By Ron Reeves

CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Saluki Athletic Scholarship Fund announced on Wednesday that James (Jim) Rosser, a three-degree alumnus of SIU (B.A. 1962, M.A. 1963, Ph.D. 1969) and the SIU Athletics Campaign Chair for the Forever SIU campaign, has established the Dr. James H. Rosser Men’s Basketball endowed scholarship. Rosser was a member of the Saluki Men’s Basketball team from 1960-62.

“We are so appreciative of what Dr. Rosser has done for our program,” said Director of Athletics Jerry Kill.  “He has not only endowed a scholarship, but as athletics chair of the Forever SIU campaign, he has challenged others to do the same. ”

During his distinguished career in higher education, Rosser served as president of California State University, Los Angeles, from 1979 to 2013, and was named president emeritus in 2013. Prior to becoming president at Cal State Los Angeles, he was the vice chancellor of the Department of Education of the State of New Jersey. Earlier he served on the faculty at Southern Illinois University and founded the SIU Black American Studies program in 1968. Rosser was a recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award in 1982, the Distinguished Alumni Award in 1999, and an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree in 2003.

In addition to the men’s basketball endowed scholarship, Rosser previously endowed the James H. Rosser Scholar-Athlete Scholarship at SIU.

“I was extremely grateful for the scholarship from Dr. Rosser,” said SIU football player Malik Haynes, the 2016-17 recipient of the James H. Rosser Scholar-Athlete Scholarship. “As a freshman, the scholarship helped support me through my first year in college.”

Rosser knows the importance of athletics and the development of student-athletes on and off the field. For those reasons, he continues to the importance of the Forever SIU campaign.

“My best memories center on diverse friends, teammates, faculty, administrators and staff,” said Dr. Rosser. “SIU athletics played a major role in my development and subsequent success as a professional. SIU has been and must continue to be a major contributor for educational attainment, economic development, social mobility and social justice.”

Rosser’s leadership and endowed scholarship will continue to support the Saluki Athletics Scholarship Fund (SASF), which helps cover scholarship costs for 350 student-athletes in 17 intercollegiate sports.

“What he has done for our university and our athletics department – he’s someone who has a true love for SIU,” Kill said.

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By Ron Reeves

CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Saluki Athletic Scholarship Fund (SASF) is excited to announce the fourth-largest gift in Saluki Athletics history, which was given by Charles Helleny (Class of ’57). Helleny is a proud Saluki season-ticket holder and donor, and a top contributor to the program for more than 60 years.

“Charles has been loyal to SIU since the day he walked into this place, he never misses a game, he supports every program, he’s a special person,” said SIU Director of Athletics Jerry Kill. “I don’t know if I’ve ever met a more giving guy than Charles. I appreciate the tremendous gift, because not many people are willing to step up and do that, and the more who can, the more we can solve problems.”

In honor of Helleny’s gift, the first Division I men’s basketball home game each year will henceforth be known as the Charles Helleny Tip-Off Classic game. This year’s matchup will take place versus Buffalo on Nov. 12 at SIU Arena.

“I don’t want to take anything away from the game itself,” Helleny said. “I am embarrassed, but honestly this is a great honor, as I love SIU. We have had our ups and downs and we have always remained competitive. This year we are primed for top-two finishes in all sports in the conference.”

Helleny said his history with Saluki Basketball goes all the way back to the Walt Frazier era, and he gets excited recalling the many exciting home wins, such as the 2001 victory over eventual National runner-up Indiana and the thrilling battles with arch-rival Creighton. Those memories help fuel his desire to give back to SIU.

“Giving to the SASF is a commitment – not just a one-time donation — but a lifetime commitment,” he explained. “Donors help offset the budget for the department and help secure funding for scholarships, trips and recruiting.”

The Charles Helleny gift will continue to help support the SASF and the scholarship costs for 350 student-athletes in 17 intercollegiate sports, and will also help toward the Forever SIU campaign.

“The Charles Helleny Tip-Off Classic is a great way to honor Charles – a special and unique partnership created by Saluki Athletics and the Helleny family,” SIU Associate Athletic Director Jason Fairfield said. “Charles has a long history with SIU and we wanted to be able to honor his legacy with something that will live on forever.”

Faifield said Saluki Athletics will have more announcements to come from the Charles Helleny gift in the coming months.

“Charles is very passionate about lifetime giving and is a big reason why we have been successful over the years,” Fairfield added. “Supporters like Charles have helped us not only support the lives and scholarships of our student-athletes – but help us continue to build the rich traditions of SIU athletics.”

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by Pete Rosenbery

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By Rebecca Renshaw

Note: Since the publication of this article, Dr. Kevin Dorsey has assumed the role of interim president for the SIU system as of July 30, 2018.

