April 2007 News Releases
- 4-19 SWIC Anniversary Celebration Ends With A Bash
- 4-19 SWIC Promotes Education Lobby Day Rally Attendance
- 4-18 See 'The Full Monty' With The SWIC Travel Program
- 4-18 New Biology, History And Web Classes To Debut At RBC
- 4-13 SWIC Travel Program Takes History Trip To Cards Games
- 4-5 Be A Part Of The Action: SWIC Bison Gate Project Phase II
- 4-3 Belleville Americorps Volunteer Fair At SWIC April 18
SWIC ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION ENDS WITH A BASH
The yearlong celebration of the Southwestern Illinois College 60th anniversary is ending with one last dance.
SWIC celebrated its 1946 opening throughout this school year with campus and community events. Titled the Through the Years, the May 12 event will be a party for all former and current SWIC students, faculty, staff and board members.
Reservations must be made by May 5. Tickets for the event are just $19.46 each and must be purchased in advance.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. at Fischer's Restaurant, 2100 W. Main St. in Belleville. The evening starts with a pre-dinner mixer, followed by a dinner buffet. Music by the versatile Lenny Klinger's Galaxy Band will get everyone's feet tapping and hips swaying to six decades of songs. In between musical sets, the audience will be entertained, as the room becomes a virtual television studio for a game show patterned after the popular "Deal or No Deal."
In conjunction with the festivities, there will be a silent auction benefiting the 60th Anniversary Scholarship.
For tickets or information, call SWIC College Activities at 618-235-2700, extension 5561.
NEW BIOLOGY, HISTORY AND WEB CLASSES TO DEBUT AT RBC
Be among the first to take three brand new courses coming to Southwestern Illinois College's Red Bud Campus, 500 W. South Fourth St., this summer!
The Summer 2007 schedule includes classes added for the first time to the summer course listings, as well as courses offered for the first time at the campus. The classes are BIOL 105-080 - Human Biology; HIST 181-080 - U.S. History, 1865 to Present; and CIS 299-080 - Creating You First Web Page.
If you'd like to learn how the leg bone connects to the hip bone, other basic anatomical structures and the fascinating physiology of the human body, sign up for BIOL 105-080 - Human Biology. Sessions will meet from 9 a.m. to 12:10 p.m., Monday through Thursday, from June 4 through July 26. Some prerequisites are required, so speak with a SWIC counselor before registering.
History buffs will enjoy digging into topics that include World War I, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, the emergence of the Civil Rights Movement, the 1960s and national politics from 1968-1998. If you're curiosity is piqued, then register for HIST 181-080 - U.S. History, 1865 to Present. Class is scheduled to meet from 12:15-3:05 p.m., Tuesday and Thursday, from June 5 through July 26. Some prerequisites apply, so schedule a visit with a SWIC counselor.
Finally, if you're itching to know how to create your own Web page, check out CIS 299-080 - Creating Your First Web Page. The class is scheduled to meet from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday, June 11 and Tuesday, June 12.
Open registration begins Monday, April 30. Register in person from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Thursday, or 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m, Friday at the campus. Telephone registration is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Thursday, or 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Friday. Call 618-282-6682, extension 8114.
SEE 'THE FULL MONTY' WITH THE SWIC TRAVEL PROGRAM
The Southwestern Illinois College Travel Program is headed to Stages St. Louis Aug. 19 for dinner and a live production of the musical comedy "The Full Monty."
This bawdy, good-natured production is based on the 1997 Oscar-winning movie of the same name. It follows the antics of six unemployed British steelworkers so desperate for work, they hash a plan to do what no man has done before. They form a working man dance troupe with the grandiose idea of stripping all the way down to give their audience the proverbial Full Monty. In reality, the Stages St. Louis audience will get only the briefest glimpse of the actors' derrieres.
The trip is $85 per person and includes dinner at Amici's Italian Restaurant, a seat in one of the first three rows at Stages St. Louis, motor coach transportation and all gratuities and taxes. Deadline for final payment is July 1.
For reservations and information, call trip coordinator Nancy Bauer at 618-234-4410, extension 7020 or (314) 436-3218, extension 7020.
SWIC PROMOTES EDUCATION LOBBY DAY RALLY ATTENDANCE
Southwestern Illinois College is encouraging area residents to show their support at the Higher Education Legislative Coalition (HELC) Lobby Day set for Wednesday, April 25 at the Illinois Education Association building parking lot, 100 E. Edwards St. in Springfield.
According to the Illinois Federation of Teachers Web site the HELC Lobby Day rally is designed to attract public and media attention, and to encourage state legislators to show their commitment to higher education by increasing funding.
"We're strongly encouraging people from Southwestern Illinois, the college and the region, to attend," said SWIC Biology Professor Emeritus and HELC member/advocate Leo Welch. "After the rally, the public will have the opportunity to meet with their respective area legislators."
SWIC President Elmer H. Kirchoff, Ph.D. and Board of Trustees Vice Chairman Ken Joseph both support the Lobby Day. "This rally can have a significant impact on motivating legislators to continue their longstanding commitment to continually improving higher education in Illinois. We're grateful for the past generous support we've gotten from the legislature, and respectfully look forward to more of the same," Kirchoff said.
