Rob Beverly wants to provide SIU students with a role model that he didn’t have during his time at Southern.
“I think it’s important for Black alumni to give back to SIU, specifically,” he said. “I was the first person in my family to go to college. I don’t remember having very many images of Black individuals, let alone Black men, who had progressed through college and become what I would consider successful. We now become these images that we didn’t have.”
Beverly graduated from SIU in 2000 and is now the vice president of a medical device company, living outside of Chicago with his wife and four daughters.
“My connection to SIU goes way back to 1996 when I pursued and earned a bachelor’s in marketing,” he said. “I really, really enjoyed my time at SIU and the lifelong connections that were built. With that comes and obligation to come back and ensure that others have the same opportunity that I had.”
A couple years ago he and his wife, Onyhatte, established The Beverly Bridging the Gap Fund, which supports SIU students through the Office of Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, providing financial assistance to students in need.
“Inevitably, things happen, and you don’t have someone to bail you out,” Beverly said. “We want to help students through those unforeseen circumstances. Many people never make it back, for whatever reason. Had I gone home for any extended period, I may not have made it back. There is something about being in the academic environment consistently that starts to change you.”
Bridge the gap funds have been a priority for Chancellor Austin Lane and the SIU administration for years. One of the university’s largest fundraisers, the Saluki Ball, focuses on raising these types of funds to support students and increase retention.
“This is the stage of my life where my focus is on what I am able to give back. It’s fulfilling,” he said. “Something you’ve done or contributed to has had a meaningful impact on someone. That’s enough.”
While an SIU student, Beverly was involved with the Blacks Interested in Business group and was voted Homecoming king.
“SIU has definitely had an influence on my personal and professional journey. SIU for me was the first significant time I spent away from home,” he said. “It forces you to grow up quickly and be responsible and independent and teaches you how to make decisions that ultimately end up cementing your future.”
For Beverly, the “Once a Saluki, always a Saluki” mantra holds true.
“This is such a family. SIU is like nowhere else,” he said. “The bond, the relationship is still so strong. It’s like nothing I’ve seen. It’s different at SIU. Our bond is just different.”
Oyd Craddock knows firsthand how one opportunity can lead to a lifetime of success. That’s what he’s hoping to accomplish through his support of Southern Illinois University students.
Oyd Craddock
“I’m a first-generation college graduate. I didn’t have role models in my home or community of folks who had gone on to graduate from college,” he said. “I was a kid in the 1960s. The opportunities for us in the Deep South, they just weren’t there. I was part of the generation that was going to break through.”
He credits his grandfather for pushing him toward education.
“The original inspiration for giving back comes from my upbringing,” he said. “My grandfather was a champion for us focusing on getting a great education. When I got my degree, my grandparents came to Carbondale to attend my graduation.”
Craddock ’80 led a stout Salukis defense in the late-70s. He was inducted into the Saluki Hall of Fame in 2004. He earned his bachelor’s degree in management from the College of Business. He is a Saluki Hall of Fame football player and member of the SIU Foundation Board of Directors.
“I got connected to SIU through our sports program. I was a scholarship athlete at SIU and made the decision to major in business,” he said.
Experiences he had at SIU led him directly to a fulfilling career.
“I worked for IBM for 31 years, and I was able to get started there with the assistance of the SIU Placement Office. They helped me with my résumé and interviews, and the director sent a letter of recommendation to IBM and other companies,” he said. “From start to finish, I had a wonderful experience at SIU.”
He attended New Orleans’ St. Augustine High School in the 1970s. His high school’s football team famously integrated the Louisiana High School Athletic Association in 1967. Craddock later decided to produce a film about the journey of the team’s coaches and players during that time, titled “Before the West Coast: A Sports Civil Rights Story.”
“This film is really a part of my life story,” Craddock said. “It tells the story of the trials and triumphs of the all-Black, boys’ Catholic high school that integrated the all-white athletic league in Louisiana. It was a breakthrough event to have integrated competition in sports in high schools back then.”
All of this has led Craddock to see the impact that Black alumni can have by giving back to Southern.
