MACOMB, IL – A Western Illinois University graduate student has published a peer-reviewed journal article based on research about how social capital and frequency of media exposure affects the well-being of individuals in China. Fanbin Zeng, of China, is starting his second year as a graduate student in the WIU Department of Communication. For his article, published in the journal “East Asia,” he analyzed the 2015 Chinese General Social Survey, a nationwide, comprehensive and continuous social investigation project in China. Before coming to WIU, Zeng was an associate professor with... Read More

MACOMB, IL – If ever the catchphrase “following in your father’s footsteps” applied to someone connected to Western Illinois University, it would be the late Dean Emeritus of Graduate Studies Hank Sather, and his daughters, Kristi, Signe and Ingrid. Not only did Sather influence nearly a decade of students in the University’s biological sciences department, his daughters followed his example to earn degrees in and advance to careers in biology. A lifelong educator, Sather went beyond the traditional classroom with his students for a series of summer field trips to America’s... Read More

MACOMB IL – Thanks to funding from the National Science Foundation, the Western Illinois University Physics Department’s Astrophysics Research Laboratory provided $3,000 scholarships to two undergraduate students and a full-time Research Assistantship to a graduate student to participate in a 2020 Summer Research Experience. Under the supervision of Professor of Physics Esteban D. Araya, students conducted research in the area of star formation, based on data analysis of observations conducted with the Very Large Array (VLA) radio telescope in New Mexico, and the Arecibo Observatory in... Read More

MOLINE, IL – The Student Services Center at Western Illinois University’s Quad Cities campus is offering extended hours as the Fall 2020 semester gets underway. Because of COVID-19, masks are required to be worn on campus. Additional information about the University’s pandemic plan is available at wiu.edu/coronavirus. The Quad Cities Student Services Center will be open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 28; 8 a.m.-noon Saturday, Aug. 29; 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 31-Thursday, Sept. 3 and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 4. For more information about WIU-QC offices, departments and services,... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL — Western Illinois University is committed to creating a campus environment focused on the academic success and health of all students, faculty and staff. The Protect the ‘Necks Plan is a comprehensive plan that has been put into place to keep the University community safe by mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Several committees have worked to develop procedures, tools and protocols necessary to ensure the successful and safe return of students, faculty, staff and campus activities. As procedures and guidelines are updated, the information will be shared with the University... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – – Western Illinois University’s Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) student chapters on the Macomb and Quad Cities campuses both received awards from the national chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) for providing superior growth and development opportunities to student chapter members. SHRM awarded a 2019-2020 Superior Merit Award designation to the WIU-Macomb SHRM chapter and a Merit Award designation to the WIU-Quad Cities SHRM student chapter. The SHRM student chapter merit award program encourages the development of more... Read More

MACOMB, IL – For the second time in two years, Western Illinois University senior broadcasting major Devin Brooks has been one of five national winners awarded the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) Mid-America EMMY Foundation Walter Cronkite Scholarship. Brooks, of St. Louis, MO, is a student anchor, reporter, executive producer and web producer for NEWS3, the student-produced newscast in the WIU Department of Broadcasting and Journalism He is pursuing an emphasis in news and performance, and is minoring in sociology. This summer, Brooks completed his third summer internship... Read More

MACOMB, IL – Just as the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many programs on the Western Illinois University campus and around the world, University faculty and administrators have jumped in to help many students who were scheduled to begin internships that were erased by the coronavirus. One of those students is Clint Ratkovich, a senior engineering technology student, of Crete, IL. Ratkovich, who is also a member of WIU’s football team, was originally scheduled to complete his nine-week internship at LyondellBasell, but campus officials worked together to create an internship position for... Read More

MACOMB, IL – A Western Illinois University graduate student has launched an effort to bring diversity to fisheries science, while raising money for a related scholarship program at the same time. Cassidy Miles, a biology graduate student from Saint Ann, MO, noticed last year that there was little diversity at the annual gathering of scientists by The Wildlife Society (TWS) and the American Fisheries Society (AFS). The gathering inspired her to create a pin to promote diversity, inclusion and equality in fisheries. Miles is the public relations officer and outreach coordinator for WIU’s... Read More

Saturday In The Arts is a comprehensive weekly feature looking at a trend, personality, or major subject involving the Quad-Cities arts and entertainment scene. Though he’s been unemployed for months, like millions of Americans, due to Covid-19, St. Ambrose University alum Brian Hemesath got good news late last month. For the third time out of eight nominations, the 48-year-old Iowa native won a Daytime Emmy Award for his costume design work on “Sesame Street.” Hemesath – who earned his bachelor’s in theater and art in 1994 from SAU – was among a team of 21 designers to tie for the... Read More