By Jeff Wilson
The Saluki Takeover Tour of Southern Illinois began Thursday, April 3, with a packed house at Apple Creek Golf Club in Makanda.
Chancellor Austin Lane, the SIU Foundation, and university leaders hosted 200 SIU alumni and community members. Guests enjoyed complimentary hors d’oeuvres and drinks while engaging with their alma mater in an intimate setting.
“We are going to be all over this region. We are recruiting like we are coaches giving offers to students, telling them there is nowhere else you need to go other than Southern Illinois University Carbondale,” Lane said.
The Chancellor’s Reception at Apple Creek was the first of six such events. The next five will be:
- Tuesday, April 8 – TJ’s Diamond Club, Mtn Dew Park, 1000 Miners Drive, Marion – REGISTER HERE
- Thursday, April 10 – Café Bloom, 1104 Public Square, Benton – REGISTER HERE
- Tuesday, April 15 – St. Nicholas Landmark Brewery, 111 Ferry Street, Chester – REGISTER HERE
- Thursday, April 17 – Pizza Villa, 169 E. Vienna Street, Anna – REGISTER HERE
- Tuesday, April 22 – Faye, 1616 Walnut Street, Murphysboro – REGISTER HERE
University representatives will visit 50 high schools across all 17 Southern Illinois counties. Before Tuesday’s Chancellor’s Reception, the takeover tour visited high schools in Pope County, Hardin County, and Marion.
The Office of Innovation and Economic Development hosted a Business Resource Meetup at the Dunn Richmond Center in Carbondale. There will be a second Business Resource Meetup on Thursday, April 22, at the 17th Street Annex in Murphysboro. For more information, email sbdc@siu.edu or call 618-536-2424.
Lane and admissions staff promoted programs such as 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.
SIU also recently joined the ranks of the Ivy League, being named a Research 1 (R1) university by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Southern is one of only three public universities in Illinois with that designation, and it is the only one within 100 miles of Carbondale.
“As we go out and recruit, you will be surprised how many students are interested in research. Students that are thinking about their future, when they’re thinking about what school to select, we go right to the top,” Lane said. “We have incredible faculty. I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank our faculty for getting us there.”
For the SIU Foundation, the takeover tours are an opportunity to connect with donors as it progresses through the record-breaking Imagine SIU 2030 fundraising campaign. With a goal of raising $500 million by June 2028, it is the fifth largest such campaign in the history of Illinois higher education. More than $390 million has already been raised, and the Saluki Takeover Tour helps spread the excitement.
“We have 270,000 alumni. There are only 50 universities with more. I think you all agree that there’s something in the sauce about being a Saluki,” said Matt Kupec, vice chancellor for development and alumni relations and CEO of the SIU Foundation.
Suggested attire for these events is business casual, but Saluki gear is always appropriate, too. For more information, visit siuf.org/southern-illinois.