A Message from the Dean - Summer 2021
A new semester has begun at SIUE. Even though COVID-19 is still with us, the campus is remarkably different than it was a year ago. Last year, most classes were being offered online. This year, about half of our courses are being offered either fully face-to-face or with a face-to-face component such as a lab session.
About 1,900 new first-year students have joined the SIUE community, and the campus is humming with activity. We have adjusted to the need to wear masks and to keep our distance from other people. Most of us are vaccinated, and that further reduces the risk that people will contract COVID or develop serious illness if they do contract the disease. If you have not yet been vaccinated, I encourage you to go to a pharmacy at your earliest convenience.
CAS celebrated a milestone late this summer. Segue, the weekly radio program begun by Dean Aldemaro Romero in March 2011, broadcast its 500th episode on Sunday, August 22. The show, co-hosted by Chancellor Randy Pembrook, WSIE General Manager Jason Church, and me, featured excerpts from episodes 100, 200, 300, and 400. It also included interviews with Grant Andree, the director of Arts and Issues, who was Dean Greg Budzban’s guest for episode 300, and John Charles, the executive director for Governmental & Public Affairs in the SIU Office of the President, who was Chancellor Pembrook’s guest for episode 400. A recording of the episode, along with recordings of other episodes, is available on the CAS Segue page.
A highlight of summer 2021 for seven SIUE students was a 3,500-mile journey around the Great Plains. The students were part of the GEOPATHS program funded by the National Science Foundation, which engages undergraduates in geoscience-related research opportunities. Accompanied by SIUE faculty Alan Black, PhD; Shunfu Hu, PhD; Adriana Martinez, PhD; and Sharon Locke, PhD, the students chased storms and visited natural features.
CAS faculty members have received funding from federal agencies to support innovative efforts to serve our communities. The Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program (BHWET), led by Melissa Bogle, DNP, an assistant professor in the SIUE School of Nursing, and Jayme Swanke, PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Social Work, was awarded $1.8 million from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to increase the number of mental health providers, especially in rural communities.
Community-Oriented Digital Engagement Scholars (CODES), led by Jessica DeSpain, PhD, professor in the Department of English Language and Literature and co-director of the SIUE Interdisciplinary Research and Informatics (IRIS) Center, and Connie Frey Spurlock, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Sociology and director of the SIUE Successful Communities Collaborative (SSCC), received a $100,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. CODES is a three-year project that will implement a general education pathway that will introduce underserved students to digital community engagement.
On Thursday, September 23, SIUE will honor nine exceptional graduates at its annual Alumni Hall of Fame Ceremony. CAS has two alumni selected for this honor: Jessica McCaskill, who earned her BA in Communications in 2006, and Bill Land, who earned his BA in Mass Communications in 1973. McCaskill began boxing professionally in 2015 and became the unified and undisputed welterweight champion in 2020. Ring Magazine named her 2018’s Most Inspiration Fighter, and World Boxing News named her Women’s Fighter of the Year for 2020. Land has been the TV play-by-play voice of the San Antonio Spurs for 18 years.
Other notable news from CAS includes:
- Amanda Depew, who completed her master’s in social work in August 2021, was named Illinois’ 2020 Student Veteran of the Year.
- Justin Schulz, who graduated from SIUE in 2014 with a bachelor’s in criminal justice studies, was named the 2020 Officer of the Year by the Gulf Shores Police Department (GSPD) in Gulf Shores, Alabama.
- Leah O’Brien, PhD, Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Chemistry, was named the recipient of the American Chemical Society’s St. Louis Section Award.
- STEM students in CAS and the SIUE School of Engineering will benefit from the creation of the Jim and Julie McPike Scholarship Endowment. The Endowment, which was funded with an initial gift of $432,000, will cover one year of tuition and fees for junior or senior students, with preference given to qualifying women, majoring in math, science, or engineering.
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