From the Dean: A Season of Celebration at CHHS
The fall is always an exciting time to be on a college campus, and that is especially true at beautiful Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Not only is the campus in peak beauty, but we are bustling with new and returning students.
Enrollment at SIU grew by 2.3%, which represents the first overall enrollment increase since 2014. The College of Health and Human Sciences contributed significantly to this overall growth as we grew by a whopping 6.1%. Our 10-day count (the official day of enrollment count) is 3,943 students (approximately 35% of the SIU student body). A lot of recruiting and, equally important, retention work went into this growth, and I’m thankful to the entire CHHS team for their work and dedication. As we so often say, we are not only the biggest college at SIU, but also the best — our team proves it every day.
Speaking of being the best, this past spring we held our first Celebration of Excellence. With thanks to Mid-America Transplant, we held an award presentation and reception for CHHS faculty and staff who received college and university level honors. We were very pleased to celebrate the following college level awards:
- Maria Claudia Franca (School of Health Sciences) – Ernest J and Mary C Simon Distinguished Faculty Award
- Tammy Kochel (School of Justice and Public Safety) – CHHS Female Faculty Scholar Excellence Award
- Sujung Cho (School of Justice and Public Safety) – CHHS Minority Faculty Scholar Excellence Award
- Justin McDaniel (School of Human Sciences) – CHHS Scholar of the Year
- Jennifer Walker (School of Health Sciences) – Tenure-Track Teacher of the Year
- Paul Echols (School of Justice and Public Safety) – Non-Tenure-Track Teacher of the Year
- Patricia Martens (School of Human Sciences) – Service to the College Award
- Breanne Pleggenkuhle (School of Justice and Public Safety) – Mike Behrmann Spirit Award
Continuing with the theme of excellence, we had many successes since the last newsletter in May. To name just a few:
- The Flying Aces (SAv) placed second at the 2023 Air Race Classic (ARC) flight competition among 41 entries.
- Dr. Tammy Kochel (SJPS) received the 2023 American Society of Criminology, Division of Policing Outstanding Book Award for “Policing Unrest: On the Front Lines of the Ferguson Protests.”
- Dr. Natalie Williams Awodeha (SJPS) was awarded the Dr. Temple S. Lovelace Research Award, which acknowledges notable research contributions conducted by a Black individual and/or research team within the field of applied behavior analysis, at the annual conference of the Black Applied Behavior Analysists, an organization that aims to promote, educate, empower and disseminate applied behavior analysis within the Black/African American community.
- The 2023 SIU registered student organization in the School of Health Sciences, National Student Speech-Language Hearing Association (NSSLHA) received Gold Status recognition from the National NSSLHA.
- Dr. Kelli D. Whittington (SHeS) participated in a roundtable discussion with Sen. Dick Durbin, Southern Illinois Healthcare (SIH) leaders, Shawnee Health and the Egyptian Health Department regarding rural health workforce development in Southern Illinois. Read the press release.
- Drs. Denise Croft and Lesley Shawler (SPBS) attended the Autism Society of Southern Illinois visit with Gov. JB Pritzker in Carbondale.
- Fifteen outstanding Korean students ages 14-16 visited SIU from July 17 through July 28 to participate in Passport to Professions ESL Camp (SHuS), conducted by Dr. Jun Kim, Kijoung Na, Tina Colson, and Dr. Taeho Yoh, with assistance from SIU student leaders. Students participated in conversational English classes, campus activities, such as open house and academic program tours, and were housed with local host families.
- The criminology and criminal justice program hosted five scholars and 22 doctoral students from across North America as part of the Crime and Place Summer Institute from Monday, July 17, through Wednesday, July 19. The event, developed by CCJ professor Dr. Julie Hibdon and other crime and place scholars, exposed participants to theory and methods for studying crime and place topics.
As we are into the fall semester, I am excited about some upcoming events:
- SIU Homecoming 2023 – Oct. 16-21
- CHHS Alumni and Faculty and Staff Appreciation Tailgate – Oct. 21
- Flash Talks (learn about CHHS faculty research) – Oct. 26 (3 p.m., Guyon Auditorium, Morris Library)
- Saluki football homecoming game – Oct. 21 (South Dakota State)
- Saluki football home game – Nov. 4 (South Dakota)
- Saluki football home game – Nov. 18 (Indiana State)
- Commencement – Dec. 16 (10 a.m., Banterra Center)
I close with an invitation. We will be hosting our annual CHHS Alumni, Faculty and Staff Appreciation Tailgate during Homecoming Weekend (Oct. 21). Please plan to join us and enjoy some good Southern Illinois BBQ and a cold beverage of your choosing before we beat South Dakota State.
Best Wishes and Go Dawgs,
Robert Morgan, Ph.D.
robert.d.morgan@siu.edu