Western Illinois University’s 12th President Guiyou Huang will be hitting the road once again as part of his Inaugural Alumni & Friends Tour, this time heading to Moline, IL, and to Texas. WIU alumni and friends are invited to join Huang, members of the WIU Board of Trustees and Alumni Programs Director Amy Spelman as they stop on Aug. 3 at Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse, 1300 River Drive in Moline, IL, from 4-7 p.m. for complimentary social/open house. The tour will continue with four stops in Texas, including Monday, Aug. 30 (San Antonio); Tuesday, Aug. 31 (Austin); Wednesday, Sept.... Read More

For Western Illinois University Dance Instructor Donald Laney, investing in the professional lives and summer performances his students are involved in this year is a trait he learned as a young child. Laney has spent much of his time this summer putting many miles on his car, traveling to watch the shows WIU students are performing in across the Midwest. The journey started after Laney spent six weeks this summer teaching at the West Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts. At about the same time, he began seeing photographs on social media of the shows his students were part of. “I... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL — The Western Illinois University Board of Trustees will hold its annual board retreat Monday-Tuesday, Aug. 2-3 in Riverfront Hall Rooms 103/104 on the WIU-Quad Cities campus. The Board retreat will be live-streamed (audio livestream only) on WIU’s YouTube Channel at youtube.com/user/WesternIllinoisU. The retreat will begin at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 2 with a public comment portion, followed by one action item. The retreat will resume at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 3. The retreat is scheduled to adjourn at 2 p.m. No action items are on the Board’s Aug. 3 agenda. The full... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL — COVID-19 has created challenges for many college students and their families across the nation, and Western Illinois University is working to ease the financial stress that is affecting its students as a result of the pandemic. According to WIU Financial Aid Director Bobbi Smith, the WIU Office of Financial Aid has in place the financial circumstance appeal to generate a new review of financial aid eligibility using projected 2021 income versus earned 2019 income. “If students and their families have been financially impacted by the pandemic, we encourage our students... Read More

Calling all Leathernecks! Alumni, students, faculty, staff and community members should mark their calendars for Western Illinois University’s Homecoming 2021, Friday, Sept. 24 – Saturday, Oct. 2. Current students Daria Levchenko, a senior political science major, from San Diego, CA, and Elizabeth Orwig, a sophomore special education major, from Ohio, IL, will serve as co-directors of the University Union Board Homecoming Committee. This year’s event theme is “Rocky Undercover: What’s Your Alibi?” “We are so excited to see how Homecoming participants take... 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

MACOMB, IL – Heather Norman, underwriting and outreach coordinator for the Tri States Public Radio (TSPR) at Western Illinois University, has been named the general manager. Norman replaces Julie Murphy, who has served as acting general manager since 2019, who stepped down June 30. Norman joined the TSPR staff in 2014 as the underwriting and outreach coordinator, and in 2019, assumed the responsibilities of the TSPR development director. Previously, she was the director of the Galesburg Civic Art Center from 2001-2014. Norman has also served as a bookkeeper for Cornucopia in Galesburg from 2008-2009. “Heather’s... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – A Western Illinois University faculty member is part of a social media research study recently published in the journal of Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. Associate Professor Christopher Carpenter and Erin L. Spottswood, a faculty member at Portland State University in Oregon, co-wrote “The Hyperperception Model: When Your Partner’s New Friends Inspire Jealousy and Failing to Use Social Distancing.” Carpenter said he and his colleague were interested in romantic jealousy associated with observing the interactions of one’s romantic... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL — Amber Schultz, former vice president for enrollment management at Edgewood College, Madison, WI, has been named Western Illinois University’s new vice president for enrollment management, effective Aug. 1. Schultz served as the vice president for enrollment management at Edgewood College from 2019 through 2021. In this role, she led the enrollment management division, which encompassed undergraduate and graduate admissions, marketing and strategic communications, student services, financial aid and scholarships. During her tenure at Edgewood, Schultz achieved the... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL — COVID-19 has created challenges for many college students and their families across the nation, and Western Illinois University is working to ease the financial stress that is affecting its students as a result of the pandemic. According to WIU Financial Aid Director Bobbi Smith, the WIU Office of Financial Aid has in place the financial circumstance appeal to generate a new review of financial aid eligibility using projected 2021 income versus earned 2019 income. “If students and their families have been financially impacted by the pandemic, we encourage our students... Read More