Welch said the Illinois General Assembly will be in session that day, and most legislators, including Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich are expected to be there.
Speakers expected at rally include members from the Illinois Community College Board, the Illinois Board of Higher Education, state legislators, and university senior administrators. Welch said trustees, faculty, and staff of higher education institutions from throughout Illinois are also expected to attend the rally.
For more information about the Higher Education Legislative Coalition Lobby Day call Leo Welch at 618-235-2700, extension 4199.
SWIC TRAVEL PROGRAM TAKES HISTORY TRIP TO CARDS GAMES
For those who appreciate both history and the St. Louis Cardinals, Southwestern Illinois College Travel Program has the ideal trip.
The journey to see the Cards battle the Milwaukee Brewers in Wisconsin begins with a visit to the David Davis Mansion is Bloomington, Ill. This Victorian mansion completed in 1872, for Abraham Lincoln's friend and campaign manager, stands as an impressive reminder of the important role Illinois played in 19th century America.
After arrival in Milwaukee and checking into the very hotel the Cardinals are schedule to stay, travelers head one block to Miller Park to watch the evening game from Loge Infield Box. The following day, a tour guide will lead a sightseeing expedition of Milwaukee, including the lakefront and historical areas representing the city's German heritage. In the afternoon, it's back to the ballpark for a second match between the Cards and Brewers.
The third day begins with a tour of Miller Park. On the way home, there will be a stop at Beckman Mill, Wisconsin's oldest working gristmill, for a tour and an old-fashioned bucket lunch.
The Aug. 15 to 17 trip includes motor coach transportation, hotel accommodations, tour escort, tickets to both ball games, admissions to scheduled events, five meals, baggage handling, gratuities and travel insurance. Cost per person, based on double occupancy, is $640. Other costs are available based on room occupancy from one to four per room. Deadline for final payment is July 1.
For reservations and information, call trip coordinator Nancy Bauer at 618-234-4410, extension 7020, or (314) 436-3218, extension 7020, or log onto http://www.swic.edu/psop/travel.jsp.
BE A PART OF THE ACTION: SWIC BISON GATE PROJECT PHASE II
When was the last time you made a mud pie?
Roll up your sleeves, get "down and dirty" and help create temporary, environmentally friendly sculpture with Artist Ron Fondaw at Southwestern Illinois College in April and May. Phase II of the Bison Gate project is about to get under way. This phase adds adobe "bison" sculptures to the existing gates created in spring 2006.
Work sessions are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturdays, April 14, 21, 28 and May 5 in the Native Habitat area of the Belleville Campus, 2500 Carlyle Ave. In addition, individuals can work from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday, May 2 on the lawn west of the William E. and Florence Schmidt Art Center at the campus. Food will be provided during work sessions.
"We invite community members to join SWIC's art and biology students as they mix mud, straw and cement into adobe that will be applied to the existing gates and used to create bison-shaped sculptures at the site," said Assistant Professor of Art Guy Weible.
This year, the Biology department's annual Habitat Restoration activities and the community art project merge. Volunteers will be harvesting invasive, non-native bush honeysuckle from the woods in the campus' Native Habitat area. Those stems will then be woven into the skeletal frames of bison, according the Biology Department Chair Bob Weck.
"The framework constructed will be covered with adobe clay to create bison sculptures heading into the woods and prairie, or appearing to graze near the Schmidt Art Center," he said. "As with the original Bison gate project, over the next few years, the bison will disintegrate and return to the earth."
For details, contact Schmidt Art Center Curator Libby Reuter - libby.reuter@swic.edu or 618-235-2700, extension 5143; Weck - bob.weck@swic.edu or 618) 235-2700, extension 5607; or Weible - guy.weible@swic.edu or 618-235-2700, extension 5394.
BELLEVILLE AMERICORPS VOLUNTEER FAIR AT SWIC APRIL 18
Are you looking for a way to make a difference in someone's life? If so, check out Belleville AmeriCorps' upcoming Volunteer Fair from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday, April 18 at Southwestern Illinois College's Belleville Campus, 2500 Carlyle Ave. Volunteer organizations will be set up in the Main Complex First Floor Hall and Alcove.
"Many local organizations depend on the services of volunteers to carry out their important work. You can be a part of their efforts to help others in the community," notes Belleville AmeriCorps Director Julie Haupt. "We can gain a greater sense of belonging and awareness of civic responsibility when we help others."
Local nonprofit organizations recruiting volunteers will be on hand to talk about available opportunities and the services they provide. Among the groups scheduled to participate are Belleville and East St. Louis AmeriCorps, Belleville Achieves Strength in Character (BASIC) Initiative, Belleville Main Street, Belleville Parks and Recreation, Catholic Social Services, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) and more.
Students and community members are welcome, Haupt notes.
"At the fair, people will have the opportunity to sign up for volunteer projects with several area organizations," Haupt said.
This fair, sponsored by Belleville AmeriCorps and SWIC's Liberal Arts Division, celebrates National Volunteer Week.
For more information, call Haupt or Belleville AmeriCorps Field Coordinator Amanda Guinn at 618-235-2700, extensions 5709 or 5711, respectively, or check the Community section of SWIC's Web site, www.swic.edu.