East St. Louis Center

Many hands drew, colored and dipped themselves into paint with one common purpose – to illustrate the importance of diversity. The hands belonged to students at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Cahokia Head Start Center. The reason was to participate in SIUE’s second annual Diversity Day on Tuesday, Oct. 15. 

“My center has participated in Diversity Day for the past two years,” said Florence Y. Chears-Lawrence, Cahokia Head Start Center coordinator. “...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Pre-Collegiate Programs welcomed 21 students to campus on Thursday, Oct. 10 from SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) and Collinsville High School, according to Makesha Harris Lee, EdD, assistant director.  

During the first Pre-Collegiate event of the 2019-20 school year, juniors and seniors spent a full day attending the following breakout sessions: Leadership Development, Financial Aid, Paying for College via an Interactive Game of...

Well-meaning people can unintentionally create isolation, inequities and even harm to those who are different from themselves, according to Howard Ross, leading social justice advocate and influential expert on identifying and addressing unconscious bias. 

Ross, founder of Cook Ross and best-selling author, was the keynote speaker on Tuesday, Oct. 15 during Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s second annual Diversity Day. The two-day event, under the theme “From Awarenes...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Upward Bound (UB) program will receive $5,000 in award money, thanks to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) winning the grand prize in the 2019 America’s Transportation Awards, which is the top honor for state departments of transportation. 

IDOT secured the prize because of its joint effort with the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) to improve mobility and access throughout the Metro East region. The award ma...

The words “new and improved” may seem cliché and trite in some instances, but they are the most accurate way to describe the progress at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center’s Learning Resource Center (LRC). 

LRC’s evolving story has become more compelling because of the advancements in recent years, according to LRC Director Rebecca Harper. She divides LRC’s improvements into the following categories: updates, programming and s...

Now, in addition to picking up their child from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Head Start/Early Head Start Discovery Center for Little Scholars, parents can also receive a bag filled with such things as diapers, toiletries and cereal. 

“​I wanted to begin a staff service project this year that everyone could participate in,” said Heidi Eichenseer, Discovery Center coordinator. “We have always talked about hygiene with our families, but I wanted to take it...

Just one week is left to vote for an Illinois Department of Transportation effort with Missouri as the top transportation project in the country. On the line is prestige and $5,000 in prize money that IDOT will award to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Upward Bound program.

“At IDOT, we take great pride in our mission to plan, build and maintain a multimodal system of transportation that’s safe, reliable and improves quality of life,” said Acting Illinois Tran...

There was plenty of finger pointing and squeals, but it was done in amazement and joy. Students from the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center’s (ESLC) Project Success program viewed their finished work of art on Friday, Sept. 13. 

Celebrated artist and SIUE alumna Edna Patterson Petty unveiled the quilt that the students took weeks to complete this summer. The Children’s Quilting Project: Healing through Art was made possible through a grant...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Denise Cobb, PhD, has named Timothy Staples, EdD, as director of the East St. Louis Center (ESLC), effective Monday, Sept. 23.

Staples’ energetic and engaging commitment to the University was recognized during his tenure as the interim director of the East St. Louis Center, a role he assumed in October 2018.

“It is with excitement and genuine hope that I welcome Timothy back to the East St. L...

A discussion on cannabis, which will soon be legal to use and sell in measured doses in Illinois, brought together a roomful of legislators, lawyers, law enforcement officials, community members and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center (ESLC) directors and staff members on Thursday, Sept. 12 at the East St. Louis Higher Education Campus. 

“We’re here to let you know what’s coming in 2020 about House Bill 1438, which regards the use of cannabis i...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s second annual Diversity Day celebration, under the theme “From Awareness to Action, SIUE Shaping a Changing World,” will be held Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 14-15 with educational and active engagement sessions at the Edwardsville, East St. Louis and Alton campuses.

“We are extremely excited for the powerful messages and action items that will be conveyed throughout our 2019 Diversity Day programming,” said Venessa Brown, PhD, a...

Within the circle, feelings of hurt, anger and reflection were shared with open honesty, and were met with understanding and support. The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS) hosted “Coffee, Conversation and Dessert” on Friday, Aug. 9. The event dealt with the Netflix miniseries, “When They See Us,” created, co-written and directed by Ava DuVernay, and was coordinated and hosted by CHS Director Gina Jeffries, EdD. 

&#822...

The torrential morning rains did nothing to dampen the excitement as students strolled down a red carpet Monday, Aug. 12, and into their first day at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Charter High School (CHS). 

“Our students are the stars at the SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School, and we wanted to treat them like it,” said Gina Jeffries, EdD, CHS director. “We, the Charter High School faculty and staff are the supporting actors.” &#...

The advantages of banks over check cashing services, how to manage banking accounts, how to improve your credit score and how to establish and stick to a budget were some of the financial guidance participants received on Tuesday, Aug. 6 at the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Learning Resource Center’s (LRC) Lunch and Learn workshop. 

Banking and Budgeting 101 was the first of a three-part financial assistance workshop, which was held as part of LRC’s L...

There were applauds, shouts and cries of exaltations for jobs well done – and expectation of what is to come. Students in the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville East St. Louis Center Upward Bound Math and Science (UBMS) Cahokia-Madison and Upward Bound Scholar’s Academy (UBSA) were awarded with medals, ribbons and trophies acknowledging their commitment to and participation in the programs during a ceremony held Thursday, July 25 in Bluff Hall. 

“We wanted to celeb...