By Jeff Wilson
The Saluki Takeover Tour of Southern Illinois visited multiple high schools and community colleges and hosted six receptions for alumni and community members.
Chancellor Austin Lane, Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management Wendell Williams, Director of Admissions Sarah Jiter, and many others traveled to high schools in Benton, Carmi-White County, Mount Vernon, Marion, Johnston City, Gallatin County, Harrisburg, Murphysboro, Chester, Hardin County, Du Quoin, Vienna, Meridian, Cairo, Anna Jonesboro, Cobden, Massac County, Carterville, Carbondale, and Joppa, meeting with administrators and visiting with students who have committed to attending SIU in the fall. The group also visited John A. Logan Community College, Southeastern Illinois College, and met with other educators around the area.
The Saluki Takeover Tour of Southern Illinois ended Saturday, May 4, at Walker’s Bluff Casino Resort in Carterville. Attend by 400 Salukis, the event included welcomed incoming students with an SIU hat ceremony.
“Southern Illinois is a very large area, and we have been all over,” Lane said. “It has been amazing to see all the students and administrators from Chester, to Mount Vernon, from Pope County to Cairo.”
The evening included the SIU Day of Giving trophy presentation, which honored the groups that performed the best during the Day of Giving on Feb. 28. Those groups were: the Balancing Education, Experience, and Reality Scholarship (B.E.E.R.) group, College of Business and Analytics, Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center, School of Law, School of Medicine, and WSIU Public Broadcasting.
Guests also heard remarks from Williams, Athletic Director Tim Leonard, and men’s basketball coach Scott Nagy.
One of the programs being highlighted by Lane and his staff is the Saluki Commitment, which guarantees that tuition and mandatory fees are fully covered for four (transfer students) or eight (freshman students) consecutive semesters at no cost to students or families.
Recipients must meet all of the following criteria:
- Be a first-time incoming freshman enrolling full-time on-campus in the fall 2021 semester or later.
- Have a cumulative high school GPA of 2.75 or higher.
- Have an annual family income less than $103,040 with assets less than $50,000 based on your FAFSA.
- Be an Illinois resident who attended an Illinois high school.
- Be a dependent student under age 24.
- Be eligible for federal financial aid.
“There is no reason in the world for a student from any county in Southern Illinois to attend any other university than the one in their backyard,” Lane said Wednesday, May 1, at Fat Edd’s Roadhouse in Metropolis. “You’re not going to find another school that’s close to you that’s an R2 higher research institution. We’re soon to become an R1 institution. That’s our goal.”
Alumni and friends have gathered for five Chancellor’s Receptions at The Granada Theatre in Mount Vernon on Wednesday, April 24, Morello’s in Harrisburg on Thursday, April 25, St. Nicholas Brewing Co. in Du Quoin on Friday, April 26, Alto Vineyards in Alto Pass on Monday, April 29, and Fat Edd’s Roadhouse in Metropolis on Wednesday, May 1.
Dozens of Salukis have come to each event to meet Chancellor Lane and other SIU leaders.
“We want students to know they can come from Mount Vernon, Benton, Carmi-White County, or anywhere else and launch to the world,” Lane said to a crowd of nearly 50 guests Wednesday, April 24, at The Granada Theatre in Mount Vernon. “You don’t have to leave and go anywhere. We have an advantage right here in our backyard.”
At each reception, SIU leaders were met with excitement from alumni and friends from across Southern Illinois.
“I don’t know the last time we’ve had an event like this with boots on the ground, going and seeing high school students, giving out scholarships. That’s what it’s going to take,” said Saluki Football coach and Du Quoin native Nick Hill during the reception Friday, April 26, at St. Nicholas Brewing Co.
The Office of Innovation and Economic Development at SIU and the Small Business Navigator Program are partnering with local organizations to offer Business Resource Meet Ups. The purpose of these events is to provide valuable
insights into the Advantage Illinois Loan Program, along with detailed information on the services of the Illinois SBDC and the Illinois APEX Accelerator program at SIU. Events have already taken place at Innovation Hub in Mount Vernon, MAN-TRA-CON in Marion, Morello’s in Harrisburg, Alongi’s Italian Restaurant in Du Quoin, First Missionary Baptist Church in Cairo, Vienna High School, Carbondale Civic Center, and United Methodist Church in Golconda.
“We’re preaching pride in the region. We’re preaching legacy. We’re preaching accessibility,” said Lane on Monday, April 29, at Alto Vineyards. “All of those things are keeping our students here at home. We have some wonderful Salukis coming in.”
For more information, call 618-453-4900 or email siuf@foundation.siu.edu.
For more photos and video highlights from the Saluki Takeover Tour of Southern Illinois, visit the SIU Foundation on Facebook.
