Monthly Archives: May 2025

Crowdfunding, Events & Engagement, SIU

SIU Day of Giving Marks 10th Anniversary This September

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SIU Day of Giving
By Jeff Wilson

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Southern Illinois University Carbondale will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its Day of Giving on Wednesday, Sept. 17.

This 24-hour online fundraiser engages alumni, friends, faculty, staff, and students in a day of philanthropy and Saluki pride. Since its inception, the event has raised more than $17 million. Gifts can be made at siuday.siu.edu.

“The dollars raised during the Day of Giving not only help SIU students reach their goals, but they also represent the power of the community that makes this university special,” said Matt Kupec, vice chancellor for development and alumni relations and CEO of the SIU Foundation. “Salukis from around the globe come together, make gifts of all sizes, and witness their collective impact. It’s always one of the most exciting days of the year.”

SIU is one of only 21 institutions nationwide included on the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education’s lists for both Research 1 and Opportunity Colleges and Universities.

“Many institutions can say they conduct top-level research, and many schools can say they offer affordability and a great return on investment,” said Chancellor Austin A. Lane. “These designations from Carnegie show very few – less than 1 percent, in fact – can say both. At Southern, we can.”

The Day of Giving offers every Saluki a chance to support the university’s growing momentum. Gifts of any size can be amplified through challenges and matching donations. Many companies offer matching gift programs, which can double or even triple the impact of a donor’s contribution. Visit the website to see if your employer participates.

One standout Day of Giving success story is the Balancing Education, Experience, and Reality (B.E.E.R.) Scholarship. Established in 2019 after a conversation in the “Carbondale in the 80s and 90s” Facebook group, the scholarship has received hundreds of donations annually from alumni who celebrate their Saluki experience. The group has funded multiple B.E.E.R. Scholarships since its creation.

Other projects that have benefited from Day of Giving support include Campus Lake, Saluki Alumni Plaza, the Green Fund, Saluki Athletics, and every college and unit on campus.

All gifts count toward the SIU’s Foundation’s Imagine SIU 2030 fundraising campaign. With a goal of raising $500 million by 2028, the campaign is the fifth largest in the history of Illinois higher education. To date, the campaign has surpassed $400 million.

During the current fiscal year, the SIU Foundation has provided a record-breaking number of scholarships. More than 2,000 SIU students, representing over 17 percent of the student doby, received a scholarship from the SIU Foundation, amounting to nearly $5.6 million in financial support.

To learn more about the campaign and the SIU Foundation, visit siuf.org.

Events & Engagement, Philanthropic Women, SIU

Saluki Women’s Weekend returns this October 

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Saluki Women's Weekend

Mark your calendars for the 4th Annual Saluki Women’s Weekend, taking place October 2-4, 2025! This empowering three-day event celebrates the strength, leadership, and innovation of Saluki women through networking, panels, breakout sessions, and special recognitions.

The weekend kicks off on Thursday, October 2, with the Women in Engineering Industry Reception (5-7 p.m., location TBA). On Friday, October 3, join us at the SIU Student Center Ballroom for the Saluki Women Empowerment Conference & Vendor Fair (7:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.), followed by the Saluki Women Networking Social at Becker Pavilion (4:30-7 p.m.) featuring the Saluki Sisterhood Walk.

On Saturday, October 4, don’t miss the Women in Leadership Mentorship Breakfast (9-11 a.m., Student Center Ballroom) and the Saluki Women’s Tailgate Experience at Saluki Row (12-2 p.m.).

“Women are amazing, women are innovative, and women are passionate,” said Sherrica Hunt, assistant vice chancellor for development and alumni relations, anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion and corporate partnerships, at the SIU Foundation.

The vision of the WLC Mentor Program is to facilitate the connection of students with successful women mentors to align classroom learning with real-life experiences, develop leadership skills, network, and explore career paths after college. The goals of the WLC Mentor Program are as follows:

  • Facilitate professional growth, development, and confidence of mentees
  • Provide an avenue for women to develop and demonstrate leadership abilities
  • Provide networking opportunities to enhance teamwork, professional insight, coaching, development and realization of the value of women’s contributions to SIU Carbondale and future organizations
  • Create lifelong donors focused on contributing to the sustainability to SIU Carbondale

“It has been so neat seeing some of the students and recent graduates connect with the more seasoned alumni,” said Melissa Hahn, SIU Women’s Leadership Council board member.

Visit siuf.org/wlc for full details and updates.

 

Crowdfunding, Events & Engagement, SIU

Help fuel the future: Support STEAM For All summer camp

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STEAM For All

This summer, Southern Illinois University Carbondale is becoming a launchpad for discovery. The STEAM for ALL Day Camp is welcoming local students in grades 6–8 for a hands-on, curiosity-driven experience in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math (STEAM). Thanks to a grant from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), this camp is completely free for participants.

The STEAM For All summer camp is designed to increase awareness, access, and excitement about STEAM among underserved students in our region. With two, week-long sessions in June (June 9–13 and June 23–27), we’re preparing to host up to 60 students.

