Apps

Southern Illinois University Carbondale — news, coverage & facts — IJR

History

Southern Illinois Normal College was chartered by an act of the Twenty-Sixth Illinois General Assembly on March 9, 1869, the second state-supported normal school to be created in Illinois. Carbondale was selected to host the university and a cornerstone-laying ceremony was held on May 17, 1870. Alternate sites considered for the university included Centralia and DuQuoin, among others. The accidental death of a site contractor and other delays prevented the university's opening until 1874. The first session of the university was a summer institute with eight faculty members and an enrollment of 53 students.

In 1876 SIU admitted its first African-American student, Alexander Lane. In 1878 SIU established a program for the Douglas Corps Cadets, beginning a relationship with ROTC programs which lasts into the present day. The original "Old Main" building was destroyed by fire in 1883, and a new one was built in the same spot. The university's first student newspaper, The Normal Gazette, was published in 1888 and its first yearbook, The Sphinx, in 1899. SIU's first sports teams, known as "the Maroons", formed in the 1913-1914 school year.

The Shryock Auditorium was completed in 1918 and dedicated by former U.S. President Taft with a speech in support of the on-going war effort. Post-war prosperity aided the university's growth, and by 1922 it enrolled over 1,000 students. Stagnation occurred with the onset of the Great Depression and the sudden deaths of university presidents Henry Shryock and Roscoe Pulliam. In 1943 SIU was granted limited university status to offer graduate degrees, and in 1947 the Illinois General Assembly officially adopted the name Southern Illinois University. Budget concerns and leadership challenges dogged the presidency of Chester F. Lay, Pulliam's successor, until his resignation in 1948. In that same year, the first formal research conducted at SIU began with Lay's appointment of geneticist Carl C. Lindegren.

Delyte W. Morris was inaugurated as SIU's president in 1949. Morris was SIU's longest-serving president, his 22-year tenure seeing the expansion and transformation of the university. New educational programs, administrative positions, and physical facilities were added, financed by a growth in student population and state-supported bonds. Housing and other amenities for students received particular focus. In 1957 a second campus of SIU was established at Edwardsville, near St. Louis. This school would develop into Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, now a public university within the SIU system.

President Morris left office in 1970. Formal explanations focused on Morris' declining health, but campus unrest due to the Vietnam War, the burning of the Old Main Building in 1969, financial scandals, and distrust amongst SIU's Board of Trustees are speculated to have played a role. The university continued to grow with the creation of law, medical, and dental schools in the early 1970s. Other achievements included the opening of the long-awaited recreation center in 1977, the foundation of Project Achieve by Barbara Kupiec in 1978, and the Saluki men's football team NCAA I-AA national football championship title win in 1983.

SIU's enrollment reached a record enrollment of 24,869 students in 1991, a time when SIU became notorious for its party school reputation. Tensions with the surrounding community resulted in a ban on Halloween celebrations in the mid-1990s as students living in university dormitories were sent home for the holiday. Funding issues stemming from Illinois' state budget crises, including the 2015-2017 budget impasse, and declining student enrollment exacerbated a situation made worse by the unexpected deaths of university presidents Paul Sarvela and Carlo Montemagno. In recent years, a focus on research, building renovations and expansions, and stabilizing enrollment numbers have improved the university's position. Student celebrations like the ones seen in Saturday Night Live's Roadshow have now largely been replaced with the traditions of "Unofficial Halloween" and "Polar Bear". Despite this, SIU was still named ninth in a list of "The Top 10 Schools that Party All Day, Everyday" by College Magazine in 2015.

Instructional and research facilities

The majority of SIU's instructional and research facilities are enclosed on or within Lincoln Drive, which circles the university's main campus on three sides before connecting with South Illinois Avenue. As the university expanded, new buildings with similar academic purposes to existing buildings were often added in the same location. As such, most students of any of SIU's constituent colleges will only ever use a few of SIU's main buildings.

One of the more recognizable buildings on campus is Pulliam Hall, the home of the School of Education and the location of SIU's iconic clock tower. Pulliam was once known as Carbondale University High School, a functioning high school which served to train teachers. The College of Business occupies nearby Rehn Hall. The Neckers Building, Engineering Building, and Applied Sciences and Arts Building contain most of the university's physical and chemical laboratories as well as lecture halls. The Neckers Building hosts several large telescopes, facilitating regular viewings of astronomical events. The College of Liberal Arts primarily occupies Faner Hall, whose design and size have made it a controversial symbol of the campus. Allegations that Faner was built to be riot-proof are likely apocryphal; however it is true that Faner is almost thirty feet longer than the Titanic. Faner is also the home of the University Museum which holds over 70,000 unique artifacts ranging from local history to original renaissance tapestries. Students of the agricultural sciences will spend their time in the Agricultural Building, which boasts an award-winning flower display and living wall. Students in the media arts occupy the Communications Building, which hosts the annual McLeod Summer Playhouse. SIU's Law School is situated in the Lesar Law Building at the extreme west end of the campus.