“It has tremendous meaning for Black students who are there today and who we hope will experience SIU in the future,” he said. “One of the things I’m very excited about is that I lived to see the day … our chancellor is a Black man … the dean of the business school that I attended is a Black man … and I’m here being a part of that.”
Roland Burris has held many titles, but none may be more apt than this: Trailblazer.
His own path began in Centralia and led him to Southern Illinois University, Germany, Howard University School of Law, Illinois state government, and eventually the U.S. Senate, but that only scratches the surface.
Beyond his expansive roles, his influence has impacted countless lives, and he has been equally impacted by those he has met along the way. It’s these relationships that inspired him to donate $100,000 to establish the Burris Financial Emergency Fund at Southern.
Former U.S. Sen. Roland Burris (middle) joined Chancellor Austin Lane, SIU Foundation CEO Matt Kupec and hundreds of SIU alumni and friends during the Saluki Takeover Tour Chicago in the fall of 2024.
“The Lord has taken care of me. Why shouldn’t I try to make sure that I’m paving a way for others?” he said. “Set your goals. Dare to dream.”
Inspired by Paul
While a student at SIU, Burris had a roommate named Paul. His story became the inspiration for Burris’ emergency fund.
“Paul was a freshman from Du Quoin and worked at the post office in the military barracks that were in the student union. He had trouble getting lunch and dinner. He would drink water and lay down,” Burris said. “He didn’t receive any mail from home. We started helping him when we realized he wasn’t getting enough food. He was rail thin.
“One evening, Paul didn’t show up. He was gone. He had packed up and dropped out of school because he couldn’t get money from home to continue. That stuck with me. I knew if I ever got into a position to help … I don’t want to see any more Pauls.”
The emergency fund isn’t a scholarship. Funds from the endowment are dispersed through the Office of Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to students who need financial help to stay enrolled at SIU.
“A few years ago, I was being honored on campus and a student approached me and gave me a hug. He said that he had received some of that money that bridged the gap. I just cried like a baby,” Burris said. “That’s what the fund was set up for. He was able to pay his bill and go on with his career. It hit me right in the gut.”
SIU & Carbondale
Burris came to SIU from Centralia in 1955 with four others, Bill Norwood, Leonard Taylor, Vernon Rush, and Charles Steptoe, with a plan to play football.
“We caught the train down to Carbondale, met with the coach (Albert Kawal), and then planned to get lunch,” he said. “There were limited places in Carbondale that would serve Blacks. We thought ‘Let’s go back to Centralia.’ Coach said he would feed us on campus, so we stayed.”
Carbondale was largely segregated in the late-1950s. Working with President Delyte Morris and others, that was something Burris set out to change.
“This was when race was really prevalent in that part of the state and across the country,” Burris said. “In terms of the university, there were no Blacks on the faculty, but I had no problems with instructors or deans. Blacks could not stay in the dorms until 1955 when Dr. Morris integrated the newly constructed Woody Hall.”
With a group of white and Black friends, Burris set out to document the issues in Carbondale with the hopes of integrating the city. As a junior, he was president of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, which was planning its 25th anniversary celebration.
“Blacks couldn’t sleep in hotels and motels in Carbondale. We wanted to invite our older brothers, but they had no place to stay,” Burris said. “We decided to document segregation all across the city.”
Burris and a group of Black students would try and fail to book a room, get seated at restaurants, or try on clothes in stores. They would then send in a group of white students to do the same and record their success in doing so.
“We then met with Dr. Morris and the university’s lawyer, John Rendleman, and they could not believe it. They called a meeting with the Chamber of Commerce,” he said. “You could see the blood drain from the faces of these white men as they heard the stories. It was quite an experience. Dr. Morris made it clear that this could not be tolerated, and they took it under advisement.”
It wasn’t until after Burris had left Carbondale that he received word of integration across the city.
“Willie Brown, a football player, sent me a letter saying that every entity in Carbondale was open to serve Blacks, students and otherwise,” Burris said. “That effort of documenting it and presenting it had worked. It was a growing experience for me. We learned how we could negotiate our futures.”
A launching pad
Burris made his mark as an outstanding student. During his junior year, he took a German class, and his professor approached him about an exchange program that SIU had with the University of Hamburg in Germany.
