Jacqueline Crain, second from left, is the winner of the 2023 Elaine M. Vitello Ph.D. Leadership Award. Shown with her are the award namesake, Elaine Vitello, third from left, and Crain’s mentors, Julie Partridge, left, and Molly Hudgins, right. Photo by Russell Bailey.
SIU sport administration student receives Vitello Award to help her break the glass ceiling
By Christi Mathis
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Jacqueline Crain is passionate about football but knows that breaking into a career in sport administration, especially in the NFL, isn’t going to be easy. That’s why the junior Southern Illinois University Carbondale student from Du Quoin, Illinois, is thrilled to receive the Elaine M. Vitello Ph.D. Leadership Award, named for a longtime SIU dean and educator who forged new pathways to success in the world of higher education.
“Dr. Vitello is very special and unique. In a very male-dominated world, she broke barriers and served under-represented students, faculty and staff,” Robert Morgan, dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences, said. “She was the first female academic dean at SIU and the first and only female dean for our college. Many of our programs wouldn’t be here without her.”
Multi-faceted award
Morgan said when he conceived an award to acknowledge exceptional leadership potential in a CHHS student, he approached Vitello and asked her to lend her name and support. She eventually agreed.
“Dr. Vitello supports the award because she hopes that by letting us name it in her honor, it will generate interest and donations and ultimately benefit other young barrier-breaking women leaders of tomorrow,” Morgan said.
The award recipient is chosen for their dedication to leadership as proven by service to the school, college, university, and/or community and career goals. In addition to a $500 scholarship, the award connects the student with a mentor within the college, who will work with the student throughout the year to help them grow, learn and enhance their leadership skills. The award also provides up to $2,000 for the student and mentor to attend a professional leadership conference together.
When applying for the award, Crain a sport administration major with a minor in coaching, did some research about Vitello and was impressed with what she learned.
“She is a trailblazer for sure,” Crain said. “In the field I’m going into, a very male-dominated field, it’s very important to be able to find a female mentor to be able to work with, hear from and learn from. I’m so grateful for the opportunities this award is giving me.”
And that’s what it’s all about for Vitello.
“Women continue to be underrepresented in leadership positions in the workforce,” Vitello said. “It is critical and essential that opportunities are afforded to deserving young women to develop and enhance their leadership skills. The more opportunities that are made available, the greater the development of self-confidence and self-esteem, along with many other positive characteristics. Such was my case. My parents, teachers and advisers encouraged me to develop the ‘I can do this’ approach to succeed in whatever endeavor I encountered.”
Vitello hopes to encourage that “I can do this” attitude in Crain and future generations of Salukis.
Vitello paved the way for women leaders
Vitello is an alumna of SIU, completing her doctorate in 1977. She also holds a master’s degree, completed in 1971 at The Ohio State University and a 1967 bachelor’s degree from Ohio Dominican University.
Her career and impact at the university began in 1977 as a visiting assistant professor. Within five years, she was an associate professor and later a full professor and then director of the Division of Advanced Technical Studies. She was her college’s teacher of the year in 1986 and a distinguished professor in allied health and health education. Vitello was appointed dean of the College of Technical Careers on July 1, 1990.
Not long after her appointment, the Illinois Board of Higher Education recommended that the college, which primarily offered associate degree programs, be eliminated as part of a statewide effort to shift most associate degree programs to community colleges. But with authorization from the SIU Board of Trustees, Vitello and her faculty and staff restructured the entire college and created new, relevant baccalaureate programs. The college was saved. To reflect those changes, it became the College of Applied Sciences and Arts. (Most CASA programs became part of the new College of Health and Human Sciences under a university-wide academic restructuring completed in 2021.)
Even when she retired in 2002, Vitello continued to play an important role, working on a project involving tobacco prevention and control among college-age women for SIU’s Center for Rural Health, funded by the Illinois Department of Public Health.
Big goals and making them happen
Crain said just being nominated for the Vitello Award by Taeho Yoh, professor and director of the sport administration program, was incredible.
“He’s been a phenomenal role model,” Crain said. “For him to think that highly of me is awesome and then for me to win for the entire college is such an honor. I just wasn’t expecting that. I am so happy and give thanks to God. My faith is very important to me, and God has placed the right people in my path to be great mentors to me. I give all the glory to God for all that I am and all that I have and want to give back to others.”
Crain assisting with registration during the NubAbility summer camp at Du Quoin. Photo by Carson VanBusbirk.
Crain anticipates that eventually getting to the NFL will likely involve spending some time with nonprofit or college sports organizations, which she is already doing.
During her time on campus, she was previously employed in the bursar’s office and this fall marks her third year working alongside Saluki football head coach Nick Hill and his support staff in Saluki Athletics.
“I’ve discovered so much, and it’s been a great introduction into working in the world of sports,” Crain said.
Crain said she has also gotten valuable experience in the university’s sports management club and with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, recently helping with the FCA’s camps. During summer 2023, she had a hands-on sport management internship with NubAbility Athletics Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in her hometown that hosts sport camps for limb-different youth athletes from around the world.
She arranged flights and shuttles from St. Louis to Du Quoin for numerous coaches, made camping and hotel arrangements, arranged detailed scheduling for outdoors days, focus sports and more, coordinated a fundraising campaign and handled various other projects.
“It was really fun, and I learned a lot of things,” Crain said. “I enjoyed the camp and getting to know the team and the campers. They left me speechless. It’s hard to describe the impact those kids had on me.”
This fall, Crain is working with her new Vitello Award mentors, Julie Partridge, professor of sport and exercise psychology and NCAA faculty athletics representative in the School of Human Sciences, and Molly Hudgins, deputy athletic director for administration and student services.
“I have been fortunate to have several strong female mentors in my career, and they have all emphasized the importance of continuing to pay it forward with respect to mentoring the next generation of leaders. This is a perfect opportunity to do so with an outstanding student like Jacqueline,” Partridge said. “It is an honor to be able to participate in this mentoring experience that honors a legend like Dr. Vitello with such an exceptional student as Jacqueline, as well as a wonderful colleague like Molly Hudgins. I believe this dynamic is going to generate so many opportunities for all of us to grow and learn from one another.”
Hudgins said she’s proud to be a native of Southern Illinois, an SIU alumna and former Saluki student-athlete and that her time in the College of Business and Administration (now College of Business and Analytics) as well as athletics helped shape her as a leader, administrator and person.
“I was very fortunate to formulate long-lasting relationships with strong female leaders such as Charlotte West, Cindy Scott and Diane Daugherty. These individuals made a lasting impact on my life and career,” Hudgins said. “I hope that I can have the same influence and impact on Jacqueline. She is an outstanding young woman from Southern Illinois whose future is extremely bright. It is important to help shape and lead young women, like Jacqueline, so that they have the opportunity to find their passion and make a difference in future generations. Dr. Vitello was an amazing female leader and administrator at SIU. I am extremely honored and humbled to have the opportunity to be a part of her legacy at SIU, and I am excited to work with Jacqueline and help mentor the next generation of outstanding Southern Illinois female leaders.”
This is the second year for the Vitello Award. Last year’s inaugural winner was Arianna Goss, a first-generation college student and May health care management graduate from Saint Marie, Illinois.
To make a donation to the Elaine M. Vitello Ph.D. Leadership Award, visit salukifunder.siu.edu/vitello or contact Steph Taylor at 618-453-4975.