MACOMB, IL — The Multicultural Center (MCC) at Western Illinois University is highlighting two June national celebrations – the African-American community focused Juneteenth (Friday, June 19) and LGBT*QA community-focused Pride Month. Although the celebrations tend to give focus to a particular community, these are American celebrations by the diverse communities that comprise our nation. The MCC will host a virtual recognition of the commemorations on its webpage to bring additional light to the African American and the LGBT*QA tradition and celebration. “We invite you to learn... Read More

The Quad City Botanical Center announces new summer drop in programs, family activities, story times and day camps for kids. NEW DROP IN PROGRAMS EVERY THURSDAY 1:00-2:30 PM JUNE 18-AUG 6 Do hands on activities with your kids to learn about nature. New topic each Thursday, free for members or included with admission. No RSVP required. Great for kids entering K-4, but fun for all ages. KINDERNATURE SECOND TUESDAY EACH MONTH 10:30-11:30 AM AND 2:00-3:00 PM Enjoy a story and take your craft and snack home for a no contact revised program. KinderNature is for kids 3-5, RSVP required, $8 per child and... Read More

Rock Island/Milan School District 41 celebrated 25 RIHS students furthering their sports careers at the college or university level while practicing social distancing. The school district also awarded the James O’Melia Jr. Athletic Award and the Don Wright Memorial Track Scholarship! Congrats to the seniors who signed Letters of Intent! Here are the players who did. Congrats to Peter Kimba and Jayla Hathorn for being chosen as the Don Wright Scholarship recipients. For more info on them, click here. Congrats to Heather Motley and Peter Kimba for winning the James O’Melia Jr. Athletic... Read More

MACOMB, IL – When Western Illinois University English Professor Rebekah Buchanan started thinking about ways she could do something to get others involved in making a difference, she kept returning to education. Because of her background and love for books and reading, Buchanan has initiated a fundraising campaign to purchase books by authors of color for Macomb School District No. 185 schools. “Education is key in creating understanding and empathy and one way we do that is through reading. Creating a way to get more books and resources to our teachers is a way to add to their tool kits... Read More

The Quad City Botanical Center announces new summer drop in programs, family activities, story times and day camps for kids. NEW DROP IN PROGRAMS EVERY THURSDAY 1:00-2:30 PM JUNE 18-AUG 6 Do hands on activities with your kids to learn about nature. New topic each Thursday, free for members or included with admission. No RSVP required. Great for kids entering K-4, but fun for all ages. KINDERNATURE SECOND TUESDAY EACH MONTH 10:30-11:30 AM AND 2:00-3:00 PM Enjoy a story and take your craft and snack home for a no contact revised program. KinderNature is for kids 3-5, RSVP required, $8 per child and... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – Two Western Illinois University professor emeriti who have worked extensively on cultural diversity issues and programming have compiled a comprehensive reading list to deepen understanding of the pervasive racism that has repeatedly led to violence against the Black community. “Given all that has been going on in the USA related to the treatment of African Americans the past few weeks, not to mention the previous 400 years, we would like to provide resources to the WIU community that further awareness and understanding of the systematic oppression and racism that is... Read More

The Western Illinois University Food Pantry has announced its hours for this Summer 2020. The pantry will be open to serve all students, staff and faculty in need from 3-5 p.m. each Tuesday. Proper cleaning measures are in place, as well as social distancing practices due to COVID-19. The health and well-being of all volunteers and patrons remains a top priority. For more information, if you are in need outside of our operation hours, or have any questions or concerns, contact Casey Hendricksen at cv-hendricksen@wiu.edu, Britney Van Tine at bn-vantine@wiu.edu or Emily Shupe at er-shupe@wiu.edu.  Read More

Join the German American Heritage Center & Museum on Sunday, June 14th at 2pm for a virtual guided tour led by Assistant Director Sami live over zoom. In this live tour Sami will lead guests through our two special exhibits, “The History We Hold: Highlights from the GAHC Collection” and “Power Frauen: German Women Who Dared to Dream.” She will share with you some of the notable figures and interesting treasures on the display at the GAHC right now. For guests who viewed our Virtual Power Frauen tour in May: The Power Frauen portion of this tour will be the same as the... Read More

High-school graduates this spring encountered a vastly different end of school year commencement season. As the Covid-19 crisis pushed classes and graduations online (Moline, Rock Island and United Township still plan in-person ceremonies later in the summer), nothing has been normal for graduating seniors and college students. The Moline Foundation made the day for 29 scholarship recipients recently, when they were asked to participate in a Zoom conference call. Excited cheers and applause broke out as the students found out during the call that each would get at least a $1,000 scholarship award... Read More

Western Illinois University announces the following administrative changes and hires. Centennial Honors College Lorette Oden, chair of the Department of Health Sciences and Social Work and interim associate dean of the College of Education and Human Services, has been named interim dean of the Centennial Honors College, effective July 1. She will serve in her role as department chair concurrently. Oden has served as the associate dean since August 2018 and as chair of health sciences and social work since 2015. She joined the department (formerly called the WIU Department of Community Health and... Read More