Western Illinois University Director of Creative and Marketing Services Jessica Lambert has been named the Al and Elaine Goldfarb Civil Service Employee of the Month for September 2021. Lambert began working at WIU in 2010 as a Web Specialist I in University Relations. She was reallocated by audit to the title of Webmaster in 2011. In June 2017, her title was changed to Creative Digital Integration Associate and again in August 2017 to Creative and Digital Integration Manager through an audit. She was named to her current title in May 2020. According to Lambert’s nominator, her outreach to... Read More

Parents and other caregivers now have two options for storytimes at the Rock Island Public Library. In addition to the library’s ongoing virtual storytimes, offered at 10:30 am on Tuesdays via Facebook Live, the library has begun a limited in-person Friday storytime at the Rock Island Public Library Southwest branch, 9010 Ridgewood Road. The in-person version will be offered at 10:30 am on October 1. Whenever possible, the in-person storytimes will be offered outside. If conditions require moving inside to the Southwest Library Community Room, masks will be required for all patrons over age... Read More

September is Library Card Sign Up Month, when libraries everywhere remind residents about the awesome benefits of a simple plastic library card. Rock Island Public Library offers insider tips on using that card through free “library university” online courses. The four Library University sessions are offered at 2:00 pm on Tuesdays in September via the Zoom meeting platform. Each week offers a new look at amazing things RIPL cardholders can access with their free library card.  Topics include: September 28: Streaming movies, music, and more. Maybe you already knew that libraries offer DVDs,... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE – A candidate for the Western Illinois University Director of Development for Corporate Relations position will interview Tuesday, Sept. 28, on the Quad Cities campus. Jennifer Von Kaenel will be available for a virtual open session with faculty and staff from 1-1:45 p.m. in the 3420A board room on the Moline, IL, campus. To receive the link for the session, email Alison Shook at ak-shook@wiu.edu. An open session with deans, directors and department chairs will be held from 2-2:45 p.m. in the same board room. To receive the link for the session, email Alison Shook at ak-shook@wiu.edu. The... Read More

To recognize their service to Western Illinois University and/or the Macomb community, WIU Associate Professor of Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration (RPTA) Jeremy Robinett, and WIU Art Professor Bill Howard received the 2021 Town & Gown Award and the 2021 Honorary Alumnus Award, respectively, during the annual Town & Gown celebration Sept. 23, hosted by the WIU Alumni Association. Robinett: Town & Gown Award Robinett joined the RPTA faculty as an instructor in 2014. He was promoted to associate professor in 2021. In addition to his teaching duties, Robinett is the advisor for... Read More

The unveiling of the first prototypes of the public art to mark the locations of killings from the 1919 Chicago Race Riot was held in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, in July. A bicycle and trolley tour of key sites related to the history of the city’s worst-ever incident of racial violence as well as of the Black community, and in support of the public art project, was held at the same time. Approximately 350 people attended, about 300 of whom joined the two-hour bike tour. The art project, the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project (CRR19), was founded by Western Illinois... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – This fall, Western Illinois University is experiencing the highest international student enrollment in 30 years, and is also seeing an increase in new graduate student enrollment. The number of international students enrolling this fall – 658 total, which includes new (424) and returning (234) international students – is a historical record for Western. According to the Office of Institutional Research and Planning, the last peak in international enrollment occurred in 1987 with 574 students. New entering graduate student enrollment has increased by 36.7 percent, while... Read More

Librarians are pretty excited about getting people signed up for library cards during National Library Card Sign Up Month. To help get the word out about all the wild and amazing things you can do with a library card, Rock Island Public Library and three other Illinois Quad City libraries will show up this Friday in a pretty wild place – Niabi Zoo. Rock Island Public Library has arranged to bring their Mobile Library2Go bookmobile to Niabi Zoo in Coal Valley from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm on Friday, September 24, and invited other library partners to join in the fun.  At the present time, East Moline... Read More

The Western Illinois University Counseling Center (UCC) will host a Fresh Check Day for WIU students from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 23 on the Multicultural Center lawn (rain location: Multicultural Center). The annual event is a day to check-in with college students regarding mental health awareness and suicide prevention. “This is an uplifting day that brings our services directly to our students,” said UCC Counselor and Fresh Check organizer Marsha Dace. “Our goals are to increase student awareness of the mental health resources available, reducing the stigma and misconceptions... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Illinois students, teachers and school staff with confirmed and probable covid-19 infections are now required to be banned from schools and school activities due to an executive order signed by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. The executive order, signed late Friday night, states that people are required to remove themselves from schools or school activities if they have covid-19 or knowingly have been in close contact with someone who has the virus. The order states schools must exclude any student or school personnel with confirmed or probable cases of COVID-19 for at least 10 days,... Read More