Impact Stories
Donors can make an impact at SIUE every day. Read more about how generosity helps create a lasting impact on the SIUE community. Be inspired.
Scholarships Reflect Donor’s Dedication and Values
Jackie Johnsen Hammer, whose father, Norman Johnsen, played an important role in establishing SIUE, has strengthened her ties to the University by creating two scholarships.
In honor of her late husband, Hammer created the Jeffrey S. Hammer, MD, Memorial Scholarship. Jeffrey was a prominent psychiatrist in the region and a leader in healthcare informatics who took photographs at local events to financially support himself through medical school. The scholarship in his honor is available for undergraduate or graduate students majoring in art and design with a focus in photography/digital arts.
A second scholarship, the Jackie Johnsen Hammer and Jeffrey Hammer Memorial Scholarship, will be created through a planned gift to support graduate students majoring in healthcare informatics.
Susan G. Komen® Missouri Grants $20K to SIUE’s WE CARE Clinic
The SIUE School of Nursing’s WE CARE Clinic, located in East St. Louis, received a $20,000 grant from Susan G. Komen Missouri to expand its services, including clinical breast exams, mammograms (screening and diagnostic), ultrasounds, biopsies, transportation, and additional support services such as mastectomy bras, for underserved populations.
WE CARE Clinic Director Jerrica Ampadu, PhD, RN, CCP, notes research has shown that although Black women are less likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer, they are 40% more likely to die from it than white women. This funding is helping to bridge the gap in care for Black women and women of low socioeconomic status.
Industry Partners Generously Support SIUE Construction Teacher-Scholars
The School of Engineering created the Faculty Advancement Endowment to provide teacher-scholars in the Department of Construction with the resources needed to develop applied research and enhance curriculum. Realizing the return on investment these faculty members make by developing future leaders, industry partners are showing their support by contributing to this growing endowment.
To date, three generous partners have contributed $25,000 each, including the Southern Illinois Construction Advancement Program (SICAP) of the Southern Illinois Builders Association (SIBA); Holland Construction Services; and Contegra Construction.
SIUE Athletics Opens Harry Gallatin Golf Practice Facility
The Harry Gallatin SIUE Golf Practice Facility is an indoor practice facility at Sunset Hills Country Club in Edwardsville named in honor of legendary SIUE coach and supporter, the late Harry Gallatin. Gallatin envisioned a first-class facility that would increase student-athlete training opportunities year round.
The 1,840-square-foot facility cost approximately $500,000 and includes three indoor hitting bays, a golf training simulator room, an indoor putting surface and the ability to open the doors to hit out into a redeveloped driving range.
Former SIU President Establishes Endowment for Education Students
Former Southern Illinois University President Glenn Poshard, PhD, and his wife, Jo, have donated $100,000 to establish the Glenn and Jo Poshard Scholarship Endowment in the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior. The scholarship will be dedicated to community college transfer students majoring in education or teaching with demonstrated financial need and with a minimum GPA of 3.0.
SIUE Nursing Legends and Legacies Circle Celebrates Donors
The SIUE Nursing Legends and Legacies Circle celebrates the lasting partnership formed with donors who have included a bequest or planned gift commitment in their estate plans for the benefit of the School of Nursing.
“I was fortunate to receive financial assistance while pursuing my nursing degree at SIUE. We hope our gift will help nursing students achieve their career goals, as well as inspire others who are in a financial position to ‘pay it forward,’” said Saundra Spilotro, BSN ’69. Spilotro and her husband, Peter, made the School’s first planned gift commitment in 2014.
Nursing Gems Scholarship Recipient Pays It Forward
As a BSN student in 2013, Mat Hettiger was the recipient of the Nursing Gems of 2009 Scholarship. This award was created by three male nursing alumni from the class of 2009 who wanted to support the success of male students in the BSN program. Hettiger, now working in a cardiac ICU, is paying forward the generosity he received by supporting the scholarship’s 2021 award.
New Scholarship Endowment Supports Students in STEM
The Jim and Julie McPike Scholarship Endowment at SIUE has been created with an initial gift of $432,000 to support students in STEM. Jim McPike, who earned a master’s in economics at SIUE in 1974 and served as the Majority Leader in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1983-95, donated his remaining political account funds to support the endowment.
“The funds remaining in my political account could be used in three ways,” McPike said. “I could accept them as personal income subject to state and federal taxes, transfer them to another political account, or donate them to a 501(c)(3) charity. I decided the best use for the funds would be to support scholarships at SIUE.”
The scholarship 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 within the College of Arts and Sciences or the School of Engineering.
Family of Alumnus Michael Yancey Creates Scholarship in His Name
Michael Yancey, BS Mass Communications '93, was a pioneer in helping launch SIUE’s Alumni Ambassador Program and was a prominent member in Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., after pledging during his student days at SIUE. In his memory and honor, Michael’s family created the Michael E. Yancey Sphinx-man Scholarship endowment fund to award an annual $1,000 scholarship to an SIUE sophomore, with preference given to Black and Native American applicants.
“Because of Michael’s life’s work of reaching out and helping young men through his fraternity, the family thought it fitting to set up this memorial scholarship in his name,” said Khalid Yancey, Michael’s brother.
The scholarship supports the needs of a first-generation student enrolled in their second year at SIUE with a GPA between 2.4 and 2.9.
