{"id":4624,"date":"2025-08-07T13:22:35","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T13:22:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=4624"},"modified":"2025-08-07T13:34:39","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T13:34:39","slug":"siu-dedicates-campus-lake-fountain-in-memory-of-alumnus-tilden-tim-parks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=4624","title":{"rendered":"SIU Dedicates Campus Lake Fountain in Memory of Alumnus Tilden \u201cTim\u201d Parks"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tilden
Southern Illinois University Carbondale dedicated the Tilden \u201cTim\u201d Parks Campus Lake Fountain on Wednesday, Aug. 6, during a community celebration at Becker Pavilion.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Britni Bateman<\/strong><\/p>\n

Southern Illinois University Carbondale dedicated the Tilden \u201cTim\u201d Parks Campus Lake Fountain on Wednesday, Aug. 6, during a community celebration at Becker Pavilion. The 60-foot fountain honors the legacy of the late Parks, a proud 1976 graduate whose generosity helped bring the project to life.<\/p>\n

A crowd of 50 gathered along the lake as Chancellor Austin A. Lane, SIU Foundation CEO Matt Kupec, student leader Noah Farris, Director of Facilities and Energy Management Mark Owens, and Director of Recreational Sports and Services Corn\u00e9 Prozesky delivered remarks.<\/p>\n

\"SIU
SIU Chancellor Austin A. Lane speaks to the crowd at the Campus Lake fountain dedication event.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis is yet another great project,\u201d Lane said. \u201cThe fountain is a beautiful addition to campus and another tradition that adds to what makes SIU such a special place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chancellor Lane led the countdown as the crowd joined in. At zero, the fountain shot into the air for the first time, drawing cheers and capturing a shared moment of Saluki pride.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cThis all is really due to the generosity of Tim Parks,\u201d Kupec said. \u201cHe was a great Saluki who passed away in 2022. We honor his legacy tonight with this fountain that will continue to inspire future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parks contributed more than $75,000 during the inaugural SIU Day of Giving in 2017, providing over 70 percent of the funding needed to launch the fountain project. The university named the fountain in his honor to recognize his transformational gift. Additional support from the AlZaben family helped complete the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also want to thank the AlZaben family for their gift to this effort that got us over the finish line,\u201d Kupec said. \u201cCampus Lake is one of our greatest assets. In our opinion, only one other university in the country, Notre Dame, has a lake as special as this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several campus leaders and alumni attended, including SIU System President Dan Mahony, SIU Board of Trustees Chair Judge J. Phil Gilbert, and members of the SIU Foundation Board of Directors. Judge Gilbert shared that he learned to swim in Campus Lake as a child.<\/p>\n

The fountain features a 25-horsepower motor and includes a floatovoltaic system, a floating solar array that helps power the fountain while reducing harmful algal blooms by cooling and aerating the water. The project received funding and support from the SIU Green Fund, the Sustainability Department, and student initiatives.<\/p>\n

\"\"Noah Farris, a microbiology major, contributed to the sustainability work and addressed the crowd.<\/p>\n

“I’m working on a solar panel project that helps power the fountain and reduce bacteria in the lake,” Farris said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Mark Owens highlighted the practical benefits of the fountain and thanked the facilities team for their behind-the-scenes work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not just something beautiful, it\u2019s functional,\u201d Owens said. \u201cThanks to our team\u2019s work, we\u2019ve kept Campus Lake open for three years without issues. The fountain will help keep the water healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Corn\u00e9 Prozesky spoke about the emotional impact of the fountain and its presence on campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur students will look out their windows and see this beautiful fountain lit up at night,\u201d he said. \u201cHopefully, every time the Salukis win, we\u2019ll change the color to maroon and celebrate those victories with this incredible symbol of Saluki pride.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fountain dedication followed Demolition Day, an event earlier that afternoon that marked the beginning of clearing six long-vacant residence halls to make way for the proposed Saluki Village housing development. Together, both events showcased the university\u2019s momentum and commitment to renewal.<\/p>\n

These campus enhancements reflect the university\u2019s ongoing momentum. SIU recently earned dual recognition as both a Research 1 institution and an Opportunity University, making it one of only 21 universities nationwide \u2014 and the only one serving a rural area \u2014 to receive both honors. These achievements align with the goals of Imagine SIU 2030, a comprehensive fundraising campaign that has raised more than $409 million toward its $500 million goal. The campaign is the fifth-largest in Illinois higher education history. In the most recent fiscal year, the SIU Foundation awarded more than $5.6 million in scholarships to 2,111 students, representing 17 percent of the student body.<\/p>\n

To learn more or make a gift to support similar projects, visit siuf.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Britni Bateman Southern Illinois University Carbondale dedicated the Tilden \u201cTim\u201d Parks Campus Lake Fountain on Wednesday, Aug. 6, during a community celebration at Becker Pavilion. The 60-foot fountain honors the legacy of the late Parks, a proud 1976 graduate whose generosity helped bring the project to life. A crowd of 50 gathered along the … Continue reading SIU Dedicates Campus Lake Fountain in Memory of Alumnus Tilden \u201cTim\u201d Parks<\/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":[7,16,3,4,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-donor-stories","category-events-engagement","category-higher-education","category-illinois-higher-education","category-siu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4624","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=4624"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4633,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4624\/revisions\/4633"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}