By Jeff Wilson

When the 2023 Saluki Takeover Tour visited Naples, Florida, Chuck Lounsbury was excited to engage with representatives from his alma mater.

“SIU has held a few functions in Naples, and it’s given me the chance to reconnect,” he said. “A school’s reputation is important to the graduate, and you should reinvest in the school’s mission.”

A graduate of the College of Business and Analytics, he was particularly interested in the expansion of the supply chain management program. So much so, that he decided to make a $500,000 donation to establish the Charles and Barbara Lounsbury Endowed Scholarship Fund, which will benefit students in the program.

“This will allow students to focus on what companies need and want out of their logistics and distribution employees,” he said. “I don’t think that’s happening at a lot of schools today. Hopefully, these funds make a difference in students’ lives and the program itself.”

Lounsbury’s connection to SIU dates to the university’s earliest day. His great-grandmother attended Southern Illinois Normal College, which trained teachers. His father and brother also attended SIU.

“I lived in Chicago, but my grandmother was from West Frankfort. I had a soft spot in my heart for SIU,” he said.

Heavily involved in campus life, Lounsbury was a member of Alpha Kappa Psi and helped found the American Marketing Association at SIU. He was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, the honor society in business and after graduation was elected to the COBA Hall of Fame. After graduating from SIU in 1965 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing, he earned a master’s degree from the University of Rhode Island.

“I gave serious thought to working in academia and taught at Murray State for four years,” Lounsbury said. “I had no business experience, so I thought it would be good to get some real-world experience to become a better teacher.”

That decision led to an illustrious career in the business world, including leadership positions at Toro, Tenneco, Leaseway Transportation Corp., Skyway Freight Systems, and ended with his retirement in 2005 as senior vice president for supply chain solutions at Ryder Systems. He also continued to teach classes at Northwestern, Georgia Tech, Stanford, The Monterey Institute, and Florida Gulf Coast University.

“I always enjoyed the student contact,” Lounsbury said. “It was SIU that gave me my start, and I thought that my gift could make a significant impact there.”

His investment in the future of the university, college, and its students represents how Lounsbury feels about his time at SIU and the positive direction it’s going.

“SIU has a lot of outstanding graduates, who have had very successful careers, and that’s thanks largely to the education they got at SIU. It’s up there with any school. You get what you put into it,” he said. “I hope to influence others in my position to give back. I think it will help the next generation of students.”

By Jeff Wilson

Janice Kelly and her daughters Pamela Hyde and Patricia Kelly knew they wanted to honor their husband and father’s legacy, and they decided that SIU’s College of Business and Analytics was the place to do it.

Douglas Kelly, graduated from SIU with a bachelor’s in accounting in 1957. He was one of the university’s first Black accounting students. Spurred by their mother’s desire to establish a living memorial to their father, the family donated $50,000 to establish the Douglas E. Kelly Memorial Scholarship to support African American students who are studying accounting at SIU.

“The education my father received at SIU was the foundation of many of the opportunities my sister and I have been able to take advantage of,” Hyde said. “It’s important to us as his family to leave that legacy where he went to.”

Douglas Kelly, who passed away in 2003, met his wife, Janice, while attending SIU.

“He was established on campus, and our mother heard about him,” Hyde said. “They met in 1956 and were married in 1957 after he graduated. My sister and I are implementing our mother’s vision. We decided to pick up the ball and run with it.”

After working as a laborer for a bit, Douglas Kelly took a job with the IRS. He started as an agent and rose to the position of chief of appeals in the St. Louis region. He was a member of the National Association of Black Accountants. Janice Kelly was a professor at St. Louis Community College. Both were CPAs.

“Our father mentored a great number of minority employees of the IRS,” Hyde said. “This scholarship exemplifies his philosophy of helping someone in need. We want to lift as we climb; you don’t want to pull the ladder up behind you.”

A Du Quoin native, Douglas Kelly was fully immersed in campus life. He was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, an organization known to give out scholarships that honored students’ character.

