News

A passion for storytelling, late-night filming sessions, fake blood and a love for horror movies helped a team of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville students turn a classroom dream into Emmy-winning success.

SIUE students Aidan Keen, Thomas Drake and Andrew Dalan earned recognition in the Fiction – Long Form category at the 2026 Mid-America Emmy Student Production Awards for their original horror film, The Lesser Key. The project captured the attention of judges with its haunt...

Innovation thrives when people, disciplines and institutions come together around shared challenges. At Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, inaugural Illinois Innovation Network (IIN) Fellows Kevin R. Tucker, PhD, and Diane Cox, PhD, are helping create those connections while positioning SIUE at the center of conversations shaping Illinois’ future.

Together with SIUE Fellow Sinan Onal, PhD, Tucker and Cox are members of the inaugural IIN Fellows cohort. Tucker and Cox are helping l...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has earned another notable distinction, ranking No. 7 among the Largest Research Universities in the St. Louis region, according to the St. Louis Business Journal's June 4, 2026 list.

The annual ranking recognizes universities based on research funding received in 2025, highlighting institutions that are advancing innovation, discovery and scholarship across a wide range of disciplines. Information for the list was provided by participating universiti...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's Solar Racing Team was featured in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ahead of the team's return to national competition for the first time in years. The article details the team's preparation for the American Solar Challenge, a multiday, 1,500-mile road race from Minneapolis to Amarillo, Texas, beginning July 25. 

The roughly 25-member student team hand-built a new solar car, named Orion, largely from scratch, includi...

For a second year, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is all set to host the collegiate competition known as the Electrek American Solar Challenge 2026 on July 27 and 28. More than 20 solar car teams travelling a 1500+ mile course in eight days along the Great River Road and Route 66 will encounter a festival at the SIUE stop, with food trucks, music, and more!

With teams traveling from Illinois State University before arriving in Edwardsville...

Growing up in foster care, Bryon Pierson Jr. learned early how fragile stability can be, and by the time he reached college, that lesson had only deepened. During his years at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, he moved seven times  lived with 22 different roommates. Pierson says he became heavily in debt  just to stay housed and enrolled. Those experiences, along with his leadership of the Gay-Straight Alliance and his senior capstone on student support systems, led ...

Saulius Drukteinis, DMD, MS, PhD, Dean of SIU SDM, recently announced that the SIU School of Dental Medicine is launching its new Graduate Periodontics Program, as of July 1. The Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) discussed and granted an initial accreditation approval for the new program at SIU SDM at their meeting on February 5.

The new graduate specialty program at the SIU School of Dental Medicine has been in the planning and development stages for several years to ach...

SIUE Economist Examines Sports Betting’s Impact on NBA Officiating
This monthly series highlights SIUE School of Business faculty whose research and expertise help organizations, industries, and communities better understand today’s business challenges. 

As legalized sports betting becomes an increasingly visible part of professional athletics, questions about transparency, integrity, and public trust are taking on new business significance. Ariel&#...

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – For the eighth consecutive season under Head Coach Adam Albertsen, the SIUE women's tennis team has been honored for academic achievements by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).

"This team continued to raise the bar on the courts and in the classroom this past year," said Albertsen. "I am extremely proud of the work they put in as student-athletes and how they represent SIUE in the community. Go Cougars!"

Nine SIUE women's tennis players, who led the...

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is pleased to announce the appointment of Liang Cheng, PhD, as the next Dean of the School of Engineering, effective August 19. Dr. Cheng will also hold an academic appointment as Professor of Computer Science with a courtesy appointment in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Cheng joins SIUE from the University of Toledo, where he has served as Department Chair and Professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. He previously served as a fac...

 
On Thursday, July 9, 80 police officers departed as a sea of blue on wheels from the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, destined for Chicago. The 22nd annual four-day ride, along historic Route 66, is known as The 2026 Cycle Across Illinois. The monumental trek benefits Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS), which supports families who have lost loved ones in the line of duty.

Cyclists a...

The SIUE Learning Resource Center at the Wyvetter H. Younge Higher Education Campus in East St. Louis is inviting community members to pause, breathe and reconnect during the Zen & Zest Mindfulness Retreat from 10 a.m.-noon Tuesday, July 14.

The retreat will celebrate the grand opening of the Learning Resource Center’s new Meditation Quiet Room, a dedicated wellness space created to support stress reduction and well-being for members of the campus and surrounding community.

Guests can be...

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE Athletics mourns the passing of Hall of Fame tennis coach Kent DeMars, who passed away Thursday, according to family. He was 82.

DeMars transformed the SIUE men's tennis program from club status to national powerhouse, coaching the Cougars to seven consecutive national championships from 1978-1984. 

"Kent built SIUE tennis into a national power that saw championship-level success," SIUE women's tennis Head Coach Adam Albertsen said. "Beyond the trophies a...

WSIE 88.7 "The Sound" has been named a finalist in the Best Radio Station category of the 2026 St. Louis American Reader's Choice Awards, placing the station among the top four radio stations in the St. Louis area as voted by listeners.

The recognition comes from readers of the St. Louis American, who selected their favorite local radio stations as part of the publication's annual awards program celebrating the city's top businesses, services, and community institutions.

The honor reflects t...