While the ISBE grant covers registration, it doesn’t cover meals. And with about 90 percent of campers coming from public schools where most students qualify for free or reduced lunches, it is vital to ensure that no child goes hungry while they learn, build, and dream.

MAKE A GIFT TODAY

The Goal

The camp, which is hosted by the College of Engineering, Computing, Technology, and Mathematics, is raising $4,500 to provide lunch and snacks for all campers across both weeks. With your support, it can ensure every camper is nourished and ready to explore.

Every donation—no matter the size—directly supports a child’s experience at camp. Your gift helps provide meals and snacks while campers:

  • Build robots
  • Explore digital art
  • Conduct hands-on science experiments
  • Discover new passions and potential careers

If you’re looking to make an even bigger impact, consider becoming a sponsor:

  • Tech Titan ($1,500+): Feeds 20+ campers for a week and includes top-tier recognition on promotional materials and the camp website, plus logo placement at camp events.
  • Visionary ($750+): Feeds 10+ campers for a week and includes sponsor recognition on camp materials and the website.
  • Creator ($75+): Feeds one camper for a week and includes acknowledgment in sponsor appreciation messages.

Your support makes a real difference. Together, we can ensure that students from diverse backgrounds have access to inspiring STEAM opportunities that can shape their futures.

MAKE A GIFT TODAY

Crowdfunding, SIU

Keep Campus Lake beautiful: Make a gift today

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MAKE A GIFT OF ANY SIZE TO SUPPORT THIS PROJECT

CARBONDALE – Thanks to a lead gift from the late Tilden “Tim” Parks, a 1976 SIU graduate, Campus Lake will soon have a new addition.

Final preparations are underway to install a new state-of-the-art fountain to the center of the lake. This much needed and long overdue fountain will help circulate the water of the lake, helping to prevent the growth of harmful algal blooms and improve all forms of life, such as plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms. The university eradicated cyanobacteria from the lake with a massive cleanup effort in 2016, but left unchecked, they’ll start to take over again.

The gift from Parks helped spark the conversation about adding a fountain, but funding is still needed to secure and install the first of hopefully a few different fountains on the lake. The foundation is seeking an additional $30,000 to make this project a reality and to honor the legacy of Mr. Parks and his family.

MAKE A GIFT OF ANY SIZE TO SUPPORT THIS PROJECT

The community will be invited to a dedication ceremony for the fountain this fall. Details are still being finalized for this event.

“I want to challenge everyone to give back to others and to what is important to them,” said the late Ralph E. Becker, who donated $1 million to renovate the lake’s boathouse in 2017. “It is extremely important to challenge others to do bigger and better than what I am able to accomplish. That is the only way progress will be made.”

Natural beauty often ranks highly in the promotional material of Southern Illinois University Carbondale . One of the campus’s most heavily photographed spots is the scenic landscape of Campus Lake. Campus Lake is a 43-acre spring-fed lake set amongst woodlands. The lake area is popular for students walking across campus to get to class, and is also the site of many campus-wide events like the Great Cardboard Boat Regatta, the Doc Spackman Memorial Triathlon, Moonlight Canoeing, and fundraising and awareness walks.

Purchased in 1956 from the Thompson family that gave its name to Thompson Point and Thompson Woods, Campus Lake was originally known as Thompson Lake. It was only after its purchase that it would be re-christened, when a new Thompson Lake was created just north of Carbondale to serve as a local reservoir.

Campus Lake Trail is a 2-mile paved trail around campus lake. Along the trail, there is a nature boardwalk and multiple workout areas. This trail is often used for everyday recreation by walkers, runners, and joggers. On average the trail sees about 1,500 users a week. The trail hosts multiple organized walks and runs throughout the year.

Your support of the Campus Lake fountain project will allow the university to preserve and maintain this for generations to come.

MAKE A GIFT OF ANY SIZE TO SUPPORT THIS PROJECT

Donor Stories, Philanthropic Women, SIU

Husband, wife support students through retention scholarship

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By Jeff Wilson

Drs. Dan Elkins and Amelia Noël-Elkins are uniquely aware of the obstacles facing college students.

Dan, a 1993 SIU graduate, is the associate vice president for academic fiscal management at Illinois State University, and Amelia is the associate provost at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Together, they established the Elkins Student Support Scholarship within SIU’s College of Health and Human Sciences. The fund provides financial support to current students, particularly to those seeking an internship to advance their career experience.

Drs. Dan Elkins and Amelia Noël-Elkins
Drs. Dan Elkins and Amelia Noël-Elkins attend the 2025 Saluki Ball.

“One of the big motivations for this was to help students who aren’t as fortunate, who do not have support in place,” Dan said.

While many scholarships are directed toward incoming students, both Dan and Amelia thought it was important to aid students who are already on their higher education journey.

“Sometimes we don’t openly acknowledge the fact that it’s almost harder to retain a student than it is to recruit them,” Amelia said. “The scholarship had to focus on helping students who might be facing a few hiccups along the way, might have a few roadblocks to be able to get over that hump and complete their degree.”

Many students, especially in the College of Health and Human Sciences, take on internships to gain valuable work experience and advance their education. Some of these internships last months and are unpaid.

