Dylan Chambers joined the SIU Foundation as the assistant director of annual giving in December 2024.
In this role, Chambers will help develop and implement fundraising strategies to grow donor participation and contributions. He will assist in building relationships with donors through gift acknowledgments and stewardship events. He is also heavily involved in tracking naming opportunities on campus, highlighting significant giving opportunities at SIU.
Before stepping into his current role, Chambers interned with the SIU Foundation, contributing to development initiatives and refining donor engagement tools. As a student at Southern, he raised over $100,000 for the SIU Dawg Pound, the official student section for Saluki Athletics, which he also led. He served as vice president of student affairs for the Undergraduate Student Government, advocating for students and enhancing campus life.
In 2021, Chambers was elected to the Metropolis City Council, becoming the youngest alderman in the city’s history. During his term, he served on the Parks and Recreation Committee and the Small Business & Industrial Park Committee, working to improve community resources and support local economic development.
Chambers earned a Bachelor of Science in sports administration with a minor in coaching from SIU in May 2024. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his family, especially his nephew, Kendrick, and cheering on Saluki Athletics.
Tammera Holmes, a visionary leader and passionate advocate for female leadership and aviation, passed away on Dec. 1, 2024, leaving an enduring legacy.
Graduating from SIU’s Aviation Management program in 2000, she broke barriers and inspired countless young people to pursue their dreams in the aviation industry. She was the founder and CEO of Aerostar Avion Institute, an afterschool academic program established in 2008 to create awareness of aviation and aeronautical career opportunities among women, minorities and at-risk students.
“I grew up in a very impoverished household, a crime-ridden community just outside of the west side of Chicago. Survival just became a way of life. There were times when there wasn’t enough food to eat, and my safe haven was school,” Holmes said in a 2022 interview with the SIU Alumni Association.
Her mother knew she had to keep Tammera busy to keep her focused.
“She was looking for things for me to do. One Saturday morning she sent me out to go on a Young Eagles flight with the Chicago Tuskegee Airmen’s chapter,” Holmes said. “We were flying over Lake Michigan on the most beautiful day, and I knew that day that aviation had not just changed my life, but probably saved my life. I went on to pursue a degree in aviation at Southern Illinois University.”
After starting her career as an airport planner and consultant, she quickly realized there was no clear pathway for a woman to become a leader within her company
“I have dedicated my career to aviation and aerospace education and created access and opportunity for young people who look like me and come from where I come from … to really show them there is a path to the top for them,” Holmes said.
Beyond aviation, she sought to bridge the gap for women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
“Being able to inspire young women to be not just a part of the future of this country, but a future of the leadership that’s going to lead American into the next generation of innovation, especially in STEM,” Holmes said. “I want to encourage young women to raise their hand and really step up and take charge of their future to volunteer for more opportunities to lead and to command the stage.
“My advice to women around the world is to show up authentically as yourself. So many times, I was told I was too loud. I was too aggressive. I was too demanding. But those are the exact same characteristics that men have when they show up to work, and they are rewarded for it. So don’t shrink back. Don’t just have a seat at the table, have ownership of the table. One of the things I love about aviation is that airplanes are not designed to go in reverse. The thrust is always moving you forward. As long as everything is in balance and you have the right power and the mechanisms to implement power, just keep pressing forward.”
Tammera Holmes School of Aviation DEI Faculty Endowment
To honor Tammera’s memory and continue her mission, the SIU Foundation has established the Tammera Holmes School of Aviation DEI Faculty Endowment.
This fund will support faculty diversity initiatives within the School of Aviation to help ensure that the educational environment reflects the diversity of the workforce and student body. The goal is to raise $100,000 to establish this faculty fellowship to create a legacy at SIU that reflects Tammera’s accomplishments in the industry.
This endowment will give the School of Aviation the opportunity to contribute to curriculum design, research priorities and mentorship strategies that foster an inclusive environment for our students, faculty and staff. The faculty fellow would be able to utilize funds to enhance DEI efforts in the School of Aviation or the aviation industry. The Tammera Holmes School of Aviation DEI Faculty Fellow would be available to a faculty member on a five-year term limit.
Join us in honoring Tammera’s legacy and shaping the future of aviation. Make a gift at siuf.org/tammera.
CARBONDALE – The impact made by Dr. Bob and Beth Gower has been felt by Southern Illinois University Carbondale students and faculty for years. Now, the Gower name will be forever imprinted into the university’s future at the Gower Translational Research Center.
The Gowers have been generous donors to Southern for many years. Most recently, they dedicated $2.5 million to advance the mission and support the research activities taking place across campus.
