Freesia Walsh McKee has been named assistant director of the Western Illinois University Multicultural Center. McKee was most recently a writer and researcher for ALUMinate, and from 2012-2017 she was outreach coordinator for ArtWorks for Milwaukee. McKee earned a bachelor’s degree in gender and women’s studies from Warren Wilson College in North Carolina, and a master’s degree in creative writing from Florida International University. She also completed a creating writing program at the Scottish Universities International Summer School in Edinburgh, Scotland. “Joining this... Read More

Color (run) for the kids! The Western Illinois University RockyTHON (Dance Marathon) will hold its third annual Color Run for the Kids Sunday, Sept. 19. The event is part of the student organization’s year-round effort to raise money for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals, St. Louis Children’s Hospital and SSM Health Cardinal Glennon. The event culminates March 26, 2022, with the 12-hour RockyTHON, which honors the 12-hour shifts of doctors and nurses, as well as children who are unable to stand. The event, which starts at 2 p.m. Sept. 19 (registration begins at 1 p.m.), is... Read More

The Western Illinois University Community Music School will soon start its fall semester of group classes and private lessons. The classes offered during the Fall 2021 semester include: • Music & Me; Parent/Child Music Enrichment (ages 2-5) • Group Piano for Adults (ages 18 and older, beginner) • Ukulele U (grades 3-6, beginner) • Macomb Flute Ensemble (all ages, abilities) Individual private lesson packages are also available for string, brass, woodwind, percussion, voice, piano and guitar instruments. The Community Music School’s mission is to enrich lives and communities by... Read More

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently signed an Executive Order that requires all Illinois higher education employees and students, as well as K-12 employees, receive the COVID-19 vaccine. For employees and students who cannot, or will not, get vaccinated, the governor has also mandated weekly COVID testing, which is already in place at WIU. Those individuals who are unvaccinated and who attend classes and/or work on either of our WIU campuses (Macomb and Quad Cities) must comply with the required weekly testing to avoid disciplinary action. Test clinics (saliva-based tests) are held on both the... Read More

Tennessee artist Mark Mcleod will have his solo exhibition, “I only went out for a walk,” on display through Thursday, Sept. 16 at the Western Illinois University Art Gallery. A reception for the artist will be held from 4:30-6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 16, and the artist will speak about his work at 5 p.m. Mark Mcleod is an associate professor of art and design at Middle Tennessee State University, with research interests in the fallibility of memory and the use of new technology in the creation of sculptural works. Before moving to MTSU he served for 10 years as the only full-time art... Read More

During her tenure at Western Illinois University, Miriam Satern focused her efforts on continuous curricular advancements and facility improvements for the betterment of students, faculty and the WIU Kinesiology Department. Her recent gift to Western is evidence of her ongoing support to ensure those efforts continue. In memory of Satern’s parents, Richard and Vera Satern, the refurbished Brophy Hall conference room dedication will take place at 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 10 in Brophy Hall. During Satern’s 21 years at Western, she oversaw the change of the department name from physical education... Read More

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently signed an Executive Order that requires all Illinois higher education employees and students, as well as K-12 employees, receive the COVID-19 vaccine. For employees and students who cannot, or will not, get vaccinated, the governor has also mandated weekly COVID testing, which is already in place at WIU. Those individuals who are unvaccinated and who attend classes and/or work on either of our WIU campuses (Macomb and Quad Cities) must comply with the required weekly testing to avoid disciplinary action. Test clinics (saliva-based tests) are held on both the... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – To help DREAMers (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) in the United States achieve educational and future success, a new Western Illinois University scholarship, created by WIU Political Science Professor Julia Albarracin-Green, has raised nearly $20,000 to provide annual scholarships to undocumented students who attend WIU. The scholarship fundraiser, which closes Aug. 31, has raised over $18,500 to date, and applications are now open for the first WIU DREAMers Scholarships to be awarded this fall. “We are so close to our $20,000 goal. As DREAMers have... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – Western Illinois University faculty, staff, and students will be required to participate in the University’s weekly COVID-19 testing program. Individuals may opt out of testing if proof of vaccination is provided. Testing will be required each week for those individuals who have not received a COVID-19 vaccination. WIU-Macomb COVID-19 Fall 2021 test clinics began Monday, Aug. 23. Fall 2021 test clinics on the Macomb campus will be held from 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday thru Thursday in the WIU Student Recreation Center MAC Gym (south gym). Test clinics will be held in Riverfront... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL — Kirk Hare, Western Illinois University Facilities Management supervisor, has been named the deputy director of maintenance and operations. Hare has served as a supervisor for WIU Facilities Maintenance moving crew since August 2011. He joined the Facilities Maintenance staff as a building service worker in December 2008, serving in that role until his promotion to supervisor in 2011. Hare also owned and operated Pro-Clean in Macomb from 2004-2013. Before joining WIU, he worked as a salesperson for Western Distributing Company in Macomb from 1996-2008, and as the building... Read More