“It was a competition between 200 students, and they selected two, and I was one of them. It was the first time a Black student had been chosen,” Burris said. “So, I spent a year there working on my master’s degree, if you can imagine that.”
While there, Burris began studying international law and decided to pursue his law degree. Although he never finished his master’s, he earned his juris doctor from Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C., in 1963.
“When my wife, Berlean, and I left Howard and headed back to Chicago, I said the only way I would return to D.C. was as vice president or a U.S. senator. Well, on January 16, 2009, I was sworn in as a U.S. senator,” he said.
When Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, it opened a U.S. Senate seat from Illinois. Burris was chosen by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich to fill that spot.
“I was the first Black person in America to be appointed to a Senate seat,” Burris said. “I wasn’t a politician. I was a public servant – for my people and all people.”
Between law school and the Senate, Burris was the first Black person elected to statewide office in Illinois, winning the comptroller race in 1978. He was later elected as Illinois attorney general in 1990.
“At 15 years old, I set two goals – become a lawyer and a statewide elected official – and I did both. Everything I prayed to the Lord for, I have achieved it,” Burris said. “SIU was a major player in my career. I am a fan of Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. It did so much for me and the people I know. I believe it gave me the greatest college experience anyone could have.”
Dr. Randolph Burnside’s decision to give to MEDPREP at Southern Illinois University was driven by love – love for education, love for the program, and mostly love for his sister.
LaKeisha Teneka Brantley passed away suddenly in 2023 from a blood clot that traveled to her heart. She was only 42 years old.
“It hit me hard. She was a special person, the nicest person you would ever want to meet. She was such a joy, gentle spirit and a sweet person,” Burnside, the director of MEDPREP, said. “She lived in rural Mississippi, probably 30 to 40 minutes from the hospital and didn’t have great health care.”
That was the inspiration for he and his wife, Rhetta, to establish the LaKeisha Burnside Brantley Scholarship to support MEDPREP students who are interested in rural medicine.
MEDPREP, the Medical/Dental Education Preparatory Program, is a nationally renowned post-baccalaureate academic enhancement program through the SIU School of Medicine. The program provides assistance to educationally and/or economically disadvantaged students to prepare them for health professions. It is located on the SIU Carbondale campus.
“SIU School of Medicine is really a rural medical school,” Burnside said. “We wanted to create a scholarship that gives back to students who come to SIU and are truly interested and invested in improving rural health care.”
Providing access to education is paramount for Burnside as he sees the impact it has every day.
“Education has played a key role in my career and allowed me to help other people achieve their dreams” he said. “It has given me a much better lifestyle than a lot of people that I grew up with. It has allowed me to give back and continue to help other people who find themselves in a situation where education can be a great value to them. I can help mentor and guide them through the process so they can have the success they seek.”
As is the case with many donors, Burnside started giving at a smaller level. Once he saw the fruits of his generosity, he knew he wanted to leave his mark at Southern.
“I started by giving $50 a year and then it went to $100 and then $200,” he said. “I decided to consolidate all of my giving. SIU is where I wanted to give. SIU is where I wanted to have my impact and have my legacy live after me. It’s not the amount that you give, it’s the fact that you give at all that matters. It shows the love and the care and the respect that you have for the very program that you used as a vehicle to your success.”
To make a gift to MEDPREP or another program, vist siuf.org/give.
Darius Robinson has made giving back a priority throughout his life, crediting his father for showing him the value of getting involved.
“My father, Johnnie Robinson, was a big giver in terms of leadership, discipline, and being a role model. He was my baseball coach in East St. Louis,” Robinson said. “There were a lot of kids on the team who did not have a father figure, so I learned to share my dad with the rest of the team. What is remarkable about my dad is that he did not get paid for that, and he gave many hours to bridge the gap for so many young people.”
Taking the lessons learned from his father, Robinson has stayed involved with Southern Illinois University and is now a member of the SIU Foundation Board of Directors.
Darius Robinson and his wife, Norlander, were honored during the 2022 Saluki Takeover Tour in Chicago.