Bob and Beth Gower have donated $2.5 million in support of Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s research activities.
In honor of this transformational gift, the SIU Board of Trustees voted Thursday, Dec. 5, that the McLafferty Annex be named the Gower Translational Research Center.
“The Gower family story is an incredible one, and it all began at Southern, so it is appropriate that we honor their legacy with this naming,” Chancellor Austin Lane said. “We are so thankful for everything they have done for this university.”
Bob Gower, a West Frankfort native, graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemistry in 1958 and 1960, respectively. He met his wife, Beth, while both were studying at SIU. She graduated in 1961. Dr. Gower earned his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He is the founder and executive chairman of Ensysce Biosciences, a biotech company that develops tamper-proof and abuse-resistant prescription drugs.
Before their latest gift, the Gowers established the Bob G. & Mary Beth Gower Scholarship Endowment in SIU’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, which has benefited more than 50 students. They also established the Beth & Bob Gower Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry in the College of Agricultural, Life and Physical Sciences.
Dr. Gower is a two-time recipient of the SIUC Alumni Achievement Award from the College of Science (1988, 2008). He is a Distinguished Alumnus of the college and was inducted into the Chemistry & Biochemistry Hall of Fame in 1997. He served as a member of the steering committee for the university’s Opportunity Through Excellence campaign and as a member of the Chemistry & Biochemistry Advisory Committee. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the university in 2018. The Gowers, who reside in Houston, have three adult daughters and several grandchildren.
Their $2.5 million gift is yet another major step in the SIU Foundation’s Imagine SIU 2030 fundraising campaign. With a goal of raising $500 million by July 2028, the campaign currently sits at more than $361 million. It is the fifth largest such campaign in the history of public universities in Illinois.
“We could not have this kind of success without the support of alumni like Bob and Beth Gower,” said Matt Kupec, vice chancellor for development and alumni relations and CEO of the SIU Foundation. “This is a spectacular moment in the history of our great university, and this momentum is going to carry us into an even brighter future.”
Formerly McLafferty Annex, the Gower Translational Research Center is located at 1785 University Press Drive.
The Gower Translational Research Center, located at 1785 University Press Drive, is a hub of high-level research. In October 2024, SIU dedicated a $7.2 million BioLaunch lab in the center. The 10,000-square-foot space is dedicated to life sciences research and more.
Funded in part by a $2.7 million grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Wet Lab Program, BioLaunch is the newest addition to the Illinois Food, Entrepreneurship, Research, and Manufacturing (iFERM) Hub, a state-of-the-art research and training suite for faculty use, students, start-up companies and private firms in the region. iFERM capitalizes on the university’s research and innovation into food, fermentation and biotechnology. In 2021, the SIU Foundation provided a $1.1 million grant to advance the progress on the Fermentation Science Institute, which is inside the center.
“BioLaunch and other components of the iFERM Hub will help us solve challenges in food, agriculture, energy and health through research, innovation and education,” Dr. Costas Tsatsoulis, vice chancellor of research at SIU, said during the BioLaunch ribbon cutting. “And it will provide infrastructure for the development of Illinois agriculture value-added products to promote and support successful entrepreneurial activities.”
The center is also home to the Center for Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences, and an ultra-fast laser facility, further enhancing its role as a center for diverse research initiatives.
There is still time to apply for the SIU Foundation Women’s Leadership Council 2024-25 WLC Microgrant, a funding opportunity available exclusively to SIU women faculty, staff, and students.
The deadline to apply is Monday, Dec. 9. Award finalists will be notified by Feb. 6. Interviews will be Feb. 24, and grants will be awarded on May 1. Fill out the application here: siuf.org/wlc/grant.php.
Since 2020, the WLC has united alumnae, parents, and friends dedicated to empowering women and advancing women-driven philanthropy at SIU. Council members contribute their time, energy, resources, and expertise serving on university boards and championing SIU in their home regions. Embodying a legacy of leadership, WLC collectively funds women’s initiatives and scholarships on campus.
This is an opportunity to put your vision into action with the support of a council committed to women’s empowerment.
Here are some important notes to consider when applying:
There is no guarantee that your application will move forward to the interview round.
You are encouraged to submit a focused and strategic application.
WLC is not a flow-through for other non-profit organizations. The goal is to impact student learning and experience, not fundraise for other philanthropies.
Prioritization is given to new projects to provide seed money. Funding is not prioritized for continuing initiatives unless there is a significant new component or a compelling reason to consider sustaining funding after the first year.
Please read the Grant Awards Application Instructions carefully as there are other parameters to consider when requesting funding.
