By Jeff Wilson

CARBONDALE – When visionary leadership intersects with inspiring generosity, incredible things are possible. Rarely has that been more apparent than during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Tedrick Welcome Center at Southern Illinois University.

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression,” said Chancellor Austin Lane during the ceremony on Friday, Oct. 11. “This building is going to blow students away and help us seal the deal.”

The building, which is the first major on-campus construction project in 12 years, will be located at the main university entrance off U.S. Highway 51 and act as a new front porch for Southern. Thirteen years ago, it was the site of McAndrew Stadium and has since been a parking lot.

Named for Roger and Sally Tedrick, whose $6 million leadership gift was instrumental in the funding of the building, the state-of-the-art welcome center will be the first stop for prospective students. Open houses, campus tours, orientations, and other events will begin at the welcome center. Construction of the Tedrick Welcome Center is 100 percent funded through the SIU Foundation. It will require no taxpayer dollars and no tuition or student fee monies. The SIU Foundation is funding the building through a combination of reserves, fundraising and borrowing. No state funds are being used to build the Tedrick Welcome Center.

“From the ashes of McAndrew Stadium will rise the Tedrick Welcome Center,” said Matt Kupec, vice chancellor for development and alumni relations and CEO of the SIU Foundation. “We want to pay special thanks to Roger and Sally Tedrick for their incredible lead gift.”

Roger Tedrick, a 1970 graduate of SIU’s College of Liberal Arts, is a member of the SIU Board of Trustees and emeritus member of the SIU Foundation Board of Directors. He is the owner and CEO of Tedrick Group Risk Management Solutions, based in Mount Vernon. Raised in Carbondale, he attended University High School on SIU’s campus. Sally Tedrick is a 1973 graduate of the SIU School of Education.

“There hasn’t been much done on this campus that (Roger Tedrick) hasn’t been a part of,” said J. Phil Gilbert, chair of the SIU Board of Trustees.

The building, scheduled to be completed in May of 2026, will include a visitor center capable of hosting conferences, lectures, seminars and catered events for up to 300 people, and the philanthropy center, which will be the new home of the SIU Foundation. It will also serve as a hub for donor visits, alumni activities and campus and community events.

As the SIU Foundation continues the Imagine SIU 2030 fundraising campaign – which has raised more than $360 million toward its $500 million goal – its offices will move into the southern wing of the building. In its most recent fiscal year, the SIU Foundation provided $5.4 million in scholarships to 1,842 students, impacting more than 16 percent of all SIU students.

“The Foundation has been incredible supporters of so many projects,” said SIU System President Dan Mahony. “It has done so much for the university – things that we could not have done otherwise. This building will be a big part of our success going forward.”

The vision for the building dates back over a decade when it first became clear that the SIU Foundation would need to vacate its current location in Colyer Hall.

“We talked about a building 12 years ago,” said SIU Foundation Board of Directors President Diane Compardo. “Now it feels like fate that it took this long. This is the perfect location.”

Leading the charge for the welcome center has been the Foundation’s emeritus board members, led by Greg Cook.

“The emeritus board represents decades of university experience,” Cook said. “I can’t imagine a better group to take on this task. The whole team thought it should be the front door of the university.”

To learn more about the Tedrick Welcome Center and track construction progress, visit siuf.org/twc.

Support from $10M donation will help students, faculty

By Jeff Wilson

CARBONDALE – SIU Simmons Law School has a nice ring to it. Now it has a fresh look to match.

In February 2024, John and Jayne Simmons announced a $10 million gift to the law school, enhancing and expanding its educational offerings to students and opportunities to faculty. In honor of the donation, the SIU Board of Trustees voted to name the SIU Simmons Law School. At a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Aug. 16, the new name and signage were unveiled.

“This mission is aligned with my personal and professional value system,” said John Simmons, a member of the SIU Board of Trustees and founder of the Simmons Hanly Conroy law firm. “We are proud of this school and what it stands for. I owe a lot of my success to SIU and what it has given to my family. It has sent me on my way to success, expanded my world, my horizons, my view on life and my role in supporting my community.”

This historic gift – the largest SIU Carbondale has ever received – further cements Simmons’ legacy at SIU, which includes a $10.2 million commitment to the Simmons Cancer Institute at the SIU School of Medicine in Springfield. His most recent contribution comes as another major step in the Imagine SIU 2030 fundraising campaign, which has raised more than $340 million toward its $500 million goal.