“When I saw how Chancellor (Austin) Lane, his staff, and the SIU Foundation were bringing alumni together and breaking fundraising records, I realized that the Foundation board was the entity with which I wanted to align myself,” Robinson said.
Before joining the board, he established the Darius Robinson Scholarship, which provides financial support to students from his alma mater, East St. Louis High School.
“I have always wanted to help people have opportunities so that they can help themselves, better themselves and better their community,” he said. “You’re giving that student the opportunity to be the next Black inventor or to be the next leader. Many times, you need a role model that looks like you. Everybody brings something differently to the table.”
Robinson received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from SIU’s College of Engineering, Computing, Technology, and Mathematics in industrial technology and manufacturing systems, respectively. He works as an operations manager for Menzies Aviation. His role is to manage the jet fuel and hydrant system that is used to fuel the aircrafts at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.
“SIU prepared me well for my career. Most of my professors were industrial engineers and they did a great job of teaching me how to analyze a situation and how to troubleshoot and achieve my objectives,” he said.
SIU’s vice chancellor for enrollment management witnesses impact firsthand
By Jeff Wilson
Growing up in rural Arkansas, Wendell and Gloria Williams have never forgotten their roots.
“We come from families that had zero,” said Wendell Williams, vice chancellor for enrollment management at Southern Illinois University. “One thing we always asked for was the ability to give. Every place we have gone, we have made a commitment to endow a scholarship.”
The Wendell and Gloria Williams Family Scholarship lends support to Black SIU students as they pursue their education goals.
Wendell Williams is pictured with his wife, Gloria, and daughters, Britni and Cortni.
“When we receive a letter back from a student, you have no idea how much that means,” he said. “We don’t know if that person will eventually be the cure for cancer or if that person is going to solve some of these racial issues we’re facing or be the president of the United States. Our gift is invisible, but the results, one day, are going to always be visible.”
Despite humble beginnings, Williams was rich in community and family life. He was the first in his family to graduate from college.
“My parents constantly gave to the community. We had a piece of land in front of our house, and they sowed vegetables. Anyone who wanted could come pick from that garden,” he said. “Our community church was so proud of anyone attending college. If you came home on the weekend, the church – which also didn’t have any money – would take up a collection and invest in you. We were representing them and doing something that they were not able to do.”
After graduating from Arkansas State University, Williams was planning to take courses at Southern in a doctoral program, but he was offered a job to become a vice president at a community college instead. He started working at SIU in 2021.
“SIU is a wonderful place,” he said. “It’s so great when we tell our incoming students about our hundreds of thousands of living alumni, and they can see them giving back. It shows that they were able to do well after coming to SIU, and they never forget those connections and want to give back.”
As vice chancellor, Williams works with students every day and see the impact of donor scholarships.
“For the average student, there’s a gap of about $3,500, and that doesn’t count living expenses or books. That gap is what really needs to be covered, and SIU Foundation scholarships do a great job of that,” he said.
Williams urges people interested in giving to think small and not be intimidated by large dollar amounts.
“We started by sitting down and saying, ‘What can we sacrifice without making it hurt on us?’ We settled on $100 a month, so we just started there,” Williams said. “It was stuff we didn’t miss, such as dessert after a meal or one less soda, one less drink. Don’t try to start big. Start and be consistent, and then you see the results of that, and it motivates you to do a little bit more. I wish we could give out more scholarships than we do. Think of the impact that would have. Imagine that.”
Raised by her grandparents in Chicago, Makela Clay was taught the value of giving at an early age.
“They instilled the idea in me that I am my brother’s keeper and that I should treat people the way I want to be treated,” she said. “I love supporting and helping others be their best selves.”
Most recently, she pledged $25,000 to endow the Concrete Rose Scholarship.
“It is dedicated to current Salukis who look like me – women of color who come from Chicago,” she said. “Philanthropy is just an extension of who I am and how I move throughout my life. As Black alumni, it is important for us to sit at the table of support. It’s important for us to show current students that we’re here to support them, and they too can give back when they’re further along in their career.”
Clay, a 1999 graduate of the College of Liberal Arts, is now an executive assistant at TPG in San Francisco.