Funding is typically not granted for giveaways, prizes, or food.
Funding is not allowed to be used as salaries or stipends.
A.J. Rice (left) and Connor Falson, program coordinator of the Technology Equipment Room in the School of Media Arts, unload some of the equipment donated by MBS, Inc.
By Jeff Wilson
When a friend introduced Joe Dougherty to SIU senior A.J. Rice, they had no idea of the incredible partnership on the horizon.
Dougherty is executive vice president of MBS, Inc., one of the world’s largest sources of lighting and grip equipment in the entertainment world. Rice, a Du Quoin native, is majoring in cinema and theater and had recently completed an internship with Village Roadshow in Los Angeles.
Over the next few months, Rice would have an internship with MBS, and Dougherty would be finalizing a gift-in-kind of more than $350,000 in lighting and grip equipment to SIU’s School of Media Arts.
“After his internship with Village Roadshow, he had no plans for the following summer, so I offered him an internship,” Dougherty said. “The gift came up organically in our conversation.”
Rice noted the importance of such a partnership with a company like MBS.
“SIU is a school that thrives on hard work and self-determination. It needs to keep up technologically with the top schools in the nation,” he said. “MBS has everything, so I started figuring out what SIU needs and wants.”
Upon seeing the lists of needed equipment, Dougherty quickly saw that MBS was perfectly positioned to help.
The donation includes hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of lighting and grip equipment.
“Primarily, we are providing lights and grip equipment that service broadcast television and theater,” he said. “I recognized that the things SIU needed are things we have in abundance. As some of these things become less moving in our industry, we make room for updated equipment, but the things we’re moving on from can make SIU’s inventory more robust.”
Beyond the impact of the gift, the partnership with MBS is likely to outlast any equipment the company can offer.
“The internship was mind-blowing. I tried to be like a sponge while I was there,” Rice said. “I would love to not be the only one experiencing these things.”
Dougherty said MBS plans to expand its partnership with SIU and hopes to continue improving the experience of SIU students.
“One of the biggest pleasures of my role in this industry is bringing good people together with great intentions and great skills,” he said. “There is the respected formal education in film and theater, and the internship complements that. The only limit is your ambition.”
David Lee’s parents, James and Li Ma, came to Southern Illinois University separately in the late-1950s in search of education and a path to a better life, and they found so much more.
“This is their American dream story. Their families had moved to Taiwan from China during World War II, fleeing the Communist regime,” he said. “They were the first of their families to come to the United States. SIU gave them the opportunity to do that.”
The role Southern played in their journey inspired David to make a $25,000 gift, endowing the James T. and Li Ma Lee Scholarship. The funds will support a scholarship for international students in the School of Journalism and/or the School of Education.
“My father came specifically for journalism. He was always intent on working at the New York Times, and that is what he did,” he said.
Li Ma and James Lee are pictured in 1961.
James came to SIU before Li Ma. He became president of the Chinese Student Association and was already well-established on campus by the time Li Ma arrived in September 1959. As the eldest of eight children, Li Ma came to SIU on a full scholarship for graduate school. After meeting and falling in love, the couple wed in Carbondale’s St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in 1961. When James graduated in 1962, they decided to leave for New York.
“My father knocked on the door of the New York Times asking for a job. He took anything they offered, starting at the bottom as a copy boy and eventually becoming one of the newspaper’s first Asian editors,” David said. James’ career at the newspapers spanned more than 30 years.
Despite the success and happiness, one thing had been left unfinished in Carbondale. Li Ma was a single credit short of earning her graduate degree when the couple moved to pursue James’ dream of working at the New York Times.
James Lee worked at the New York Times for more than 30 years.
“When my parents left SIU, my mom was already pregnant with me”, David said. “She had earned her way to SIU and was a tremendous student, always at the top of her class.”
After James passed away in 2012, David was inspired to reach out to SIU and see what could be done to recognize his mother’s academic achievement. He worked with Kelly Mason and Dr. Yueh-Ting Lee, who was the dean of the graduate school, to find a solution.
“I decided to bring closure to her,” David said. “After 60 years, SIU bestowed her an honorary degree. It is beyond words. She was shocked. To this day, that degree sits on her dining room table. It meant everything to her.”
With Li Ma turning 90 years old next year, David thought making a gift to support other international students would be a great way to honor his parents.
“What do you get someone who is 90? I thought this might be the greatest gift,” he said. “My mom and dad’s stories intertwined at SIU. Of all the places for them to meet, it was meant to be. SIU is forever in our hearts.”
To learn more about making a gift, visit siuf.org.