All of the buildings on the main campus are connected by footpaths, interspersed with small parks and green areas. More heavily trafficked paths are lit up with brighter lighting at night as a safety feature. Students who choose to drive on campus will need to purchase a parking sticker from SIU's Parking Division or else park at the pay station lot in front of the Student Center. Walking or biking is the preferred method of transport on-campus, although Carbondale and SIU entered into an agreement with Veo Scooters in 2022 to bring electric scooters to the campus during warmer months.

Morris Library is the main library for the Southern Illinois University Carbondale campus. The library holds over five million volumes, 63,000 current periodicals and serials, and over 3.6 million microform units. It also provides access to the statewide automated library system (I-Share) and an array of online collections such as The Lancet, JSTOR, and The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. The library is a member of the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois, Association of Research Libraries, and the Greater Western Library Alliance. SIU's Special Collections Research Center, which holds unique and rare historical artifacts, and the Geospatial Resources area, which holds over 255,000 maps and 93,000 aerial photographs, are maintained in the library. The library is a registered depository for Illinois, U.S. Federal, and United Nations documents. Delyte's, a coffee shop named after former SIU President Delyte W. Morris, operates near the entrance of the library.

Old campus

SIU's "First Building" was chartered in 1869 and completed in 1874. This building burned in 1883 and was replaced by a building known as "Old Main", which itself burned in 1969. While arson related to Vietnam War unrest continues to be suspected as the primary cause for the 1969 fire, this theory has never been conclusively proven. This second building was never replaced, and a rectangular green space remains where it once stood. This space is surrounded by some of the university's earliest buildings, most of which were built throughout the early 1900s. Collectively, this area of campus is known as "Old Campus".

To the east of the former site of Old Main is Davies Hall and Wheeler Hall, the latter of which served as SIU's library until the construction of the original Morris Library. On the west side is Altgeld Hall, Shryock Auditorium, and the Allyn Building. Altgeld Hall, which served as the university's science and astronomy building before being given to the School of Music, is affectionately known as "The Castle" due to its distinctive design. Similar buildings exist on four other Illinois university campuses, having been built with the funding and direction of Illinois governor John Altgeld. Shryock Auditorium is a large performance hall capped by an iconic domed roof, which was once made entirely of stained glass. The Auditorium was completed in 1918 and is named for SIU's fifth President, Henry Shryock. On the south side of the old campus area is Anthony Hall and Parkinson Laboratory. Anthony Hall was the university's first permanent dormitory structure; today it serves as an administrative office for executive staff. Being a women's dormitory, it is named in honor of Susan B. Anthony. Parkinson Laboratory is named for the university's fourth president, Daniel Parkinson, and has served continuously as the home of SIU's geology department.

Near the Old Campus area is the Old Baptist Foundation building and Woody Hall. The former building is now used as a recital hall and the meeting place of SIU's musical fraternity, while the latter building was completed in the early 1950s to take over Anthony Hall's role as SIU's permanent women's dormitory. Woody Hall today serves as an administrative office space and alumni center.

Curriculum

The various colleges, schools, and academic departments which make up SIU have been reorganized and renamed countless times since the university's founding. SIU's original designation as a teachers' college, or normal school, means many of its current academic programs can trace their establishment to a period before the creation of the college they belong to today. Only the College of Liberal Arts can trace an unbroken lineage to the year SIU was officially granted limited university status in 1943.

The College of Agricultural, Life, and Physical Sciences, and the College of Health and Human Sciences were created from the now-defunct College of Science, College of Agriculture, and College of Applied Science and Arts. The College of Engineering, Computing, Technology, and Math was originally created as the College of Engineering and Technology; the result of a protracted effort to create an independent engineering college. The most recent reordering occurred when the College of Mass Communications and Media Arts became the College of Arts and Media.

The College of Agricultural, Life, and Physical Sciences consists of six constituent schools and several pre-health professional programs. It is based in the Agricultural Building, which was constructed in 1957. The college offers experiential opportunities for students in the form of a 2,000+ acre working farm, tree improvement center, and other hands-on activities. SIU is the only public university in Illinois to offer a zoology program, and one of only two to offer programs in botany and microbiology.

