many of these events.
Early in the month, Walter Blass, a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor and former director of the Peace Corps in Afghanistan visited several different sites in the SIU System. He spoke at the SIU School of Medicine in Springfield, SIUE, the SIUE East St. Louis Center, and SIU Carbondale. Students from several programs in CAS had the opportunity to listen to Blass and ask him questions about his experiences.
SIUE hosted nearly 100 admitted students and members of their families during its annual Admitted Student Visit Day for multicultural students on April 11. The students and families were treated to a student performance by the Black Theatre Workshop, led by Kathryn Bentley, associate professor in the Department of Theater and Dance.
On the same day, students and faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences were among the participants in an event at the SIUE East St. Louis Learning Resource Center. SIUE’s Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Center debuted its documentary film, “We the Authors,” which was created and produced by Jesus Garcia, a senior majoring in applied communication studies. The film stars East St. Louis residents who have shared their stories as part of an oral history project.
Arts & Issues and the Department of Physics’ William C. Shaw Lecture Series featured Brian Greene, professor of mathematics and physics at Columbia University and the author of several books written for general readers, on April 14. The Department of Theater and Dance presented its spring production, the musical “Rent” to enthusiastic audiences. Performances occurred April 20-24.
SIUE raised more than $572,000 in its inaugural One Day, One SIUE Day of Giving on April 21. Students, staff, faculty, alumni, and members of the Metro East community celebrated the University on Stratton Quadrangle. As the sun set, the buildings surrounding the Quad were illuminated with red lights.
SIUE’s Concert Choir and Treble Chorus performed in a Concert for Ukraine on April 26. During the concert Sophia Wilson, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science who grew up in Ukraine, spoke about Ukrainian history and culture. Shang-Tian Yang, PhD, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at The Ohio State University, delivered the Department of Chemistry’s Probst Lecture on April 27. The title of Dr. Yang’s lecture was “Industrial Biotechnology and Biorefineries in a Circular Bioeconomy.”
In April we also learned that SIUE has been recognized as a 2022-23 Military Friendly School. The designation acknowledges the University’s commitment to connect the military and civilian worlds through the Office of Military and Veteran Services.
Other notable news from CAS includes:
- CAS hosted its 2022 Honors Day convocation on Sunday, April 10. More than 300 students received 357 scholarships and awards.
- The Department of Mass Communications is offering a new Digital Media Literacy Post-Baccalaureate Certificate, which can be completed online in a single summer.
- Twenty-five students from programs in the College received Research Grants for Graduate Students in spring 2022.
- Ruth Slenczynska, artist-in-residence in the Department of Music from 1964 until 1987, signed a record deal in January 2022. She is 97 years old and was featured on CBS Sunday Morning.
Please read more about these people and their accomplishments in This Month in CAS, and tune in to Segue at 9 a.m. on Sundays to learn about people and events on the SIUE campus.
Kevin Leonard, PhD
Dean, College of Arts and Sciences