Kai Swanson of Augustana College, Rock Island, related Wednesday: “It is with a heart made heavy by a thousand light memories that I inform the Augustana community of the passing of Roald Tweet, professor emeritus of English.” Tweet, 87, died today after a brief illness. He became a member of the Augustana English Department in 1960, and remained there until his retirement in 1999; he chaired the department from 1967 until 1984. In 1998, he was appointed to the Conrad Bergendoff Chair in the Humanities, the second person (after Dorothy Parkander) to hold the College’s first endowed position. Tweet... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – Since Fall 2015, Western Illinois University has provided opportunities for area high school students to get a head start on their college career without having to leave their local high school. Western’s Dual Enrollment program offers high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to enroll in college-level courses, including a variety of classes that count toward WIU general education requirements. Courses are available on campus, online and some classes meet on site at partner high schools. Students who take part in WIU’s program, beginning in Spring 2021,... Read More

WWII was a global conflict that forever altered society and touched the lives of people around the world, including right here in Iowa. The year 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the end of WWII. With this exhibit we remember and commemorate that momentous occasion. Through local headlines, personal letters, and historic artifacts, we will tell the Quad Cities’ WWII story. Join the German American Heritage Center & Museum (712 W 2nd St. Davenport) through Jan 17 for Valor & Victory Gardens: WWII in the Hawkeye State. This exhibit is supported by the Jewish Federation of the Quad... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – The Western Illinois University Board of Trustees will interview the six finalists for the position of Western’s 12th president during a closed session with each candidate beginning at 8 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 5 Riverfront Hall, rooms 103/104, on the WIU-Quad Cities campus. The Board will convene in closed session at 7 a.m. Nov. 5. Virtual interviews have been held with the search committee, which is led by WIU Board of Trustees Chair Polly Radosh and Faculty Senate Chair Christopher Pynes, and numerous campus and community constituents. Finalists include Martin Abraham,... Read More

The public is invited to be a part of the Figge Art Museum’s next major exhibition, For America: 200 Years of Painting from the National Academy of Design, opening Feb. 20, 2021. Drawn from the collections of the National Academy of Design in New York, over 90 works made between 1810 and 2013 by historical and contemporary masters such as Winslow Homer, William Merritt Chase, John Singer Sargent, Andrew Wyeth, Jaune Quick-to-See-Smith, Charles White, Jane Freilicher, Hank Willis Thomas, and many others will be available for adoption as part of the Figge’s “Adopt-a-Painting” initiative. Adopters... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – The Western Illinois University School of Education is now offering a Master of Arts in Teaching degree, which is an alternative licensure program. The program has three degree options, including special education (K-21), secondary math (9-12), and secondary science (9-12). Coursework is completed through WIU and a two-year teaching residency. Teacher candidates will receive an educator license with stipulations, an Alternative Provisional Educator (APE). The candidates will then be hired as a teacher of record by the school and take courses over that two-year period. “Assuming... Read More

“Do not desire to fit in. Desire to oblige yourselves to lead” – Illinois Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks. The new Gwendolyn Brooks Memorial Park Dedication will take place on the Western Illinois University Macomb campus Friday, April 9, 2021 (time TBA). While the event will be invitation-only and limited to 50 in attendance to adhere to social gathering protocols, the University will livestream the event on WIU’s YouTube channel. Invitations will be sent via email in early Spring 2021. The Gwendolyn Brooks Memorial Park has been established on the WIU-Macomb campus on the... Read More

PBS for the Quad Cities Region premieres their newest documentary “The Fight for the Women’s Vote.” The documentary will air November 1 at 9:00 pm and repeat November 12 at 8:00 pm.  Written and produced by WQPT Director of Marketing and Local Content Lora Adams and edited by Denise Hollmer, the documentary follows the timeline of the movement to acquire voting rights for women from the mid 1800’s to 1965 when The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. “We focused not only on the famous suffragettes like Alice Paul, but on our own homegrown suffragettes... Read More

A Western Illinois University School of Law Enforcement professor and director of the WIU Homeland Security Research Program will be a part of the training program this month for over 60 new incoming Illinois police chiefs through the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board Executive Institute. Dean Alexander, who is recognized internationally as a terrorism expert, will present on anti-government movements and extremists, traditional hate groups and hate-based extremist groups and movements, foreign-aligned ideologies, religiously-motivated extremists/terrorists, fringe movements,... Read More

Western Illinois University 2003 School of Law Enforcement and Justice Administration Graduate Byron Nudd has been named Officer of the Year by the Illinois State Police (ISP). “Assigned to District 15, Trooper Byron Nudd exemplifies the tenets of the Illinois State Police – Integrity, Service, and Pride. His work ethic, professionalism, courage, and overreaching desire to be of service to others is evident in his daily work performance. Trooper Nudd’s unwavering dedication to serve the people of Illinois is reflected through the daily performance of his duties, his high criminal... Read More