Dear Colleagues,

As flowers bloom on the SIUE campus and temperatures climb, the end of another academic year rapidly approaches. Spring commencement ceremonies are only five weeks away!

March has been filled with activity in the College of Arts and Sciences. The month began with a concert by the University Concert Band and the SIUE Wind Symphony, featuring the band from Clayton High School in Missouri. Students in the master’s degree program in Art Therapy Counseling in the Department of Art and Design presented their artwork in a show, “Spectrum of Healing,” in the gallery in Art and Design West.

Read Dean Leonard's full letter.

When the Illinois State Police (ISP) Investigation Zone 6 Command Staff sought to organize and analyze real homicide case files for the purpose of inviting renewed investigation of cold cases, they turned to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Trish Oberweis, PhD.

Oberweis, professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Criminal Justice Studies, has worked with investigators to create an opportunity for SIUE criminal justice and forensics students to learn about homicide investigation from the inside.

Read the article.

When conducting surveys, researchers ask respondents for identifiable data such age, race and sex. This information rarely caters for nonmonosexuals, sometimes out of unconscious preference for gender, or heterosexual and homosexual, binary. This is about to change, thanks to an instrument developed by Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Aidan Ferguson, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Social Work.

As principal investigator, Ferguson is collaborating with colleagues Jennifer Erwin, PhD and Lane Forsman, PhD, assistant professors in the Department of Social Work. The project, Enhancing Sexual Identity Classification using the Ferguson Sexual Identity Classification Instrument (FSICI): A Proof of Concept Study, will pilot test an instrument that aims to provide a tool which will better capture accurate sexual identity information in research and in other areas where demographic information is obtained. The instrument is named for Ferguson as its inventor.

Read the article.

Consistent with the strategic plan of the Southern Illinois University System, the Department of Applied Communication Studies (ACS) in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has implemented a course sharing program aimed with the School of Communication Studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC). For SIUE junior Allison Simpson, this means that she can accelerate her education in sports public relations.

Majoring in applied communication studies on a public relations track and minoring in mass communication, Simpson has enrolled into a sports public relations course at SIUC, matching her professional interests.

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Visual artist Natcha Wongchanglaw’s work exhibits a palpable sense of courage and adventure. Such a streak was accentuated further when the old-established Royal Photographic Society (RPS) presented Wongchanglaw with this year’s International Photography Exhibition (IPE) Award, which serves to recognize individuals working across both still and moving image, celebrate significant achievements and showcase new and emerging talent.

A Master of Fine Arts student (MFA) in SIUE’s College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), Wongchanglaw flew out to England last month to participate in the 164^th edition of the exhibition and to present her work in the venue which once hosted some of the greatest photographers in history, Roger Fenton and Paul Strand. Leading up to the prize, she was one of 46 photographers selected to display their artwork out of 3,466 contenders around the world. Reviewed by a guest panel, over 6000 images were submitted to IPE 164, which is currently open until May 7 at the RPS Gallery in Bristol.

Read the article.

The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the federal program developed to increase the volume of renewable fuel such as ethanol in transportation fuels, has generated mixed reactions across the nation. Since 2005, a popular claim says the RFS has resulted in more corn production and agricultural land use change, which ethanol opponents see as harmful to the environment. However, according to a new study led by Southern Illinois University Edwardsville alumna Krista Russell, who earned a master’s in environmental science from the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) in 2020, this view is incomplete and simplistic.

The RFS has led to 10 percent ethanol being blended into fuel at the gas pumps. Ethanol itself is commonly created from corn and burns cleaner than petroleum products. As a graduate student at SIUE, Russell—who currently works in Bayer Crop Science’s Digital Farming Solutions division—investigated claims about the drive for ethanol by looking at various variables that influence a farmer’s decision making when determining what crop to plant in their fields. 

Read the article.

Segue is a 30 minute radio program airing on WSIE 88.7 The Sound on Sundays at 9 a.m. and is hosted by CAS Dean Kevin Leonard, PhD. The show features interviews showcasing campus and community leaders and discussions about issues and ideas on the SIUE campus and within the College of Arts and Sciences.

Some recent guests include: 

• Kimberly Archer, DMA, professor of composition in the Department of Music.
• Bill Retzlaff, PhD, interim vice chancellor for administration.
• Bill Luan, SIUE alumnus and accomplished technology leader.

Listen live at siue.edu/wsie. 
To listen to past episodes, click here.