College of Arts and Sciences News

Faculty in the Department of Historical Studies are playing an important role in the creation of a regional digital repository.

“Madison Historical: The Online Encyclopedia and Digital Archive for Madison County, Illinois”  made its debut this month. The website is serving as a digital warehouse for historic information and images from Madison County in the 20^th century. The public is being asked to contribute articles, information and photos. Drs. Jeffrey Manuel and Jason Stacy, associate professors of historical studies at SIUE, and Dr. Stephen Hansen, faculty emeritus and former interim chancellor at SIUE, are spearheading this project, with assistance from graduate and undergraduate students. Major funding for this initiative is being provided by the Madison County Regional Superintendent of School’s Office under the direction of Dr. Robert Daiber. 

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The SIUE campus is making plans to observe the solar eclipse that will take place on August 21, 2017. The phenomenon will last approximately three hours, and the Edwardsville area will have 99.5 percent total coverage at the peak. The Department of Physics is heavily involved in the University’s activities that day, and will provide telescopes for viewing and special viewing glasses.

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The Department of Mass Communications is creating a new digital integration lab. The department is currently raising funds to create an interactive multimedia environment that will allow students to stay current with changing technology. The project will redesign and restructure the existing lab, having it serve as a conduit for audio, visual, and digital content in one place. New software, smartboards, monitors and other equipment will also be installed.  This integrated media lab will increase the current teaching capacity for the department, and encourage student collaboration.

This teaching lab will be dedicated in memory of Bill Ward, a mass communications professor who taught journalism at SIUE from 1969-1996, and made an impression on hundreds of students who he instructed through the years.

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CAS is focusing on creating design plans for a performing arts complex as a high-impact fundraising campaign. The centralized location would feature music and theater performance areas, and a significant amount of gallery space, both for the University Museum and the Department of Art and Design. Getting architectural plans in place for this venue would be the first step in making it a reality.

“A quality performing arts venue would allow SIUE to offer a space for interactions with the community,” SIUE Chancellor Dr. Randy Pembrook said. “It is important for many reasons, including recruiting students, supporting arts faculty and guest artists, providing a quality environment for performers and performances, and underscoring the importance of the arts to the University and the community.”

The current theater in Dunham Hall seats approximately 370, and is heavily used by both the Departments of Music and Theater and Dance. Scheduling performance space at SIUE can be difficult, and many concerts, recitals and operas are also presented in an auditorium in the basement of Lovejoy Library.  

The University Museum also does not have a permanent display area, and pieces from its collection are located throughout the campus. Dedicated exhibition and presentation space would allow for up-close study of the museum’s rich cultural artifacts, providing a library of human visual experiences and a gateway to the University’s vast resources for students, faculty, staff and the greater community. As a repository for the largest known collection of Louis Sullivan architectural ornaments, the performing arts complex presents a one of a kind opportunity for the University to feature these historic architectural elements as part of a permanent display on the façade or within the building.

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The College of Arts and Sciences has recently added two new majors for undergraduate students. 

The bachelor of arts degree in international studies is interdisciplinary and has three areas of concentration: international art, culture and communication; international development and sustainability; and international relations and diplomacy. Unique aspects of the program include a foreign language requirement as well as an international travel study component.

The environmental sciences program  is now offering two undergraduate degrees. Since its origin in 1975, the program had been for graduate students only. Students can now choose either a bachelor of science or bachelor of arts in environmental sciences, with specializations that focus on environmental health, toxicology, or management. 

The College of Arts and Sciences is using Targeted Funding Initiatives to stimulate innovation throughout its departments and programs. Focus areas include instructional innovation, professional development, cooperative programs with the East Saint Louis Center, and student recruitment. 

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Susan Oettle, a graduate student in the geography department, has received accolades for her research on gravestones. Read more. 

Students from the Department of Theater and Dance took their talent into the local community by serving as make-up artists for a trauma training exercise by an area fire department. Learn more. 

An applied communication studies graduate student is working in public relations in one of St. Louis’ hottest innovation areas. Jessica Herman has an assistantship with T-REX (Technology @ Railways Exchange), an incubator for start-up companies in St. Louis. Read more. 

A total of 10 teams from six different high schools squared off in the third annual Ethics Bowl, hosted by the Department of Philosophy in January. Teams considered questions on real-life ethical situations, and then presented their side of the issue. Questions ranged from the ethics of breeding domestic pets for certain character traits to the ethics of listening to music by a performer whose personal life does not coincide with one’s own morals, and much more. Read more here or listen here. (Photo - Triad High School)

St. Louis Blues hockey announcer John Kelly first began his broadcast career while a student at SIUE. He did play-by-play for both basketball and baseball games, and worked at the WSIE radio station. The mass communications alumnus credits SIUE with helping lay the groundwork for his career.

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