“He was very much into giving back. You can see that throughout his life,” Hyde said. “We thought this was a really good way to honor and keep his memory alive. We want to help students stay fully engaged with their studies and to be able to take advantage of the opportunities in front of them.”

The family also hopes that seeing such philanthropic support coming from a Black family will make the scholarship even more impactful.

“We want to inspire the imagination of these students,” Hyde said. “We’re putting a face on the scholarship, and it’s a Black man’s face. I think that means something.”

For more information about how to make a similar gift, visit siuf.org.

by Kim Rendfeld

CARBONDALE, Ill. – New collegiate Southern Illinois University Carbondale license plates sporting a new look – the Saluki athletic logo with the beloved dog head – are now widely available.

Any Illinois driver can order random-number, vanity or personalized plates by visiting the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State’s website. (Previously this year, only people who already had SIU Carbondale plates were getting the newly designed ones as replacements.) A portion of the proceeds benefit undergraduate scholarships.

Chancellor Austin Lane said the newly designed plates fit well with the university’s strategic plan, Imagine 2030, and its branding and partnerships pillar.

“This is a very exciting time for Saluki Nation,” Lane said. “These new license plates are a way for the Saluki family to show their pride, make SIU Carbondale more visible and support our students. We are grateful to the SIU Foundation for making this possible and to everyone who buys a Saluki plate.”

Lane also thanked Matt Baughman, chief of staff, and John Charles, the SIU System’s executive director of government and public affairs, for their efforts.

“The SIU Foundation is proud to help bring the new Saluki license plates to Illinois drivers,” said Matt Kupec, vice chancellor for development and alumni relations and CEO of the SIU Foundation. ”It’s an exciting venture, and we look forward to seeing more Saluki spirit out on the road.”

By Jeff Wilson

Even though it had been around for years, the phrase “supply chain” wasn’t on everyone’s mind until COVID-19. SIU alumnus Herb Shear, on the other hand, was an expert on the subject well before the pandemic.

With companies focused on improving supply chain logistics, Shear knew it was imperative for SIU’s College of Business and Analytics (COBA) to lead the way for the next generation of students. That’s why he chose to donate $200,000 to the Center for Logistics and Supply Chain Seed Fund.

“It was important before COVID, but it’s even more prevalent now,” he said. “This is how products get onto the shelves. You can’t have a modern business school without a supply chain program.”

Shear, a 1969 COBA graduate, is the former executive chairman and CEO of GENCO, which was sold to FedEx in 2015. He is also the executive chairman and co-founder of G2 Reverse Logistics, which provides reverse logistics software.

“GENCO was a small family business in Pittsburgh, when I took over,” he said. “We grew it to a nationwide supply chain services company and developed the concept of reverse logistics, which deals with consumer returns. Every major retailer in the U.S. and Canada used us.”

A self-described “really bad high school student,” Shear was accepted to SIU on a probationary basis. It didn’t take long for him to find success.

“I enjoyed my education in the business school,” he said. “It helped lay the foundation for my career. I always wanted to give back to SIU.”

In 2006, Shear made a $525,000 gift to the COBA Critical Impact Fund, which aimed to enhance the curriculum and student experience in the college. He is a former member of COBA’s external advisory board and the college’s campaign advisory board.

“My hope with this most recent gift is that it allows a pathway for a major corporation to come in and invest in the supply chain center,” he said. “Hopefully, it will create recruiting opportunities for the college and offer experiential learning opportunities for students.”

Shear encourages other alumni and friends of the university to consider making a similar impact if they are able.

“If you feel SIU was successful in helping you in your career and want to help others, a good way to do that is to make a gift to your school or college,” he said.

For more information about making a gift, visit siuf.org.

By Jeff Wilson

After years as a city planner, Allan Hodges is once again looking to the future by making a planned gift to his alma mater, SIU. His substantial estate gift will establish the Allan A. Hodges Graduate Scholarship in the School of Earth Systems and Sustainability Endowment Fund.

Born to British parents in Calcutta, India, the path to SIU wasn’t a direct one.