“I think back fondly on my time in Carbondale and go back often,” she said. “There were so many things that I was able to do at SIU that gave me the confidence to move forward. I can’t imagine my life today without those formative years that I spent gaining my degree.”
Much of her donation history before the scholarship came during the SIU Day of Giving, supporting causes that were important to her, including the Balancing Education, Experience, and Reality (B.E.E.R.) Scholarship.
“Being a donor back to SIU means a lot to me. SIU took a chance on a really shy kid from inner city Chicago and gave me an opportunity to better myself, gain an education and to go forth in the world,” Clay said. “I felt so supported by all the Salukis who came before me, everyone within the Saluki community who saw me as an individual and wanted to see me succeed, and I want to be able to pay that forward.”
“Through the board, I am continuing to spread the gospel of SIU and the good news, making sure other alumni are up to date and connected to the university.”
She hopes that gifts such as the Concrete Rose Scholarship can inspire others to give back to Southern and support the students who need it most.
“I hope that my legacy will encourage future generations of Salukis to do exactly what I did. Take it one step further and continue to carry the torch of supporting even more Salukis further down the road.”
Incredible corporate partnerships play a vital role in the success of Southern Illinois University students, particularly in the School of Automotive.
“You have a program that students don’t just graduate from, they actually come back and give to the program,” Chancellor Austin Lane said. “Our alumni are out across the country. It really helps when those alumni stay connected because our students can connect and network and get jobs.”
This fall, the school received a donation of nine electric vehicles from Nissan, a gift facilitated by SIU alumnus and Nissan executive Lee Raines.
“Nissan is one of the early adopters for electric vehicles, and our partnership with them has been very strong for decades,” said Andrew Croxell, director of the School of Automotive. “They’ve been extremely generous to us.”
The donation consists of nine new Nissan Leafs for students to work on in the Glenn Poshard Transportation Education Center.
“From a pure training standpoint, to have nine examples of anything is really valuable to us,” Croxell said. “Lee Raines at Nissan has been a huge supporter for a number of years. He was instrumental in sourcing these donation vehicles as well as several other components and vehicles over the years.”
Raines, a 1986 alumnus of the school, is the senior manager of aftersales operations for Nissan North America, Inc.
“One of the exciting things that happens from time to time … is the opportunity to provide vehicles to the school so the technicians can learn the latest technology,” he said. “It will allow the technicians to learn about electric motors, transducers, final drive units, along with batteries and battery management systems.”
Beyond his work through Nissan, Raines and his wife, Renee, have established the Lee and Renee Raines Automotive Scholarship.
“Giving back to the university … helps those who really want to succeed,” he said.
To learn more about how you can support SIU programs and students, visit siuf.org.
When Reggie Townsend and his brothers in Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. – Gamma Upsilon Chapter wanted to establish a scholarship, they found exactly what they were looking for at the SIU Foundation.
“We felt that it was important to give back to an institution that had given to us,” Townsend, a 1992 graduate of the College of Technical Careers, said. “The Foundation made it simple. I thought ‘This is awesome, and oh by the way, it happens to be at the institution where the people are that we want to help.’ All the planets aligned.”
Through that process, the fraternity established the Dream Achievers Scholarship, which supports Black men pursuing their bachelor’s degree at Southern.
“We wanted create avenues for young men who come from situations and conditions that we did,” Townsend said. “We wanted to give them opportunities that we had envisioned for ourselves and allow them to do something bigger and better than we did.”
Townsend is the vice president of data ethics for the SAS Institute, which develops analytics and artificial intelligence software. He leads responsible innovation efforts globally, ensuring that technologies like AI and quantum computing are safe and trustworthy. He is a true leader in the field.
“Leading a team around the globe, we make sure the software we create and products we develop don’t hurt people,” he said. “I am also on the National AI Advisory Committee and have advised the president and White House on matters of AI.”
The son of an SIU alumnus, Townsend first visited the university during a Black Alumni Reunion in the 1980s. He was later admitted to SIU during his junior year of high school.
“SIU was close enough to home to feel safe, but far enough away to feel independent,” he said. “It was at SIU that I learned I could lead. People saw in me things that I didn’t see myself. They pushed me toward opportunities that I didn’t see for myself, and I’m extremely appreciative of that.”
