{"id":3166,"date":"2023-03-13T19:32:56","date_gmt":"2023-03-13T19:32:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=3166"},"modified":"2023-03-24T02:20:19","modified_gmt":"2023-03-24T02:20:19","slug":"odenkirk-to-visit-siu-receive-degrees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=3166","title":{"rendered":"Odenkirk to visit SIU, receive degrees:"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"Bob
Bob Odenkirk. Photo by Sharon Alagna<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

CARBONDALE \u2013 Because of overwhelming response, the Bob Odenkirk honorary degree presentation and Q&A session Monday, April 3, will be moved to the Banterra Center. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is no longer required to attend this event. Seating will be first come, first served. Doors open at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n

The 1984 SIU graduate will receive two degrees during a ceremony at 7 p.m. Monday, April 3, at the Banterra Center. The first will be the bachelor\u2019s degree he earned as a student. The second will be an honorary doctorate bestowed upon him in 2020.<\/p>\n

After the presentation of his degrees, there will be a discussion and audience Q&A session. This event is hosted by the SIU Foundation and the College of Arts and Media (CAM).<\/p>\n

\u201cBob Odenkirk is one of the bright stars in our vast Saluki universe,\u201d Chancellor Austin Lane said. \u201cWe are so excited for him to be back on campus and share his experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the public event that evening, Odenkirk will spend most of the day on campus. He will speak to two CAM classes and meet with students, faculty, staff, and university leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to have someone like Bob Odenkirk speak to our classes is a truly unique experience for our students,\u201d said Hong Cheng, dean of the College of Arts and Media. \u201cWhen our most successful alumni engage with us in this way, it makes our college stronger and more robust.\u201d<\/p>\n

Odenkirk was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at spring commencement in May of 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced him to give a virtual address. It was during that address he coined the phrase, \u201cI am a Saluki, you fools, and I will destroy you,\u201d which has become a popular T-shirt worn by Salukis everywhere.<\/p>\n

In the past, Odenkirk has spoken fondly of his time at SIU, including during appearances on talk shows, red carpet interviews, and in magazine articles.<\/p>\n

Before the 2019 Emmy Awards, he was interviewed by Jenny McCarthy, who also attended SIU. McCarthy asked him if he knew they attended the same college.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s where I graduated from,\u201d Odenkirk said. \u201cSalukis! I love that college. Look at us, SIU made us.\u201d<\/p>\n

From Carbondale to Hollywood<\/strong><\/p>\n

Odenkirk grew up in northern Illinois. After coming to SIU, he spent time as a radio DJ and comedian, working at student radio station WIDB. He earned a bachelor\u2019s degree from SIU in radio-television.<\/p>\n

After graduating, he moved to Chicago, where he performed comedy and took classes at the Players Workshop. He was later hired to write for \u201cSaturday Night Live,\u201d where he helped create beloved sketches such as \u201cDa Bears\u201d and \u201cMatt Foley, Motivational Speaker.\u201d<\/p>\n

After many other writing credits and parts in film and TV, Odenkirk co-created the HBO sketch comedy show \u201cMr. Show with Bob and David,\u201d alongside comedian David Cross. Throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, Odenkirk could be found in a number of movies and television shows.<\/p>\n

In 2009, he joined the cast of AMC\u2019s \u201cBreaking Bad,\u201d which catapulted him into the limelight. His character, lawyer Saul Goodman, quickly became a fan favorite. The character was also the focus of the \u201cBreaking Bad\u201d spinoff \u201cBetter Call Saul.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both shows were critically acclaimed, earning Odenkirk numerous awards and honors, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.<\/p>\n

Odenkirk also recently starred in the hit movie, \u201cNobody,\u201d and his newest show \u201cLucky Hank\u201d is set to premiere on AMC on March 19. \u201cLucky Hank\u201d is based on the novel \u201cStraight Man\u201d by former SIU English professor Richard Russo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  CARBONDALE \u2013 Because of overwhelming response, the Bob Odenkirk honorary degree presentation and Q&A session Monday, April 3, will be moved to the Banterra Center. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is no longer required to attend this event. Seating will be first come, first served. Doors open at 6 … Continue reading Odenkirk to visit SIU, receive degrees:<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-higher-education","category-illinois-higher-education","category-siu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3166"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3187,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3166\/revisions\/3187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}