“We moved to England after World War II and immigrated to the U.S. in 1948,” Hodges said.

Originally hoping to become an architect, he enrolled at Ohio State University and later switched to the community analysis program. He spent a winter quarter at Mexico City College and became interested in the Latin American culture. He found a college bulletin advertising SIU’s Latin American Institute and Community Development Institute and decided to take the bus to Carbondale.

“They basically created a curriculum for me, which showed it was a caring environment,” Hodges said.

During his time at SIU, he was a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity along with Mike Morris, son of then SIU President Delyte Morris.

“They invited me to their home, and they invited me back the year after I graduated to meet Margaret Mead, who was speaking at graduation,” Hodges said. “It was an important phase in SIU’s history, and I was there. I enjoyed my entire experience at SIU. I met a lot of people and maintained many friendships for a long time.”

After earning his bachelor’s degree in 1962, Hodges worked in Columbus, Ohio, for two years before deciding to pursue a master’s degree at Michigan State University. It was then that he married his wife, Carol, and got his start in urban planning in Boston with Parsons Brinckerhoff (now known as WSP), a multinational engineering and design firm.

“I traveled across the country working on many important projects,” Hodges said. “I was the environmental document manager during the Big Dig in Boston, which started in 1986.”

The Big Dig was a major project in Boston that transformed the city’s transportation flow, including redesigning Interstate 93, the construction of the Ted Williams Tunnel (I-90) under Boston Harbor, the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge over the Charles River, and the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a park above the I-93 tunnel.

Reconnecting with SIU

Hodges said he didn’t feel connected to SIU for many years. He noticed when the Saluki Football team won a national championship in 1983 and when Saluki Men’s Basketball had a run of NCAA Tournament appearances in the early 2000s.

“SIU was in the news,” he said. “I followed the sports from my home in Boston.”

More recently, Hodges said he’s taken notice of fundraising efforts that have exemplified how many people have been impacted by SIU.

“On the Day of Giving, SIU had more than 3,800 donors raising over $4 million. That’s impressive,” he said. “Then there was more than $600,000 raised in one night in Chicago at the Saluki Ball. Larger schools don’t see that level of support. I believe in the mission of the university.”

During a recent trip to Europe, Hodges spotted someone wearing something familiar.

“In Athens, I saw someone with an SIU sweatshirt,” he said. “I meant to circle back and acknowledge it, but I missed my chance. You really do see Salukis everywhere you go.”

Hodges hopes that his gift will help the School of Earth Systems and Sustainability expand more offerings to more students.

“I think SIU has the disciplines throughout the university to have a very important community planning curriculum in the near future that would really benefit Southern Illinois,” he said.

For more information about making a planned gift, contact Kathryn Sime at kathryns@foundation.siu.edu. For more information on how to make a gift, visit siuf.org.

By Kathryn Sime

Teacher, counselor, scholar, pilot, philanthropist. Ruth-Marie Frances Chambers has excelled in a diverse range of careers and avocations. A common theme running through all these life experiences is a commitment to open doors of access and opportunity by fostering educational opportunities.

A lifelong learner, Chambers’ commitment to education was demonstrated recently when she established the Ruth-Marie Frances Chambers Endowed Scholarship through a $100,000 planned gift, naming the SIU Foundation as partial beneficiary of her retirement accounts.

Chambers received her SIU bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1974 and subsequently began graduate studies in 1974-75 in the SIU Rehabilitation Department. In 1975, her interest in education and prevailing health and humanitarian concerns in developing nations led her to travel throughout the global community as a goodwill ambassador. She subsequently accepted an invitation to the United States Peace Corps as lecturer at the National School of Administration in Niger, West Africa. Chambers returned to SIU to complete her Master of Science in rehabilitation administration and services in 1982. After graduation, Chambers relocated to California to work at several educational institutions, including the University of California at Berkeley and Los Rios Community College.

When asked why she chose the SIU Foundation for her retirement account beneficiary designations, Chambers listed the qualities of an SIU education that she continues to value, including “leadership, integrity, a respected research university, and faculty committed to student achievement.”