If you talk to Dr. Kevin Dorsey for more than a few minutes, you’ll recognize that his life passion is reflected within the mission of SIU School of Medicine, which he led for 14 years. That mission is “to assist the people of central and southern Illinois in meeting their health care needs through education, patient care, research and service to the community.”

Dorsey, who has been with the school since the early 1970s, says it was founded to improve the health of central and southern Illinois residents.

“We recruit and admit students from those regions, educate them and hope that, after they complete their training, they will return back to central or southern Illinois because the people in those areas need physicians,” he says.

Dorsey’s other commitment is to total community health.

“I’m pretty passionate about community health and service,” he says. “It’s just not enough to create physicians to go back to our Illinois communities. We must get out into the community to improve poverty and education and housing. Social determinants of health are critically important.”

He says the new generation of doctors will make a difference.

“Our students are great,” he says. “They are more committed to social justice, they have a strong conscience and they want to do good in the world. We need to enable their success, which is why I decided to initiate the SIU School of Medicine ‘Alumni Class Challenge.’ ”

As his parting act as dean and provost of the School of Medicine, Dorsey issued an SIU School of Medicine “Alumni Class Challenge” in 2015. He challenged each class to collectively raise at least $25,000 to endow a scholarship in honor of their class. Matching grant funds totaling $500,000 would be available to double the gifts or pledges received by Dec. 31, 2015.

The result was a resounding success. Most notably, gifts in honor of Dorsey’s leadership established the J. Kevin Dorsey Endowed Scholarship. This is the School of Medicine’s largest endowed scholarship fund, and it will assist several students each year for generations to come.

The need for the scholarships might be a surprise to some, but not to Dorsey.

“One thing you must understand about our students is that, coming from central and southern Illinois, they are in the lower parental income brackets,” he says. “However, medical students across the nation tend to be from the top 20 percent in parental income.

“When you look at the average indebtedness of an SIU School of Medicine graduate, he or she comes out with an average accrual of roughly $180,000 in debt. That figure is significantly higher compared to other medical schools that can offer huge scholarships to students. The Alumni Class Challenge will help more students with more scholarships to assist them in their medical studies.”

Dorsey came to SIU School of Medicine as one of its founding faculty members, arriving with a Ph.D. in biochemistry and teaching the first two classes in the school’s history. Dorsey then became a student in the third class and obtained an M.D. degree from SIU. He completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in rheumatology at the University of Iowa before returning to southern Illinois to practice rheumatology.

“While I had obtained a Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin and a postdoctoral fellowship in cell biology at Johns Hopkins a few years before, I recognized that a career in bench research just wasn’t going to do it for me,” he says. “I wanted to directly and immediately make a difference in people’s lives.”

As the end of his tenure as dean and provost in December 2015, more than 2,600 medical students had graduated from the School of Medicine.

The school offers an M.D., a master’s degree and doctoral degree in various biomedical sciences, including a master’s degree for physician assistant students, as well as advanced training in clinical specialties (17 residencies and 13 fellowships). There also is a small number of SIU students each year who pursue combined degree programs in law and medicine, or in medicine and public health.

When asked what he wants his legacy to be, his answer is simple: “I tried to fulfill the mission.”

Reflecting on his parting gift as dean and how others could contribute, Dorsey says, “Whatever anyone can contribute – whether it is time, talent or resources – all of it is valuable and important.”

Donors contributed more than $22.2 million last year to support Southern Illinois University Carbondale students and programs, an 11 percent increase over the previous year, according to SIU Chancellor Carlo Montemagno.

“Our alumni and friends believe in SIU, and they are coming together to advance the university,” Montemagno said. “Their investment in our students and our future is incredibly important. On behalf of the entire campus community, I thank all donors for their support and confidence as we move forward to fulfill our vision for the university.

“These gifts support scholarships for SIU students, equipment for laboratories, library resources, positions for outstanding faculty and much, much more,” Montemagno added. “Many students wouldn’t be able to attend SIU – or benefit from all we offer — without the generosity of our alumni and friends. Donors make the difference.”

All of the gifts and pledges were made between July 1, 2017, and June 30, 2018.

More than $15 million of the total came in the form of cash and other gifts that can have an immediate impact, said Jim Salmo, the foundation’s chief executive officer. The balance includes pledges for the future. For example, many donors make a commitment to include SIU in their estate plans, he said.

“All gifts — large and small — are important and valued,” Salmo said. “Donors have a lot of options in the ways they can structure a gift to serve a cause that is important to them – whether it’s paying it forward with a scholarship or investing in student and faculty research or academic facilities.”

SIU is in the midst of a three-year, $75 million fundraising initiative called “Forever SIU: The Campaign for Students.” To date, the campaign has raised more than $61 million.

To learn more about the campaign, visit www.foreversiu.org or call 618-453-4900.