“This gift will allow all of our students and faculty to continue to imagine,” Chancellor Austin Lane said. “You can think about all of the things you’re going to get in this building that are going to take you from Southern Illinois into the world.”

Simmons, a native and resident of Alton, is an SIUE graduate and chairperson and founder of Simmons Hanly Conroy law firm. His support will help provide more access, services, and opportunities to students seeking educational opportunities at SIU Simmons Law School.

The law school is the alma mater of more than 180 local, state, and federal judges. It also has alumni practicing law in 48 states and more than 10 countries. It also features legal clinics that serve members of underrepresented communities and offer students real-world experience.

“Lending one’s name, one’s reputation to a school is a profound gesture,” said SIU Simmons Law School Acting Dean Angela Upchurch. “It intertwines their identity with the ongoing story and mission of that institution, and it creates an indelible impact on its faculty, students and staff.”

Simmons has served two stints on the SIU Board of Trustees, first from 2004 to 2015 and was appointed again in 2019 by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. He has previously functioned as the board’s secretary and chair. He earned his law degree from Southern Methodist University and previously served in the U.S. Army as a combat engineer.

In 1999, he founded Simmons Hanly Conroy, one of the nation’s largest plaintiff’s law firms. The firm has dedicated the past 25 years to representing workers and families impacted by mesothelioma, a fatal and preventable asbestos-related cancer. Under his leadership, the firm expanded to new practice areas and now employs more than 250 people, including more than 80 attorneys, in offices across the country. Most recently, the firm successfully helped lead the national effort to hold manufacturers and distributors of prescription opiates accountable for the opioid epidemic. Firm employees have donated more than $1 million to local charities through the Simmons Employee Foundation and more than $20 million to cancer research nationwide.

Simmons Hanly Conroy has long been involved with SIU’s law school, providing internships, and employing its graduates.

“John is motivated by his core belief of giving back to the community to help improve and create a better life for others,” said SIU Board of Trustees Chair J. Phil Gilbert. “The contribution and investment in this law school will change lives by providing educational opportunities to anyone desiring a legal education … and will develop future leaders that make this world a better place in which to live.”

By Jeff Wilson

Brian Wilson has deep roots at SIU, and his decision to endow a $100,000 scholarship fund in the College of Business and Analytics only strengthens that connection.

“My mother and father met at SIU, and several other family members went there,” he said. “It was probably the first university I was exposed to as a kid.”

The Brian Wilson and Family Finance Scholarship Fund will benefit students from Southern Illinois who are studying finance and other business-related majors.

A Waterloo native, SIU was on the short list of possible universities for Wilson to attend, but the scholarship support he received his freshman year made the choice simple.

“That really clinched the deal for me and my parents,” he said. “I always thought that someday I would like to pay that back.”

Wilson had a typical college experience. He lived at Thompson Point and studied finance. He participated in intramural sports and played pickup basketball at the Student Recreation Center. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1991.

“I enjoyed the experience all around – the academics, the social life, the campus, everything. It was very positive,” he said.

After SIU, Wilson earned a master’s degree from the University of Miami and took a job with Ryder System. Over a 15-year career with Ryder, he worked in Miami, Detroit, Dallas, Toronto, and Singapore. He was then recruited into the world of private equity and is now the chief financial officer in North America for Barentz, a Dutch chemical distributor.

Today, he and his wife, Kris, live in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and have two adult children who make their homes in the Chicago area.

“It all started back with the finance education at SIU,” he said.

His SIU and professional experience intersected when fellow Saluki, Chuck Lounsbury, became senior vice president for supply chain solutions at Ryder System in the early 2000s.

As a student, Wilson had heard of Lounsbury from his professors. Lounsbury, a 1965 SIU graduate and member of the COBA Hall of Fame, had an illustrious career in the business world.

Recently, Lounsbury made a $500,000 donation to establish the Charles and Barbara Lounsbury Endowed Scholarship in the College of Business and Analytics.

“Chuck Lounsbury ended up working two offices down from me, and we got to know each other and shared memories of SIU,” Wilson said. “I saw an article about his gift in the SIU Alumni Association magazine, and it sparked interest in me to go ahead and fulfill my plan to repay my scholarship.”

Beyond financially supporting SIU students, Wilson hopes his scholarship helps drive the college and SIU forward.

“I want to do whatever I can to help the school continue to attract the best students and professors and allow more people the opportunity to get their education from SIU’s College of Business and Analytics,” he said.

To learn more about making a similar gift, visit siuf.org.