At SIU, Chambers was particularly impacted by her graduate school advisors and mentors, Dr. Irene Hawley and Dr. Jerome Lorenz.

“The diversification of prospective students within the campus community who require affordable access to educational and financial support to enhance their collegiate experience is a challenge for many educational institutions,” she said.

At SIU, she valued the “invaluable leadership skills, shared humanity, and scholarly pursuits” that helped her to “confidently navigate the global and campus community with purpose.”

The Ruth-Marie Frances Chambers Endowed Scholarship will support a graduate student studying behavior analysis and therapy, communication disorders and sciences, or rehabilitation counseling.

By Jeff Wilson

For years, brothers Samir and Sahir Khan’s only connection to SIU was the stories their parents shared about Carbondale and the university where they met.

“Our family started at SIU,” said Dr. Samir Khan, a Director with the Government of Canada and an adjunct professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Ottawa. “It was always a bit of a mythical place.”

When their father, Chowdhry Rafiq Khan, passed away in February 2023, they decided to honor his legacy with a $50,000 donation to establish the C. Rafiq Khan Scholarship, which will benefit an international student in SIU’s School of Analytics, Finance, and Economics.

As a teenager emigrating from India, Rafiq Khan had been accepted into the University of Alabama and SIU. He settled on attending Alabama and was ready to board a train in Chicago that was headed to Tuscaloosa until a railway employee intervened and explained that Carbondale would be more hospitable.

“At that time, SIU was a progressive island,” said Sahir Khan, executive vice president of the University of Ottawa Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy. “Our dad came to SIU during an age when America was opening up to the world. SIU was a university and campus ahead of its environment.”

It didn’t take long for Rafiq Khan to establish himself on campus. He became a leader of many student organizations and was active in student government.

“There was always a fondness for the people in and around Carbondale,” Sahir Khan said. “He remembered them as fundamentally good people. Both he and our mother have nothing but good things to say and fond memories to share, to this day.”

A couple of years after coming to SIU, Rafiq Khan was approached about meeting a fellow Indian student who was going to be arriving by bus. That student was Lila, who became his wife soon after.

“They were from two very different parts of India and didn’t even speak the same language. English was really their shared language,” Samir Khan said. “They made lifelong friendships at SIU. Their friends’ kids are now our friends.”

‘A force for good’

Samir and Sahir Khan hope to inspire others with the story of their family and by honoring their parents by helping students like them.

“Our dad loved universities. He believed that they are a force for good,” Sahir Khan said. “We want this scholarship to attract other foreign students and show that this school can represent you. SIU is opening its doors and hearts to students from around the globe, recapturing the sense of leadership that existed when our parents went there.”

That’s why a scholarship made the most sense. SIU’s impact on the entire Khan family was too great to be ignored.

“We wanted to do something that would leave a strong legacy,” Samir Khan said. “It’s all about education. It was very logical for us to give back to SIU. We’re grateful for the education and experience our parents received in Carbondale. It’s perfectly poetic.”

To make a gift, visit siuf.org.

As has become tradition, the SIU Credit Union kicked off the SIU Day of Giving with a donation to multiple areas of campus.

This year, the SIU Credit Union donated $45,000, which included $20,000 to SIU’s New Student Programs, $15,000 to Touch of Nature Environmental Center, and $10,000 to Morris Library.

“We want this partnership with SIU,” said Kim Babington, SIU Credit Union Vice President of Community Outreach. “It helps not only the credit union grow, but it helps SIU grow. That helps us here in our economy in Carbondale.”

Members of the credit union team gathered Thursday, March 23, at Anthony Hall to present Chancellor Austin Lane and other SIU representatives with the check before the Day of Giving officially started.

“Our students need to bridge the financial gaps, and this is one way for them to be able to do that,” said Chancellor Lane.

For the credit union, making such a donation reflects its mission.

“I’ve been here my whole life, so being able to give back to the university that helped me get to where I am is a great feeling,” said Mike Lantrip, SIU Credit Union President and CEO and a 1991 graduate of SIU’s College of Business and Analytics.

