{"id":5110,"date":"2026-04-22T18:15:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T18:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=5110"},"modified":"2026-04-22T18:25:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T18:25:25","slug":"saluki-takeover-tour-draws-nearly-250-to-carterville-chancellors-reception","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/?p=5110","title":{"rendered":"Saluki Takeover Tour draws nearly 250 to Carterville Chancellor\u2019s Reception"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Chancellor<\/p>\n

Nearly 250 alumni, students and community members gathered Tuesday, April 21, at 62 Social House in Carterville for a Chancellor\u2019s Reception, hosted by the SIU Foundation, as part of the Annual Saluki Takeover Tour Southern Illinois.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe made a commitment five and a half years ago that students in Southern Illinois wouldn\u2019t have to go anywhere else,\u201d Chancellor Austin A. Lane said. \u201cThey can stay right here in their own backyard and get a first-class education.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lane said that commitment continues to drive the tour, which includes visits to 55 high schools across all 17 counties in the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re up 27% in students from this region choosing to stay home,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s because we\u2019re showing up. When we show up, it makes a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event marked the first official gathering at 62 Social House, located in The Historic 131 Building owned by Jennifer Spence. 62 Social House is owned by SIU alumnus and local restaurateur Doug Deaton \u201909. The space includes Velvet Moon Coffee Shop, owned by his wife, Chandler Deaton.<\/p>\n

\"Jennifer
Jennifer Spence<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t tell you how gratifying it is to have all of you here,\u201d Spence said. \u201cThis building represents a lot of hard work, and it means a lot to open it to the Saluki community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deaton said the evening reflected both community pride and growing momentum.<\/p>\n

\"Doug
Doug Deaton<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of excitement about Carterville and a lot of excitement around SIU,\u201d Deaton said. \u201cWe\u2019re proud to be part of something that brings people together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lane also introduced Carterville High School senior Marlee Rosenbery, a Chancellor\u2019s Scholar who plans to major in education at SIU this fall, drawing one of the evening\u2019s strongest responses from the crowd.<\/p>\n

\"Chancellor
Marlee Rosenbery (center)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cOur Chancellor\u2019s Scholar is right here from Carterville,\u201d Lane said. \u201cShe\u2019s going to do great things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Avery Chapman (center)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He later introduced Avery Chapman, an incoming SIU freshman who plans to major in nursing, as another example of a local student choosing Southern.<\/p>\n

SIU men\u2019s basketball head coach Scott Nagy also addressed attendees, sharing optimism about the program\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cWe expect to win the league this next year,\u201d Nagy said. \u201cThe culture is there, our staff is there, and we\u2019re building something special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lane closed by reinforcing the role alumni and community members play in the university\u2019s growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re out in your communities wearing maroon, you become the chancellor,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re the one telling the story of SIU.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the SIU Foundation, the takeover tours provide an opportunity to connect with donors as the record-breaking Imagine SIU 2030 campaign continues. The campaign aims to raise $500 million by June 2028 and has already surpassed $464 million.<\/p>\n

The Saluki Takeover Tour Southern Illinois continues through April, bringing together alumni, donors, prospective students and community members across the region. The tour launched March 31 at Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center, where nearly 300 attended. Nearly 150 attended the Chancellor\u2019s Reception at Pyramid Acres Marina at Lake of Egypt, and more than 50 attended the Mount Vernon stop at DoubleTree by Hilton Mt. Vernon.<\/p>\n

The remaining stop is:<\/p>\n

Red Bud: Thursday, April 23, 6 to 8 p.m., 1860 Public House, 102 S. Main St.<\/p>\n

Learn more at siuf.org\/southern-illinois<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nearly 250 alumni, students and community members gathered Tuesday, April 21, at 62 Social House in Carterville for a Chancellor\u2019s Reception, hosted by the SIU Foundation, as part of the Annual Saluki Takeover Tour Southern Illinois. \u201cWe made a commitment five and a half years ago that students in Southern Illinois wouldn\u2019t have to go … Continue reading Saluki Takeover Tour draws nearly 250 to Carterville Chancellor\u2019s Reception<\/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":[16,3,4,9,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events-engagement","category-higher-education","category-illinois-higher-education","category-scholarship-recipient","category-siu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5110","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=5110"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5110\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5120,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5110\/revisions\/5120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.siuf.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}