October 2007 News Releases
- 10-29 An Exotic Destination Awaits You On SWIC Travel Tour
- 10-18 Check Out SWIC Red Bud Campus At Nov. 1 Open House
- 10-4 Get Tickets For Ken Ludwig Comedy "Moon Over Buffalo"
- 10-5 SWIC Nature Trail Named For Retired Professor Amlung
- 10-2 SWIC Red Bud Campus To Host Poetry and Country Music
AN EXOTIC DESTINATION AWAITS YOU ON SWIC TRAVEL TOUR
Lush tropical forests, rumbling volcanoes, a guided boat trip, a zip line canopy tour in the Monteverde Cloud Forest and a host of other activities await you in tropical Costa Rica next summer!
You could jet off to this wonderland filled with amazing flora and fauna thanks to a special Travel Study course - SPAN 299 Language and Culture. No foreign language experience is required to participate. The adventure takes you from St. Louis to Costa Rica for nine days of fun in the sun and amazing cultural experiences. Travel from June 18-26, 2008.
A Collette Vacations representative will give an informational travel presentation at 11 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 3 at the SWIC Belleville Campus, 2500 Carlyle Ave. The presentation will be held in the Main Complex - Marsh Conference Room, located on the first floor across from the Barnes & Noble Bookstore.
"This is an amazing adventure and the cost cannot be beat," said Adjunct Foreign Language Instructor and Travel Guide Catherine Kreher. "I've conducted these study tours for many years and this is the first trip that we've been able to offer a trip for less than $2,000. This is a once-in-a-lifetime travel opportunity."
While on the trip, you will visit San Jose, Paos Volcano, Cano Negro Refuge, Arenal Volcano Hot Springs, Monteverde Cloud Forest, the Guanacaste Tropical Beach Resort and other fabulous sites.
The journey begins in the capital city of San Jose. As a launch point, you will then travel to the ancient Poas Volcano, credited with being the widest crater in the world, and the majestic Arenal Volcano that has produced lava for the past 30 years.
A stop at the 20,000-acre nature preserve, Cano Negro, will give you a glimpse at a large selection of indigenous wildlife, including crocodiles, river otters, sloths, turtles, exotic birds and rare butterflies. You'll also travel a river on a guided covered canoe, called a panga.
Rest and relax at a hot spring oasis, availing yourself of first-class spa services.
Your adventures continue in the Monteverde Cloud Forest where you can fly over the sights on a zip line canopy tour or take a guided walk among the treetops on hanging bridges. At the end of your experience, you'll make your mark for future generations by planting a tree in the nature preserve.
Local handmade products and beautiful sandy beaches await you in Playa Hermosa, so soak in all the lush greenery and ocean views the tropical paradise offers.
Round out the trip with a stop at an oxcart factory in Sarchi and a return stop in San Jose.
The cost of the trip is $1,949, plus the cost of three credit hours of tuition, SPAN 299. The tour package price includes: round trip transportation from St. Louis, guided tours, lodging, taxes and fees, 17 meals and the leadership of a bilingual tour director. A $250 deposit is due to reserve your place.
For more information, contact Catherine Kreher at 618-233-7569
CHECK OUT SWIC RED BUD CAMPUS AT NOV. 1 OPEN HOUSE
The Southwestern Illinois College Red Bud Campus, 500 W. South Fourth St., will swing its doors wide open to residents of the district from 5-7 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 1 for a Red Bud Campus Open House.
"People can discover why the campus is the right place to pursue their education. They can learn about academic programs and student services, take a campus tour, meet with Admissions staff, learn about financial aid, preview COMPASS assessment and begin the enrollment process," said Admissions Specialist Lyn Waller.
Special sessions will be held for parents, as well as high school juniors and seniors.
Reservations for the Red Bud Campus Open House are required. Seating is limited; a light supper will be served. Contact 800-222-5131, ext. 5664, to reserve your spots.
Opened in 1985, the Red Bud Campus offers a host of credit classes through a variety of flexible scheduling options, including Block Schedule and Friday Only courses. Credit classes prepare you to transfer to a four-year college or university or gain skills to move directly into the work force. The campus also offers noncredit classes for fun and personal enrichment.
You can be a part of the new Learning Communities at the SWIC Red Bud Campus this spring. "We are excited to introduce Learning Communities to Red Bud Campus this spring," said Provost Mike Reed.
Students enroll in several courses together, connecting to fellow students and teachers in a supportive and stimulating environment, he notes. Students may take field trips, see films, listen to speakers, engage in service learning opportunities and work on a publication of Learning Community projects with Exploring the Social World: Integrating Philosophical and Psychological Approaches. Students enroll in PHIL 152-080 Ethics and PSYC 295-080 Social Psychology.
Also, students who might consider transferring their SWIC credits to a Southern Illinois University institution will want to check out the new SIU-SWIC Red Bud Campus Service Center. The center opened Aug. 21 to help SWIC students make a smooth transition to an SIU institution. Ask how you can be part of Saluki activities while in high school or at SWIC and how you can lock in today's tuition for future college.
For more information about Learning Communities, visit www.swic.edu/learningcommunities.