The College of Arts and Media consists of six constituent schools, including the School of Architecture, School of Art and Design, School of Arts and Media, School of Music, and School of Journalism and Advertising. As a mixture of liberal arts and digital humanities, the College of Arts and Media combines practical education with programs catering to creative pursuits. SIU offers a number of programs associated with College of Arts and Media students, including the McLeod Summer Playhouse theatre series, the Southern Illinois Symphony Orchestra, and SIU's student newspaper, The Daily Egyptian.

The College of Business and Analytics consists of three constituent schools, focusing on three major areas of academic focus for the college: the School of Accountancy, the School of Analytics, Finance, and Economics, and the School of Management and Marketing. Due to its association with the College of Liberal Arts, the School of Analytics, Finance, and Economics offers a B.A. degree in economics, one of only a few B.S. programs at SIU to also offer a B.A. option. The college offers numerous research facilities, including a trading floor equipped with Bloomberg terminals. The Saluki Student Investment Fund, a student organization directed by the college, manages a $3.8 million portfolio for the university. The college also offers an online M.B.A. program that was ranked #58 in the nation in 2023.

The College of Engineering, Computing, Technology, and Mathematics consists of six constituent schools with a wide range of national accreditation. The college is housed in a modern four-building engineering complex located near Campus Lake. The college is one of the few institutions in the United States to offer a concurrent masters with a J.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering and Law. Students in the School of Computing can choose between a B.A. and a B.S. degree in Computer Science, with the option to focus on Graphic Design and/or Game Design and Development by completing a joint minor with the College of Arts and Media.

The College of Health and Human Sciences consists of six constituent schools, with programs ranging from the School of Aviation, School of Automotive, Allied Health, to the School of Justice and Public Safety as well as the School of Psychological and Behavioral Sciences. SIU's School of Aviation, which maintains separate facilities at the Transportation Education Center along with the school of Automotive near Southern Illinois Airport, hosts the nationally recognized Flying Salukis.

The College of Liberal Arts consists of six constituent schools. The college's programs are augmented with faculty-sponsored research experiences, the ability to mix and match majors and minors to suit preferences and needs, access to internships, study abroad opportunities, and the university honors program. Most of the college's classrooms and offices are found in Faner Hall.

Student housing

On-campus housing at SIU has developed steadily from the completion of a second women's dormitory in 1953 to the expansive system of tower blocks and apartment buildings that exists today. Housing is provided in residence halls and apartments both on and near campus. Different housing opportunities are offered to undergraduates, graduates, international students, parents, and married couples.

The two main residence hall areas are known as East Campus and West Campus. West Campus, also known as Thompson Point, consists of 11 three-story dormitory structures and was built between 1957 and 1962. East Campus, also known as the Brush Towers, consists of 3 seventeen-story high rises and was built between 1965 and 1968. Each site also includes a commons building and dining hall. The traditional housing contract includes a furnished room, WiFi, utilities, and a dining plan. Residence hall rooms are fully furnished, and many have been modified to meet the needs of specific types of disability. Apartment housing is available at Evergreen Terrace, Wall & Grand, and Elizabeth Apartments. Evergreen Terrace is specifically earmarked for students with dependent children.

All single students under the age of 21, not residing with their parents or legal guardians, with fewer than 26 credit hours earned after high school are required to live in University-owned and operated residence halls per university policy. This policy can be circumvented if the student is living in the permanent home of a parent or guardian, provided the home is within 60 miles of campus. Furthermore, university apartment housing is restricted to those students who are married, parents, graduate students, or who are over the age of 21; the effect of this policy means that freshmen and sophomore students often live in dormitories, while older students reside in on and off-campus apartments.

K-12 school zoning for Evergreen Terrace is as follows: Unity Point Community Consolidated School District 140, and Carbondale Community High School District 165.

Competitive teams and professional student organizations

Flying Salukis Flight Team – The Flying Salukis is a competitive flight teams. They took first place in the National Intercollegiate Flying Association (NIFA) – regional competition for 7 consecutive years (2011-2017). At the NIFA national championships in 2015, the Flying Salukis won the team's ninth national title. The team has consistently beaten or tied other nationally ranked schools, including the United States Air Force Academy. As of 2017, the team had qualified for the national championships in 49 of the last 50 years.

Saluki Debate Team – The Saluki Debate Team won the National Parliamentary Tournament of Excellence in 2008, 2013, and 2015. The team also won the National Parliamentary Debate Association National Tournament in 2013 and 2014. They were ranked first in the country over the course of the 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 seasons.

