A Message from the Dean - October 2021
October represents the mid-point of the fall semester at SIUE. It is also the month in which seasonal changes become most apparent. Temperatures drop, hours of daylight shorten, and leaves change color and drop from the trees. October 2021 has brought welcome news to the campus. The high rate of vaccinations among SIUE students, staff, and faculty, social distancing requirements, and face mask requirements in indoor spaces have successfully prevented the spread of COVID-19 on campus.
In October we pause to reflect on, honor, and acknowledge Indigenous peoples and their experiences. In the first week of the month, a virtual conference examined indigenous knowledge and sustainability in the St. Louis area. The conference represented a partnership between SIUE and several other institutions. It was sponsored and supported by SIUE’s Native American Studies Program, the Center for Spirituality & Sustainability, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Office of Research and Projects, the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, the Saint Louis Zoo, and the Missouri Botanical Garden.
This year Indigenous People’s Day fell on October 11, which is also National Coming Out Day. This day, first observed in 1988, is designed to raise awareness of issues facing LGBTQI individuals and communities and to counteract prejudice and discrimination. Observation of Indigenous People’s Day and National Coming Out Day is consistent with the CAS Diversity Statement, which calls upon students, staff, and faculty in the College “to recognize the intrinsic value of every human being in an increasingly interconnected world.”
On October 9, faculty and students from CAS participated in the inaugural East St. Louis Family Fun Festival, sponsored by the Emma L. Wilson King Foundation. Among the SIUE participants were Connie Frey Spurlock, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Sociology and director of the Successful Communities Collaborative and the Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation Campus Center, and Elizabeth Welter and Hailey Johnson, students in Sociology 333 – Sociology for Careers and Life, taught by Instructor Elizabeth Stygar.
CAS faculty are key participants in an effort to meet the need for data-savvy workers in the food and agricultural sector. A team led by Carrie Butts-Wilmsmeyer, PhD, director of the SIUE Center for Predictive Analytics and an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, has received $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to advance data training resources. The project will support the development of a data-driven food and agricultural workforce in the State of Illinois and in the St. Louis Metro Area.
Other notable news from CAS includes:
- Jacqueline Butler, an integrative studies major with focus areas in sociology and psychology, designed a senior assignment that provided 100 individuals with free hearing aids and a lifetime of free service for the devices.
- George Diak, who earned his master’s in history in December 2020, is the 2021 recipient of the SIUE Graduate School’s Outstanding Thesis Award. His thesis focuses on the efforts of the residents of Gorleben, a town in Germany, to prevent the development of a nuclear waste storage facility.
- Abbey Hepner, assistant professor in the Department of Art and Design, recently published a book, The Light at the End of History: Reacting to Nuclear Impact. The book features Hepner’s photographs of subjects related to the development and testing of nuclear weapons and power.
- The SIUE University Museum was awarded a $153,459 grant by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The grant, part of the IMLS’s Museums for America program, will fund the next stage of an ongoing effort to inventory the Museum’s collections.
- Kathleen Vongsathorn, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of History, will present “Forgotten Narratives: Why We Don’t Learn about Africa’s Impressive History” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 28, via Zoom. The talk is part of the SIUE Sankofa Lecture and Dialogue Series.
Please read more about these people and their accomplishments in This Month in CAS, and tune in to Segue on WSIE 88.7FM 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
