For over a decade, students sitting for the Pre-SAT, high school sophomores and juniors, have reported an increased interest in the field of Engineering. In some specialties, a 67% increase was seen from 2012 to 2018. Augustana has answered the call from students across the globe and will launch an engineering program beginning this fall. “More and more, students are seeking an accredited engineering program to launch their careers full of natural curiosities and problem solving,” says Dr. Wendy Hilton-Morrow, provost at Augustana. “The opportunity to study engineering at a liberal arts... Read More

Graduate students at Western Illinois University have been given the unique opportunity to reach out to a community in Honduras, even in the age of COVID-19. Graduate students in WIU’s Health Sciences program have been working alongside a Honduran community as public health consultants. The program, known as Public Health Telebrigades, a part of Global Brigades, utilizes programs like Zoom to allow students at Western the ability to impact others internationally. Through an entirely virtual environment, students offer their expertise on a wide variety of subjects having to do with public... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – To commemorate World Environmental Day Saturday, June 5, three Western Illinois University professors will speak during a virtual event, from 10 a.m.-noon, themed “Ecosystem Restoration.” The lecture series, organized by WIU biology graduate student Oladele Dickson Owasoyo, of Nigeria, will take place over Zoom and can be joined at wiu.zoom.us/j/98840645382. The event is divided into three sections, including: • WIU English Professor William Knox will deliver “How Combating Climate Change Can Help Restore the Ecosystem.” • WIU Associate Professor... Read More

Augustana College in Rock Island plans a fall 2021 return to entirely in-person instruction for students and faculty. Augustana leaders have announced a return to the college’s normal, time-honored teaching and learning experience this fall. The announcement was made last week during one of the live virtual campus briefings hosted regularly throughout the pandemic. “Augustana College is very pleased to announce its intention to safely return to the in-person, deeply engaged learning environment that is core to its identity, and which our students and graduates value most,” college president... Read More

The past couple months have been a busy time in the private college presidential search business in the Quad-Cities. In late January, Augustana College president Steven Bahls announced he was delaying his planned retirement one year – from July 2021 to July 1, 2022. In early February, St. Ambrose University concluded its search process for the 14th president of the Davenport institution, naming Amy C. Novak, president of Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, S.D., to take the helm this August, with the retirement of Sister Joan Lescinski. And in late February, Augustana in Rock Island held... Read More

Amy C. Novak, president of Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, S.D., will become the 14th president of St. Ambrose University, Davenport, this August. She was chosen earlier this month by the SAU Board of Trustees following a national search and will succeed Sister Joan Lescinski, CSJ, PhD., who will retire after 14 years as SAU president. A 49-year-old native South Dakotan, Novak has served as president of Dakota Wesleyan University since April 2013. She will become just the second female president in SAU’s 139-year-history. The success during Novak’s tenure led to DWU being profiled... Read More

After a fairly hellish 2020, Shelley Cooper is back in musical heaven as the first half of 2021 is shaping up to be very busy and fulfilling. The enthusiastic Augustana College assistant professor of theater arts recently filmed two special performances for Circa ’21; she’s directing a new college production of “Into the Woods” this month; choreographing the next Circa mainstage show in March, and directing the Circa musical after that; performing a one-woman original show at the Black Box Theatre in late March, and then going to Orlando, Fla., to do the same show by June. Plus, you know,... Read More

Today, it was announced that Steven Bahls will retire as president of Augustana College effective July 1, 2022, after a notable 19-year career leading the private Rock Island school. And, on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River, the head of the other major private university in the Quad-Cities, is also retiring. St. Ambrose University president Sister Joan Lescinski announced last summer she will retire effective August of 2021. A national search for the 14th president in the university’s 138-year history has been underway. Trustee alumni John Anderson ’87 and Renee Citera ’81 were appointed... Read More

Steven Bahls will retire as president of Augustana College effective July 1, 2022, after a notable 19-year career leading the private Rock Island school. Originally planning to retire in July 2021, Bahls, 66, delayed his retirement in order to lead the college through the challenging years of the pandemic. “It has been the highlight of my professional life to serve Augustana College, and I look forward to my next great adventure,” he said in a Monday announcement. The eighth president of the college, Bahls started his tenure at Augustana in the summer of 2003. Previously, he was dean at Capital... Read More

The Western Illinois University Office of Student Engagement (OSE), in conjunction with numerous other campus offices, will host “Winter Weeks of Welcome” for the first four weeks of the Spring 2021 semester. The goal of the events is to help engage students and help them make meaningful connections. The schedule includes: • Thursday, Jan. 21 – 11 a.m.-1 p.m. – Thursday on the Terrace, in-person on the University Union terrace – 3-5 p.m. Fraternity and Sorority Life Activities Fair – 8 p.m. UUB and IHC Paint and Go – virtual – 7 p.m. – UHDS Western Leader... Read More