MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – The Centennial Honors College at Western Illinois University will host the annual Thomas E. Helm Undergraduate Research Conference, which will be held in a virtual format Monday-Friday, April 19-23, with a special live session from 3-5 p.m. Thursday, April 22, concluding with the keynote presentation at 5 p.m. by distinguished WIU alumna Kirsten Dillender. The Undergraduate Research Conference was initiated by the Centennial Honors College in 2003, and was named in honor of Thomas E. Helm in 2009. It is a celebration of research, scholarship and creative activities undertaken... Read More

The April 14 and 15 mass vaccination clinics (two-dose Moderna vaccine) at Western Illinois University-Macomb’s campus are now open to all WIU and Spoon River College faculty, staff and students, as well as residents of McDonough, Fulton, Schuyler, Hancock, Warren and Henderson counties (and those who work in these counties), who are 18 years of age or older. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), in cooperation with WIU, the McDonough County Health Department and the Illinois National Guard, will host the COVID-19 vaccination clinics from 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Wednesday, April 14 and... Read More

A public art project, co-founded by Western Illinois University History Professor Peter Cole to commemorate the deaths caused by the 1919 Chicago Race Riot, has entered into an exciting partnership with two National Basketball Association (NBA) teams to bring programming into Chicago and Tulsa, OK classrooms. Cole and Franklin Cosey-Gay, executive director of the Chicago Center for Youth Violence Protection, co-direct the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project (CRR19). Its goal is to create and install markers at each of the 38 locations where a life was lost in 1919. The project is also... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL — As the state’s COVID-related restrictions have lessened, and the state is now in a “bridge” phase between Phases 4 and 5, as announced by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker last week, Western Illinois University has determined that in-person, outdoor* commencement ceremonies for 2021 and 2020 graduates will be held the weekend of May 14-16. To ensure compliance with state and University pandemic protocols, details are being finalized and will be forthcoming, including number of guests allowed, etc. The individual staged Commencement photo experience originally... Read More

WQPT, the PBS station serving the Quad Cities and surrounding communities has often heard from viewers with issues related to receiving their signal. As a result, for the last several years WQPT has been involved in their Aspire Higher Capital Campaign. The first year was spent in the “silent” portion of the campaign and in January 2020 WQPT announced the public phase of the campaign. “This was only the second time in our 38 year history that we embarked on a capital campaign,” said Interim General Manager, Dawn Schmitt. The first being before WQPT went on the air for the start-up of the... Read More

MACOMB/MOLINE, IL – On Saturday, April 24, 2021, Western Illinois University alumni and friends from across the country and around the world will come together as one Leatherneck community for WIU’s fifth annual Western Challenge online day of giving, which also coincides with the annual Purple & Gold Day celebration. This 24-hour online giving event unites the Leatherneck community in giving back to support their favorite colleges, departments, programs, teams and causes on campus. Many participants will be giving for the first time. “I always thought the only people who gave... Read More

April 2021 marks the official 20th anniversary of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and to commemorate the anniversary, the Western Illinois University Women’s Center 31st annual Take Back the Night event will begin at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 15 at the Sherman Hall circle drive. Participants must wear masks and socially distance. The annual march and rally is held to increase awareness of — and seek an end to – sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, stalking and other forms of sexual and power-based interpersonal violence, as well as to remember and honor victims and survivors.... Read More

University of Illinois Communication Professor Leanne Knobloch will deliver Western Illinois University’s 30th annual Wayne N. Thompson Scholar Lecture via Zoom at 4 – 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 7. The lecture is sponsored by the WIU Department of Communication. Knobloch will deliver “Navigating the New Normal: Communication of Military Families during the Transition from Deployment to Reintegration.” Her lecture will focus on the importance of communication in how military families transition from a family member being deployed to returning home. Knobloch has conducted many... Read More

A unique mural of Abraham Lincoln, designed by Western Illinois University graphics students, will soon hang in the University Union to designate the building’s Lincoln Room. The initial idea for the mural came from University Union Assistant Director Ashley Katz, who wanted a design for the windows of the Lincoln Room to make its location in the building more recognizable. The mural design was then created by students of WIU Graphic Design Instructor Diana Higgins, including senior graphic design major Toby Allred, of Anthem, AZ, and Kortney Orr, a senior agriculture major from Columbus... Read More

It’s Sunday, and QuadCities.com proudly presents Fun10, a list of the top 10 things to do in the Quad Cities this week, and every week! Every Sunday, we drop a new FUN10, to give you a head start on your week and a heads up on what’s going on over the coming seven days. Check out FUN10 every Sunday for the details on ten awesome events happening around town. It’s a cool read, and a great way to get started planning your entertainment for the week. FUN10 — ten ways for you to have fun in the Quad-Cities, this week and every week, running every Sunday, only on your site for fun, free, local... Read More