MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – As the new year begins, three Western Illinois University administrators will continue serving in their respective interim roles, according to WIU President Guiyou Huang. John W. Smith will continue to serve as WIU’s interim vice president for student services (VPSS), while Teresa Smith and Gary Swegan will continue as the interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO)/interim associate vice president for budget and finance and interim associate vice president for enrollment management, respectively, through June 30. “I am most pleased that John, Teresa and Gary have agreed... Read More

In September 1959, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., visited Hawaii – shortly after it formally became the 50th state in the Union, and spoke to its leaders. That little-known trip is the subject of a planned documentary and a Facebook Live discussion with its filmmakers on Monday, Martin Luther King Day. The Quad-Cities based Azubuike African American Council for the Arts is hosting the free event Jan. 18 at 6 p.m., where Azubuike executive director (and Rock Island native) Jonathan Burnett will interview his father, Academy Award-winner Charles Burnett, director of the new MLK documentary,... Read More

Tonight, WVIK Quad Cities NPR will host the latest of its series of “Hidden Conversations” – How the black community is portrayed in marketing and media, on Facebook Live at 6 p.m. Davenport-based leadership and diversity expert Dr. LaDrina Wilson will speak with Quad-Citizens Mikhayla Hughes-Shaw, reporter for WHBF and KLJB news and host of LOVE Girls: The Podcast; Skubie Mageza, sports anchor and reporter with KWQC, TV6; and Dr. Joseph Miller, professor of sales and marketing for St. Ambrose University about how the Black community is portrayed in marketing and media — all... Read More

St. Ambrose University’s Galvin Fine Arts Center has received $27,300 from the state of Iowa from the program offering economic relief to the state’s arts and culture industry. The grant (announced late last month) is provided through the Iowa Arts & Culture Recovery Program, and will reimburse Galvin for some losses incurred in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Lance Sadlek, director of the Galvin Fine Arts Center, said the grant will cover some of the lost revenue and extra expenses for personal protective equipment (PPE) and labor that were needed to keep Galvin operating and safe... Read More

Phases, tiers, mitigations… oh my! Many have seen a variety of terms used in regard to the precautionary measures put forth by the state of Illinois in its covid-19 protocols, as we all await word on how these mitigations are going to impact our lives as they change over time. As we at QuadCities.com have reported, the Quad-Cities area is scheduled to go from tier 3 to the less restrictive tier 2 on Friday. But what does that mean? Sure, I can say, according to the metrics put forth by Pritzker on Nov. 20, a region can move down to Tier 2 mitigations if it sees a test positivity rate less... Read More

Western Illinois University Visual Production Center (VPC) Graphic Design Manager Natalie Divan has been named the Al and Elaine Goldfarb Civil Service Employee of the Month for January. Divan started at WIU in January 2004 as an extra help employee, graphic designer I, in the Curriculum Publications Clearinghouse. She was hired full time in October 2004 as a graphic designer I. In January 2005, Divan was reclassified by audit to graphic designer II, which was changed to graphic designer associate in February 2009. She was reassigned from DPS, formerly CPC, to Facilities Management in July 2014 and... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – Western Illinois University is scheduled to resume in-person classes on WIU’s Macomb and Moline campuses Tuesday, Jan. 19. As preparations for the Spring 2021 semester are underway, all members of the University community (faculty, staff and students) are encouraged to quarantine for a minimum 10 days and/or receive a COVID-19 test* before returning to campus. Free tests are available on the WIU-Macomb and Quad Cities campuses on select dates (see dates and information at bit.ly/WIUSpring21COVIDTestUpdate). Visit wiu.edu/coronavirus for additional return to campus information. Illinois... Read More

If you just can’t wait for new releases from your favorite fiction authors, good news! The new Best Sellers Club at Rock Island Public Library could help you read those new titles earlier. The new service allows library patrons to sign up for automatic holds on new titles from their favorite adult fiction authors. Signing up is simple, and available to anyone with a valid library card from a PrairieCat member library. You choose the authors you want to follow from the list. When new titles arrive, Rock Island Library staff will place a hold for you. Members will receive a courtesy notice... Read More

Yesterday we witnessed an event that was unlike anything we’ve seen before when insurgents breached our nation’s Capitol building. I am saddened and upset at what I saw. Threats to our democracy affect each one of us, no matter where we live, work, and learn. Today, I call on members of our Leatherneck family, regardless of your political beliefs, to join together to begin healing the divide. As we move toward Inauguration Day, I ask that our University community find common ground and work together to move not only WIU forward, but also our nation. As an institution of higher education,... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – Western Illinois University Board of Trustees Chair Polly Radosh announced that Martin Abraham will serve as WIU’s provost and academic vice president beginning January 2021. Abraham, who was originally hired as Western’s new provost in 2019, had served as acting/interim president since July 2019. Interim Provost Billy Clow will return to the dean’s post for the College of Fine Arts and Communication (COFAC), while Interim Dean Buzz Hoon will return to the position of COFAC associate dean. Clow had served as interim provost since January 2019. “We are... Read More