BREAKING NEWS: Moline Mayor Stephanie Acri wants to break up with Western Illinois University, but the public riverfront campus wants more time to work things out. Last month, new WIU president Guiyou Huang wrote to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker  about ongoing discussions regarding a potential transfer of the WIU Quad-Cities campus to another state institution. Huang became president Jan. 1, 2021. At that point, Western has not been included in the discussion, he noted, copying Mayor Acri and Quad Cities Chamber president/CEO Paul Rumler. She responded that she’s had concerns about the impact of... Read More

Paul Rumler, president/CEO of the Quad Cities Chamber, is among concerned local leaders who want the state of Illinois to consider another public institution to replace Western Illinois University on the Moline riverfront. “The best intentions started with great promise, and then in the last few years, it’s fizzled,” he said Friday, noting negatives in WIU enrollment, marketing and change in leadership. There have been well-publicized discussions among Western’s Board of Trustees, dating back two years, and faculty senate, questioning the value of the Moline campus, he said. “You’ve... Read More

Just over six weeks into his new job as Western Illinois University president, Guiyou Huang wrote to Gov. JB Pritzker this past Tuesday, Feb. 16, about ongoing discussions regarding a potential transfer of the WIU Quad-Cities campus in Moline to another state institution. To date, Western has not been included in the discussion, he noted, copying Moline Mayor Stephanie Acri and Quad Cities Chamber president/CEO Paul Rumler. Acri responded that she’s had concerns about the impact of WIU in Moline and she’s scheduled to meet again with Huang on March 2. “In our conversation in my office this... 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