Alt.news 26:46 – SIU's half-hour alternative TV news magazine. Alt news received an Emmy in the magazine news program category at the 2010 National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Mid-America Regional Chapter Emmy Awards in St. Louis.

Forestry Club – SIU's Forestry Club is one of the university's many competitive registered student organizations. The Forestry Club was the STIHL Timbersports Midwestern Forester's Conclave champion every year from 1992 to 2009 and once more in 2017, competing in events such as pulp toss, bolt toss, log roll, and axe throw.

American Marketing Association Team – SIU's American Marketing Association Team is a registered student organization in the College of Business and Analytics. The team won national recognition in 2020 by competing in the American Marketing Association Collegiate Case Competition.

Equestrian Team – SIU's Equestrian Team is a registered student organization for students interested in equitation activities. The Equestrian Team competes in many competitions, including those hosted by the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association.

Rover Team – SIU's Rover or "Moonbuggy" Team is a registered student organization in the College of Engineering Computing, Technology, and Mathematics. The organization competes in the Human Exploration Rover Challenge, previously known as the Moonbuggy Race, sponsored annually by NASA in Huntsville, AL. The team placed in the top ten during the 2016 competition.

Saluki CFA Challenge Team – The CFA Challenge Team is a group of students chosen to compete in the CFA Institute Research Challenge. The CFA Challenge Team finished in second place at the St. Louis regional competition between 2016 and 2018 and won the competition in 2021.

Steel Bridge and Concrete Canoe Team – SIU engineering students compete in steel bridge and concrete canoe competitions hosted by the American Society of Civil Engineers and the American Institute of Steel Construction.

Medieval Combat Club – The Medieval Combat Club is a registered student organization and member of the Belegarth Medieval Combat Society. The club is a full contact combat sport with medieval fantasy inspiration, and competes in competition with other local universities, such as University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Saluki Student Investment Fund – The Saluki Student Investment Fund provides undergraduate students with hands-on experience in portfolio management and investment research. Since its inception in 2000, the fund has grown to manage well over $3.5 million in assets in 2021.

Soccer Club - The SIU Soccer Club is a registered student organization and a member of US College Club Soccer. The club competes in competition with other universities.

Notable alumni

There are currently over 250,000 alumni of Southern Illinois University Carbondale worldwide.

Notable SIU alumni include:

Lionel Antoine – professional football player

Houston Antwine – professional football player

Charles Basch – professor of health education at Teachers College, Columbia University

Jim Belushi – actor and comedian, star of According to Jim, Saturday Night Live, and other films

Jim Bittermann – CNN European correspondent based in Paris

Frederick J. Brown – artist

Amos Bullocks – professional football player

Hannibal Buress – stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and producer

Chris Carr – professional basketball player

Jeremy Chinn – professional football player

Kim Chizevsky-Nicholls – IFBB pro bodybuilder

Bill Christine – sportswriter, author, and thoroughbred horse racing executive

Sam Coonrod – professional baseball player

Randy Daniels – former Secretary of State of New York

Don S. Davis – actor and theater professor best known for his role as "General Hammond" on the TV series Stargate SG-1

Open Mike Eagle – hip hop artist and comedian

Lee England Jr. – musician and concert violinist

Steve Finley – professional baseball player

Stephen Franklin – professional football player

Dennis Franz – actor best known for his work on NYPD Blue

Walt Frazier – professional basketball player

Julio M. Fuentes – Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

Roberta Griffith, American contemporary artist

Jerry Hairston Jr. – professional baseball player

Jim Hart – professional football player

Joan Higginbotham – engineer and NASA astronaut

Kevin House – professional football player

Mary Lee Hu – artist and goldsmith

Troy Hudson – professional basketball player

Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq – Pakistani politician and son of former President General Zia-ul-Haq

Brandon Jacobs – professional football player

Steve James – two-time Oscar nominated film producer

Darryl Jones – bassist of The Rolling Stones

Yonel Jourdain – professional football player

Deji Karim – professional football player

Rodney P. Kelly – retired United States Air Force Major General

Timothy Krajcir – serial killer

Tony Laubach – meteorologist and storm chaser featured on Discovery Channel's Storm Chasers as a researcher with TWISTEX

Al Levine – professional baseball player

Milcho Manchevski – filmmaker of Macedonia's first Oscar-nominated film

Adrian Matejka – poet, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and recipient of the National Book Award in poetry

Carl Mauck – professional football player

Jenny McCarthy – actress, model, and television host

Melissa McCarthy – actress, comedian, writer, and producer

Donald McHenry – United States ambassador to the United Nations (1979–1981)

