News

The Graduate School at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in conjunction with the Office of the Provost has announced the Distinguished Research Professor Award to two faculty members: Kristine Hildebrandt, PhD, and Faith Liebl, PhD.

The committee of distinguished research faculty awarded Drs. Hildebrandt and Liebl the promotion to Distinguished Research Professor based on each of their significant research output...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville announced two Fall 2025 URCA Research Assistant and Creative Activities Assistant of the Semester awards: Emma Prott who graduates this December with a degree in environmental toxicology, and Ella Young, a senior double majoring in English and Anthropology. 

Prott was interviewed previously about her work studying border militarization on the Rio Grande with mentor Adriana Martinez, PhD, professor of physical geography,  fluvial geom...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville students of African American literary studies professor Howard Rambsy, PhD, brought out their inner comic book fan to walk the runway in Afrofuturism fashion. The Comic Book and Afrofuturism Fashion Show took place on Dec. 3 at Lovejoy Library. Students mostly modeled their outfits after lead characters in the “Black Panther” comic book series.

“I'm finishing a book on the subject, so they were on my mind. I then developed an expande...

A signature event of SIUE’s 50th Anniversary Golden Season, the concert showcases the department’s legacy of innovation in dance.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Department of Theater and Dance continues its 50th Anniversary Golden Season with “Timeless Reflections: Performances in Dance,” a concert that transforms memory into motion and celebrates five decades of artistry through original choreography and vibrant student performance. Under the artist...

On Tuesday, August 26th, more than 60 students, faculty, staff, and administrators gathered in Lovejoy Library to celebrate the launch of the Hansen Humanities Network established by a generous endowed gift from Julia Y. and Stephen L. Hansen to the College of Arts and Sciences.

Highlighting  the Hansen’s many contributions to the College and University, Dean of the College, Kevin Leonard, PhD, noted that “Over the course of their long careers in the SIUE Department of History,...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Department of Mass Communications is lighting up new opportunities in the state’s growing film and television industry. With a supporting grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), the Department of Mass Communications is launching a Film and TV Workforce Training Program to prepare the next generation of Illinois media professionals.

The program offers paid, hands-on training inside SIUE’s newl...

The SIUE Graduate School held their annual Fall Awards Reception on Tuesday, Oct. 21, honoring recent graduate student awardees as well as faculty excellence in supporting graduate students.

Graduate student awardees included the 2025 recipients of the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award and the Outstanding Thesis Award. Maria Zahoor, current student in the Master of Arts in English Literature, received the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award at the master’s level for her demonstrated...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s music ensembles, comprised of talented SIUE students and faculty, have scheduled a month of October performances.

Conducted by Michael Mishra, DA, Director of Orchestral Studies, this past Friday evening at Dunham Hall Theater, the SIUE Symphony Orchestra performed works by Sibelius and Rachmaninov. Angela Kim, DMA, associate professor, Director of the Keyboard Area, was featured on piano.

Performances still to come include choral music and j...

Boyce Receives African American Radio Pioneer Award

With her silken-polished voice, commitment to news, dedication to community building and love for music – especially the jazzy kind – Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Robin Boyce graced the St. Louis airwaves in 1980 during a time when Black voices and views were a “low frequency” on local radio stations. She was a trailblazer.  

On Saturday, Sept. 20, Boyce, Associate Director of Corporate...

With the publicity still fresh surrounding Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s fall enrollment growth despite challenging national trends, SIUE Chancellor James T. Minor, PhD, gave an encouraging address, thanking students, faculty, staff, and administrators for achieving the monumental feat.    

Minor delivered the University Budget Update on Thursday, Sept. 4 in the SIUE Morris University Center’s Legacy Room to a crowded audience. Minor opened his remarks b...

An SIUE-led research team is taking a statewide look at what lingers in the tap—measuring and mapping potential contaminants in Illinois drinking water using advanced chemical and geospatial analysis. The initiative, “Sustaining Illinois through Safe Drinking Water for All: A Detailed Chemical and Geospatial Analysis of Agricultural and Pharmaceutical Contaminates in Drinking Water Across Illinois” brings together faculty and students from Southern Illinois University Edwardsvi...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has been awarded a $1.6 million grant from the Mellon Foundation through its Public Knowledge program. The award will support the expansion of the Black Lit Network, a digital resource dedicated to African American literary studies. The project includes a podcast series, data visualizations, a literature search tool, and additional public-facing resources. 

A lead researcher on the project is SIUE Distinguished Research Professor of Literature Howa...

Children to Learn about Animal Care through Virtual Reality    

Imagine a setting that sparks children’s natural curiosity – even when it involves serious, real-world challenges. The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Center for Crime Science and Violence Prevention (CCSVP) is turning that spark into learning by teaming up with the St. Louis Zoo Wildcare Park, where young minds can explore and understand complex topics in a hands-on, engaging way. 

At t...

Women in Jane Doe Cases Associated with a Serial Killer Identified; First-Degree Murder Charges Filed in 14-Year-Old Case

A partnership between Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and the Illinois State Police (ISP) is offering real world experience for the next generation of criminal justice students and is aiding ISP Division of Criminal Investigation Zone 6 special agents who are working to solve old homicide cases. 

“This project has been an incredible learning experienc...

One element in the fight against crime is being able to promptly and accurately access and record the related data. The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Center for Crime Science and Violence Prevention’s (CCSVP) recent creation of an extraction tool will help police departments across the country do just that. 

“The extraction tool is a piece of software code that allows a police department to create a database of their crime incidents standardized to the FBI’s N...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Department of Mass Communications wrapped up another successful Mass Comm Week this spring, with a full schedule of speakers and sessions focused on the changing media landscape.

“The twentieth annual Mass Comm Week continues to connect the classroom with the communications industry,” said Mass Communications Department Chair Suman Mishra, PhD. “It gives students real-world context and motivation.”

This year’s ke...

 
Students from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville won top awards at the second edition of the Wildey Short Film Competition, held April 17 at the historic Wildey Theatre located in downtown Edwardsville.

“I am incredibly proud of our students. Their creativity, dedication, and storytelling talents stood out in their films,” said Suman Mishra, PhD, chair of the Department of Mass Communications.

The annual competition, hosted by Friends of the Wildey, a nonprofit organiz...

Tells of a College Journey that was Informative, Interesting and Inspiring

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville mass communications major Oliver Brammeier is receiving his bachelor’s degree during SIUE’s spring commencement exercises. Originally from St. Louis, Mo., Brammeier now lives in Edwardsville. As he is interested in creating content of his own and telling stories that resonate with people, Brammeier is looking forward to a career in radio broadcasting, film making or a...

Recently, URCA student and third year environmental science major Emma Prott spent time on the Rio Grande along with Adriana Martinez, PhD, Full Professor in Geography & GIS and Environmental Sciences at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Martinez is continuing her research along the Texas border, and enlisted the assistance of Prott who joined Martinez during the November holiday break. Prott is currently Martinez’s Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) assist...

Along the Rio Grande located at the United States-Mexico border sits Eagle Pass, Tx, hometown of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Adriana Martinez, PhD. Martinez, an associate professor in geography and environmental sciences, has spent years researching the impact of border security, and most recently, the effectiveness of large buoys installed on the river by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. As Martinez captured in a photograph on her recent research trip, migrants traveling t...