Through the Dream Achievers Scholarship, Townsend and the Kappas aim to help students in financial need who maybe aren’t at the very top of their class academically.
“Latent talent shouldn’t go untapped because students lack financial wherewithal,” he said. “Those students in the top 1 or 2 percent, they usually have access to scholarships. What about those students who are every bit as talented but just need an opportunity? Why shouldn’t we figure out ways to help those kinds of students?
“I have a measure of empathy, especially for those who might be deemed vulnerable in our society. To the degree that I can assist, I’m here to listen and do if there are those who have the courage enough to ask for help. I don’t see a better model for society than each of us helping one another.”
While acknowledging that not everyone has equal capacity to give financially, Townsend encourages others to consider the difference they can make in the lives of SIU students.
“Oftentimes, all of us, feel like we need more than we already have. The act of giving to someone else brings a measure of fulfillment that the next dollar can’t. I’m extremely fortunate to be in a position where the next couple of dollars are not going to materially change my life. I realize not everyone is in that position,” he said. “I am an extreme believer that those of us who have benefited from the opportunity afforded to us by education – particularly those of us from historically marginalized communities – have an obligation to extend that opportunity to others.”
To learn more about making a similar gift, visit siuf.org.
Jim Hayes Stadium Club to be named in honor of historic gift
Jamie Hayes, owner of Jim Hayes, Inc., and his wife, Netta, are donating $1 million to Saluki Athletics.
By Jeff Wilson
With a $1 million gift, Jamie and Netta Hayes further strengthen their family’s ties to Saluki Athletics.
The Hayes family has been a fixture around SIU since Jamie’s father, Jim, first came to Southern in 1961 on a football scholarship.
In honor of this historic gift, SIU Director of Athletics Tim Leonard has announced the naming of the Jim Hayes Stadium Club inside Saluki Stadium. Some of the funds from this gift will be used to revitalize the space.
“For Jamie and Netta to step up in this way says a ton about them and where we are headed,” Leonard said. “They see the vision. They see the passion. They know how valuable Saluki Athletics is to SIU and all of Southern Illinois. This is massively important for us, and I want to thank them on behalf of Saluki Nation.”
One of the premier locations on campus, the Jim Hayes Stadium Club will continue to be utilized by members of the entire campus community for important events and major announcements.
“For my dad’s name to be further etched into Saluki history this way is incredible,” Jamie Hayes said. “We wanted to make a statement about how we feel about SIU and what the Salukis mean to us and this community. We wouldn’t be able to do this if it weren’t for him. I think he would be proud.”
Jim Hayes first came to SIU in 1961 on a football scholarship.
The Hayes Legacy
After graduating from SIU with a degree in education in 1962, Jim Hayes moved to Macomb, where he taught, coached football and married his wife, Bette, in 1966. After taking up car sales as a part-time job, he found a knack for the profession and moved his family to Harrisburg in 1976, founding the Jim Hayes, Inc., car dealership.
“My dad played linebacker at SIU. He had a great nickname, ‘The Axe,’” Jamie Hayes said. “From there, it was just always following the Salukis. He had a lot of great loves. He loved his family, the business, his employees, customers, and he loved SIU.”
Raising his family and growing his business in Southern Illinois, Jim Hayes made a point to support SIU through Saluki Athletics. Jim Hayes passed away in 2018, leaving an incredible legacy at Southern. The dealership is now owned and operated by Jamie Hayes.
“I grew up going with my dad to basketball games. SIU has a history of great coaches and great teams,” he said. “The time spent with my dad was always good. I have great memories of these programs.”
Jamie Hayes graduated from SIU in 1994 with a degree in speech communication from the College of Liberal Arts. He has long supported Saluki Athletics, including partnerships and charitable giving through his business, and been a fixture at SIU events for decades.
He recently joined the Big Dawg Leadership Society, which recognizes donors who give annually to Saluki Athletics.
“The success of SIU can do nothing but help the region,” he said. “Now, more than ever, it’s time to step it up a little bit more. You’re going to need more community involvement. You have to bleed maroon no matter what.”