“It was very intentional to make sure that the fund could be used for internships also to make sure students could advance their network and could be able to have professional opportunities and growth. We all know that sometimes internships lead to that first job,” Amelia said.

Dan’s father, Dr. Donald Elkins, worked at SIU as a professor of plant and soil sciences in the College of Agricultural, Life, and Physical Sciences. He established the college’s well-known Agbassadors program, and each year a faculty member is awarded the Donald M. Elkins Excellence Award. Donald Elkins passed away in 2013.

Dan was born and raised in Carbondale and earned a bachelor’s degree in recreation from the College of Health and Human Sciences in 1993. He then earned a master’s and doctoral degree from Indiana University.

“My dad was someone who knew what he wanted to do his whole life,” Dan said. “I, on the other hand, did not have a clear idea of what I wanted to do. I changed my major four times. It took me a long time to finish. My experience was a struggle of sorts, trying to find that direction. At SIU, I had tremendous support … so many people helped me. Many students do not have the support or resources that I did. We hope this gift affords students the opportunity to stay in school as they find their path.”

Amelia and Dan met while at Indiana University, and both have gone on to successful careers in higher education.

“I’m a Saluki by marriage,” Amelia said. “As we’ve become more engaged with the SIU community, I have been able to see the legacy that Dan and his dad have had at SIU.”

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

Donor Stories, SIU

Celebrating Heritage: The Journey of Sunil Sinha

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Dr. Sunil Sinha’s story is one of resilience, dedication, and a deep connection to his heritage. Born into a family originally from India, Sunil’s journey to the United States in the late ’60s marked the beginning of a remarkable path that would intertwine his professional achievements with his cultural roots.

After completing his residency in internal medicine, he joined the Carbondale Clinic and quickly established a busy practice. It was during this time that he began to consider how furthering his education might impact his career.

Sunil’s own academic journey led him to SIU, where he received an MBA at the College of Business Administration in 1998. Despite the challenges of balancing a busy clinical practice with his studies, Sunil found support and encouragement from faculty members, some of whom were family friends and even patients.

One of his most memorable experiences was a class with Dr. Reed Nelson, who taught organizational design and behavior.

“Dr. Nelson’s teaching style was quite entertaining, providing the class with a variety of perspectives on management styles and organizational cultures. His class was the one I enjoyed the most,” Sunil said.

The impact of his MBA was profound, opening doors for Sunil to transition from a full-time clinician to various roles in health care on a national stage. His first post-practice job was as the director of primary care at the VA Medical Center in Marion.

“A major consideration for me getting the job over several other more experienced candidates was the fact that I was the only one with an MBA. There was an assumption that the degree provided me with sufficient knowledge to lead the business side of medicine.” Sunil said.

Although that assumption turned out to be untrue, it opened the door to opportunities that built upon the experience he would go on to gain.

Sunil’s father, Dr. Atmesh Sinha, played a pivotal role in shaping his early life. As the first chairperson of the Department of Mining Engineering at Southern Illinois University, Dr. Sinha’s career spanned 25 years, leaving a legacy in Carbondale.

“My father has always been my strongest role model,” Sunil said. “His journey from a remote village in India to achieving degrees from several countries prior to arriving in the United States has been a constant source of inspiration for our family.”

Sunil’s career has been marked by groundbreaking moments and leadership roles. He proudly served as the second physician elected to the governing board of the American College of Healthcare Executives, an international professional society of over 40,000 health care leaders.

His ability to develop dyad partnerships in approaching complex clinical and operations challenges has been mutually beneficial, allowing him to navigate the intricacies of healthcare delivery with innovative solutions.

Reflecting on the challenges he faced in his field, Sunil emphasizes the importance of drawing on personal and team experiences to address situations, both new and old.

“Health care in general is a complex system with the expectation of delivering high-quality healthcare to diverse populations through a variety of payment mechanisms,” he explains. Sunil’s approach often involved taking calculated business risks to create sustainable solutions.

Sunil’s connection to SIU remains strong, driven by a desire to give back to the institution that played a crucial role in his career.

“My father had the opportunity to serve the university for 25 years. Including my wife (Rupali) and me, we have seven alumni from various colleges at SIU,” Sunil said.

He has served on the COBA External Advisory Board since 2000 and the Alumni Association Board since 2022. He is a member of the COBA Hall of Fame. Sunil and his wife have also created an endowed scholarship for current students at COBA, supporting initiatives that benefit both students and faculty.

As an advocate for young Asian American and Pacific Islander students aspiring to enter his industry, Sunil encourages them to embrace their diverse backgrounds and cultures as strengths.

“Don’t feel intimidated—let your diverse background and culture be the strength you bring to every role,” he said.

His message to the SIU community during AAPI Heritage Month is clear: “Be proud of your roots and origins. Share your passion, knowledge, and experiences to help address challenges and help others along their journeys of success.”

Sunil Sinha’s journey is a testament to the power of heritage, education, and perseverance. His story serves as an inspiration for future generations of AAPI leaders, reminding them to find their passion and pursue it with complete focus and energy.

As Sunil aptly puts it, “Paying it forward will help future generations of Salukis who, in turn, will hopefully keep the tradition going.”