Travis Morgan – former USA power lifter

Brett James McMullen – retired United States Air Force Brigadier General

Albert E. Mead – former Governor of Washington

Bryan Mullins – college basketball coach

Gary Noffke – artist and silversmith

Bob Odenkirk – actor and comedian best known for his role as Saul Goodman/Jimmy McGill on AMC's series Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul

Glenn Poshard – Illinois State Senator and United States Congressman

Sir Curtis Price, KBE – President of the Royal Academy of Music and former president of the Royal Musical Association

James F. Rea – Illinois State Representative and Senator

Jason Ringenberg – founding member of Jason & the Scorchers

Richard Roundtree – actor best known for his work in the 1971 film Shaft

Marion Rushing – professional football player

John F. "Jack" Sandner – attorney, commodities trader, and former chairman of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange

Randy Savage – professional wrestler

Bart Scott – professional football player

Jared Yates Sexton – author, political commentator, and creative writing professor

Derek Shelton – professional baseball player

Sam Silas – professional football player

Chad Simpson – Micro Award-winning short and flash fiction author

Marilyn Skoglund – Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court

Russ Smith – professional football player

Jackie Spinner – author, journalist, and war-time correspondent

Dave Stieb – professional baseball player

Joe Swanberg – independent filmmaker with notable filmography in the mumblecore sub-genre

Lena Taylor – Wisconsin Democratic State Senator and member of the Wisconsin 14

Terry Taylor – professional football player

Mallica Vajrathon – United Nations senior staff member

Chico Vaughn – professional basketball player

George Vukovich – professional baseball player

Robert K. Weiss – producer of The Blues Brothers and other films

Ernie Wheelwright – professional football player

Adrian White – professional football player

Walt Willey – actor best known for his work on All My Children

David Wong – author and online personality

Notable faculty

Robert Corruccini – Distinguished Professor and 1994 Outstanding Scholar; taught from 1978 to 2011 in the College of Liberal Arts, Department of Anthropology; known for his expertise in dental anthropology and epidemiology, formulating a theory of malocclusion

David F. Duncan – professor of health education and 1984 Teacher of the Year; taught from 1978 to 1989; established the Ph.D. program in community health and the masters in health care administration; later served as a policy advisor in the Clinton White House

Buckminster Fuller – taught at SIUC 1959–1970; began as an assistant professor in the School of Art and Design and gained full professorship in 1968; known for his geodesic dome design

Robert S. Gold – professor of health education; pioneer of computer programs for health education and public health; executive vice president of Macro International; founding dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Health

Lori Stewart Gonzalez – assistant professor; 23rd president of Ohio University

Michael D. Higgins – visiting Professor; Politician, Sociologist and President of Ireland

L. Brent Kington – art educator and artist who worked in blacksmithing and sculpture; widely regarded as responsible for the blacksmithing revival in the 1970s

Harris Deller - is an American ceramist. He is well known for his black and white incised porcelain. He spent most of his career teaching at Southern Illinois University and has work on display in the Museum of Contemporary Art and Design in New York, as well as other collections.

William M. Lewis Sr. – director of the Cooperative Fisheries Research Unit 1950–1983 (now called the Fisheries and Illinois Aquaculture Center); chair of the Department of Zoology; president of the American Fisheries Society; received the American Fisheries Society Award of Excellence in 1995

Fazley Bary Malik – professor of theoretical nuclear and atomic physics from 1980 to 2014; Max Planck Societies Senior Fellow (1976 - 1977); Fellow of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences (since 2002); John Wheatley Award by American Physical Society in 2007

Richard Russo – taught in the English department when his first novel was published in 1986; wrote Nobody's Fool and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Empire Falls, both of which were adapted for the screen and starred Paul Newman

Paul Arthur Schilpp – noted philosopher and educator; instructed general studies courses in philosophy; founding editor of the Library of Living Philosophers

Alan Schoen – discoverer of the gyroid

Paul Martin Simon – taught politics, history, and journalism; Illinois state representative, senator, and lieutenant governor; United States representative and senator; director of the SIU Public Policy Institute (now the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute)

Nicholas Vergette – professor of art and noted potter and sculptor; part of the British sculpting group named the "Piccassettes"

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Comments

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Comments

Southern Illinois University Carbondale across IJR

Article

Article

History

Campus

Student amenities

Instructional and research facilities

Old campus

Natural scenery

Former facilities

Organization and administration

Academics

Curriculum

Student life

Student housing

Student government

Greek life

Student newspaper

Saluki patrol

Cardboard boat regatta

Saluki startup and weeks of welcome

Competitive teams and professional student organizations

Athletics

Athletic highlights

Facilities

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

Southern Illinois University Carbondale across IJR