MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – Athena Brooks, administrator of Heartland Health Care Center in Macomb, has been named the senior executive assistant to the president at Western Illinois University, effective June 21. Brooks has served as the administrator at Heartland since 2015. She had previously served as the administrator at LaHarpe Davier Health Care Center since 2009. Brooks has also served as the director of Courtyard Estates in Bushnell and as a regional marketing director for Petersen Health Care’s Assisted and Supportive Living division. In her roles as administrator, Brooks managed the... Read More

The Peace Corps Fellows Program, within the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs (IIRA) at Western Illinois University, learned this week it is one of 13 programs statewide receiving federal grant funding from AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and community volunteerism. The WIU program, the only downstate program to receive federal grant funding this fiscal year, will get $185,748, and an additional $76,140 in Segal AmeriCorps Education Award funding. The grant money helps the Peace Corps Fellows program recruit returned Peace Corps volunteers, who then enroll in one of 10 graduate... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – Western Illinois University-Macomb COVID-19 summer test clinics will be held from 8 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, through Thursday, Aug. 12, in the University Union Sandburg Lounge. Fall 2021 test clinic times and days will be announced prior to the start of the fall semester, which is set to begin Monday, Aug. 23. WIU-Macomb faculty, staff and students will have the SHIELD Illinois fast-turnaround saliva-based COVID-19 tests created by the University of Illinois available. The SHIELD test requires individuals to deposit a small amount of saliva in a vial,... Read More

“Do not desire to fit in. Desire to oblige yourselves to lead” – Illinois Poet Laureate Gwendolyn Brooks. The new Gwendolyn Brooks Memorial Park Dedication will take place on the Western Illinois University Macomb campus beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday, June 12. The Park is located on the corner of Adams and Normal streets on the WIU-Macomb campus, on the site of the former Gwendolyn Brooks Cultural Center (GBCC). As COVID-19 restrictions remain in place, the event will be limited to 100 participants, by invitation only. The dedication will also be livestreamed on WIU’s YouTube channel at... Read More

When Esmeralda Portillo crossed the commencement stage in May, at age 19, she became the youngest Latina woman to graduate from Western Illinois University in its history. Portillo, of Chicago Heights, IL, received her degree in Law Enforcement and Justice Administration (LEJA) during the University’s Commencement weekend May 14-16. Although age requirements to work for police departments prevent her from applying for a career position yet, since graduation she has been working as a records clerk at the Harvey (IL) Police Department. She will begin work toward a master’s degree in Fall... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL — The Western Illinois University Board of Trustees will hold its regular quarterly meeting at 8:30 a.m. Friday, June 11 for trustees and University leadership in Riverfront Hall, Rooms 103/104 on the WIU-Quad Cities campus, with social distance measures in place, and via Zoom for trustees who cannot attend in person, as well as for those presenting general reports, group reports and public comments. The Board shall convene in a closed session in person and via Zoom beginning at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 10 in Riverfront Hall, Rooms 103/104 for the purpose of considering... Read More

The Western Illinois University Zeta Beta Chapter (No. 141) of Beta Alpha Psi (BAP) placed second in the Mid-Year Best Practices competition, sponsored by Deloitte. Western Illinois University students placed second in the midwest area for “Invest in Your Community,” with more than 100 submissions from nine regions. For more information, contact Westen at (309) 298-1152 or CA-Westen@wiu.edu. Learn more about WIU’s accountancy program at wiu.edu/accountancy.  Read More

Students at Western Illinois University will have the opportunity to gain teaching experience at Native American tribal schools starting in Fall 2021. The College of Education and Human Services and the Office of Study Abroad and Outreach are working to give students the opportunity to complete their student teaching at three tribal schools in Wisconsin. Elementary and secondary education students at WIU may apply for this opportunity, with scholarships available to cover room and board expenses, paid for by the WIU Foundation. The first student chosen for the program for the Fall 2021 semester... Read More

A trio of Western Illinois University Department of Theatre and Dance faculty have been contracted to do a summer production of “Always…Patsy Cline!” at the Ozark Actors Theatre in Rolla, MO, July 8-18. Theatre and Dance Chair Tammy Killian, Associate Professor and Musical Theatre Director Lysa Fox and Professor Emeritus Bill Kincaid will perform the show on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m., and Friday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. The faculty group performed the show at WIU as part of the September 2018 Faculty Showcase. Kincaid is the play’s director, while Killian... Read More

World Environmental Day is coming up, and Western Illinois University will mark it with a special lecture series. 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... Read More