New Student Programs facilitates the integration of students into campus and the community. These funds will enhance its ability to engage with students.

“All of the funds that we receive go back to the students to really enrich their experience while they’re on campus,” said Jennifer Phillips, director of New Student Programs.

Touch of Nature Environmental Center is a premier outdoor activity facility in the Midwest. The funds will largely go toward the Dawg Days summer camp.

“The money that SIU Credit Union is giving us is really going to help us grow and expand,” said Brian Croft, director at Touch of Nature. “Dawg Days is, in essence, a four-day, three-night summer camp for incoming freshmen.”

Dean of Library Affairs John Pollitz said the library’s portion of the funds are earmarked for furthering their vision for the future.

“We are going to be using this donation to establish the Digital Scholars Commons on the first floor of the library,” he said.

The credit union’s generosity was just the spark at the beginning of a record-breaking SIU Day of Giving. The SIU Foundation raised $4,037,918 through 3,702 individual gifts during the seventh annual 24-hour fundraiser. For more details, visit siuday.siu.edu.

For the second straight year, the Saluki Takeover Tour in St. Louis brought together SIU alumni and friends to celebrate their shared school spirit.

Coinciding with the Missouri Valley Conference Arch Madness Tournament, Saluki maroon flooded the streets of downtown St. Louis from Wednesday, March 1, though Saturday, March 4.

More than 275 Salukis and friends gathered with university leaders on Thursday at Schlafly Tap Room for the Chancellor’s Reception.

“What an incredible sight,” Chancellor Austin Lane said. “I hope you feel the energy that’s in this room. We’re excited, we’re fired up, and we have a lot more work to do.”

SIU System President Dan Mahony echoed Chancellor Lane’s sentiment, leading the crowd in the refrain, “Salukis get it done!” between making points.

“We’re up over 40 percent in our freshman enrollment from where we were in fall of 2019,” President Mahony said. “We have, year after year, set records on our Day of Giving. That’s on March 28, and we’re going to set another record.”

Starting with a bang

Before Thursday’s main event, the Saluki Takeover Tour in St. Louis featured two gatherings on Wednesday.

One was a social for College of Business and Analytics alumni at Ballpark Village.

“The Dawgs are in the house,” said Marc Morris, interim dean of the college. “We’re going to be in St. Louis every year.”

Not far away, the SIU Alumni Association’s Young Alumni Group was hosting a similar event at Schlafly Tap Room.

“Saluki Nation is really showing out,” said Brian Munoz, SIU Alumni Association board member. “Events like this are so important to connect people.”

Earlier in the week, Chancellor Lane, President Mahony, Associate Chancellor for Enrollment Management Wendell Williams, and others met with local high school administrators in an effort to push SIU’s recruitment efforts.

An exciting weekend

On Friday, the SIU Foundation and its corporate division hosted a Corporate Networking Breakfast at Mid-America Transplant – The Family House.

Chancellor Lane led the conversation, discussing how companies could best interact with SIU and produce a pipeline that connects businesses to SIU graduates.

Later that day, Saluki alumni and friends gathered at the Crown Room in Ballpark Village for a pre-game event before the men’s basketball team took on Missouri State at the MVC tournament.

Joined by the Saluki Spirit Teams, Marching Salukis, and Grey Dawg, revelers sent the Salukis off in style. The Dawgs defeated Missouri State, 54-51, in a heart-pounding quarterfinal game.

After another send-off event on Saturday, this time at PBR St. Louis, the Salukis fell to Drake, 65-52, in the tournament’s semifinals.

More to come

After multiple successful Saluki Takeover Tours across the country, including stops in St. Louis, Chicago, Florida, and Nashville, plans are in motion to bring more events to alumni in other areas.

“We want to take the university where our alumni live,” said Matt Kupec, CEO of the SIU Foundation. “Salukis are everywhere! We’re looking to engage our alumni and to ignite Saluki Nation.”

Stay up to date on all SIU Foundation events, including Saluki Takeover Tours at siuf.org.