Western Illinois University’s School of Computer Science hosted the 2022 LeatherHack training and cybersecurity competition in February. A selection committee chose 11 students out of 58 applicants to participate in the competition, based on their experience and interest in cybersecurity. Computer Science faculty conducted training sessions in a Cybersecurity lab. Six of the participants advanced into the finals and competed as two teams, Team Kali and Team Phoenix. The final competition was held Feb. 23. Professor Binto George coordinated training and competition activities. A panel of judges,... Read More

The Western Illinois University School of Music will host the Lanta Horn Duo, made up of Katy Ambrose and Lauren Hunt, for a masterclass and guest artist recital Wednesday, March 9. “Amplifying Women’s Voices” is a program of music performed and composed by female-identifying musicians. The concert will be both in-person and livestreamed. The day’s schedule of events includes: • 1 – 2:30 pm: Masterclass with Lanta Horn Duo and WIU Horn Studio Performers (Browne Hall, 215) • 7:30 pm: Guest Artist Recital, “Amplifying Women’s Voices.” Ambrose and... Read More

The Geodeland Earth Science Clubs, Inc. (GESCI) will host its 41st annual Gem, Mineral and Fossil Show from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, March 12, and from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, March 13 in the Western Illinois University Union Grand Ballroom. Parking and admission are free. The theme of this year’s show is “Red Minerals and Illinois Fossils.” There will be a featured display in the center of the Grand Ballroom. The GESCI Show will include 10 dealers in minerals, fossils, jewelry and equipment. There will be displays of geodes, minerals, fossils, and many other earth science objects.... Read More

The School of Music at Western Illinois University, will present its 35th annual New Music Festival 2022 Monday-Tuesday, March 7-8. The events that make up the festival will be held in Browne Hall and in the College of Fine Arts and Communication Recital Hall. The festival is being directed by WIU School of Music Professor James Romig and Assistant Professor Hong-Da Chin, both composition faculty. This year’s featured performer is cellist Craig Hultgren and the featured composer is Baljinder Sekhon. Hultgren has performed as a cellist with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and has taught at... Read More

“You and yours and them, she be willing to give, she be willing to live, she know she got the world on her back and the galaxies in her womb. She is a woman so she know that means that she is a warrior too …” – “and She Worthy” by Kywn Townsend Riley, from her spoken word album, “and She Worthy.” Riley, a Western Illinois University College Student Personnel graduate student, recently won the Chicago Reader’s 2021 Best of Chicago Competition, in the “Best New Poetry Collection of 2021” category. She was nominated for the competition, and... Read More

The Western Illinois University Department of Physics will host episode nine of its Virtual Science Saturday, “Nanomaterials: What, How, and Why,” from 10-11 a.m. March. 5. This session will include a discussion about an exciting class of materials that bring radically new concepts to the field of materials science, and change the world of technology. This event will be led by WIU Physics Chair Kishor T. Kapale and Physics Professor P. K. Babu. Virtual Science Saturday is open to anyone and can be joined at bit.ly/WIUScienceSaturday. Past sessions of Virtual Science Saturday can be... Read More

The Western Illinois University Centennial Honors College will host the fifth annual Dr. Jill M. Brody/McDonough Eye Associates Pre-Med Symposium from 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, March 2 in the University Union Heritage Room. The event enables students to explore a wide variety of medical careers, including nursing, dentistry, veterinary sciences, optometry, ophthalmology, dermatology, anesthesiology, family medicine and more. Participants will be able to meet medical school representatives from area and regional medical schools, enjoy food and music, and hear about medical school experiences, and get... Read More

St. Louis artist Michael Darough will have his solo exhibition, “The Talk: A Conversation about Race in America,” on display Tuesday, Feb. 22-Friday, March 25, at the Western Illinois University Art Gallery. Darough graduated from the University of Memphis, earning an MFA in photography in 2011, and his BFA in photography from Arizona State University in 2007. His work explores the intersection of personal and cultural identity through tableau and portraiture. He is a nationally and internationally exhibiting artist whose work has recently been shown at the Brooks Museum of Art (Memphis,... Read More

The student-run Leatherneck Country Meats – the Purple and Gold Standard of Western Illinois University- is once again offering a bundle pork sale to the public. The operation is run through the University Farm and uses animals raised there as part of the University’s academic offerings, including classes on swine science and as part of WIU’s nationally-successful Livestock Judging Team. Money raised through the program benefits the School of Agriculture. Agriculture students are employed at the farm to handle all parts of animal care, from feeding to farrowing. Faculty from the... Read More

The Knoblauch Café will open for the Spring 2022 semester Thursday, Feb. 24, and will serve carry-out meals from 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m. on Thursdays, which can be picked up in the Knoblauch Hall Corporate Kitchen, room 238. Each meal is $8, which includes a beverage and dessert. The meals are organized and run by students in the WIU Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Administration (RPTA). The Knoblauch Café provides students with hands-on experience running a foodservice facility. This year’s menu includes: Thursday, Feb. 24 Hawaiian ham and cheese sliders/Hawaiian roll caprese... Read More