GET TICKETS FOR KEN LUDWIG COMEDY "MOON OVER BUFFALO
If you've ever wondered what happens behind the scenes of a theatre group putting on a show, Southwestern Illinois College's upcoming production, "Moon Over Buffalo," can help solve the mystery!
"Moon Over Buffalo" picks up on a Sunday afternoon in 1953 in a small Buffalo, NY repertory theatre company. Has-been actors George and Charlotte Hay and a cast of characters prepare to take the stage for a matinee performance of Cyrano de Bergerac when they receive an urgent call. Hollywood Director Frank Capra is on his way to the production in search of a fill-in star for an upcoming movie. Tempers, jealousy, mistaken identities, mass confusion and a host of eccentric personalities collide with hilarious results.
Performances are scheduled for 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Nov. 9-10; 2 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 11; 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Nov. 16-17; and 2 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 17 in the SWIC Belleville Campus Theatre, 2500 Carlyle Ave.
"You'll gasp with laughter at this madcap comedy," notes Director Jeff Blue, theatre manager at SWIC. "In this show, Ludwig's action offstage upstages the drama onstage. Missing actors, frenzied cast members who aren't sure which show they're performing and backstage drama combine for a very funny evening."
Bringing the action to life are actors, by hometown:
- BELLEVILLE - Leigh Alstat as Eileen, a young actress smitten with George, and Bethany Gakiola as Rosalind, George and Charlotte's daughter;
- COLUMBIA - Lindell Webb as Richard, a lawyer, and Pat Webb as Ethel, the nearly-deaf mother of Charlotte;
- FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS - Alex Davis as Paul, the productions' stage manager and ex-fiance of Rosalind;
- GRANITE CITY - Bill Conklin as George Hay, a has-been actor looking for a comeback;
- ST. LOUIS, MO. - Jadienne Nolan as Charlotte Hay, the wife of George and a has-been actress looking for a comeback;
- TROY - Brandon Bryan as Howard, a TV weatherman set to marry Rosalind.
The play is presented through special arrangement with Samuel French Inc.
For tickets, call the Office of College Activities at 618-235-2700, ext. 5561; toll free in Illinois at 800-222-5131, ext. 5561; or from St. Louis at 314-436-3218, ext. 5561.
SWIC NATURE TRAIL NAMED FOR RETIRED PROFESSOR AMLUNG
October 12 Dedication Ceremony Will Honor Longtime Biology Instructor
Recently retired Southwestern Illinois College Biology professor Dr. Tom Amlung, the person primarily responsible for creating a quarter-mile trail through the Belleville Campus nature preserve, will be honored at a ceremony scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 12.
Staged near the nature trail section adjacent to the south entrance to the college from Green Mount Road, the event will climax with the unveiling of a "Dr. Tom Amlung Nature Trail" sign. Visitor parking will be reserved near the staging area.
"Besides being an excellent instructor, Tom Amlung constantly reminded his students and his colleagues of the wonderful relationship that exists between humankind and nature, and for that we will always be most grateful," said SWIC President Elmer H. Kirchoff, Ph.D.
In the fall of 2003, Dr. Amlung secured the first of numerous grants totaling more than $350,000 needed to make his campus and community dream a reality. Contributing agencies included the St. Clair County Park and Recreation District; the Metro East Park and Recreation District; the St. Clair County Transit District; and the Illinois Departments of Natural Resources and Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
"This project will connect two (community bike) trail ends and serve as a combination bike-habitat trail," Amlung said in a 2003 newspaper interview. Besides sharing the natural beauty of the campus with the community, "it will improve safety by keeping bicyclists and pedestrians off of Green Mount Road."
Prior to securing new trail funding, Dr. Amlung established a restoration program for the college's nature area in 1998. His work resulted in the SWIC nature preserve becoming the first college habitat in Illinois to be certified by the National Wildlife Federation. Additionally, every November, Dr. Amlung organized student and faculty volunteers to remove foreign vegetation during the college's annual Habitat Restoration Day. Those efforts helped bring indigenous plants and wildlife back to campus.
Southwestern Illinois College is also home to Shaw's Garden East, honored by the Missouri Botanical Gardens as one of its three "Signature Gardens" in Illinois. Collectively, that project includes the nature habitat and bike path; "Bison Gates," a natural-materials sculpture adjacent to the trail; the Schmidt Family Gardens outside the Schmidt Art Center; 20 acres of native prairie grass; and a replanted-tree area just east of the bike path.
Appointed full-time Biology instructor in 1993, Dr. Amlung retired from SWIC in July 2006. Prior to that appointment, Tom served as a part-time instructor of Human Anatomy and Physiology for Belleville Area College in 1972 and 1973. He returned to SWIC as a part-time instructor from 1991-93 before his full-time faculty appointment.
A veterinarian with more than three decades of private practice experience, Dr. Amlung has an Associate of Arts degree from Belleville Area College, and Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degrees from the University of Illinois. Tom also served for more than 14 years as county administrator for animal care; and he received the BAC Board of Trustees Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1989.
For information contact Mike Fleming at mike.fleming@swic.edu
SWIC RED BUD CAMPUS TO HOST POETRY AND COUNTRY MUSIC
Whether you like the relaxed atmosphere of a poetry reading or a toe-tappin' good time of an outdoor concert, Southwestern Illinois College's Red Bud Campus is the place to be this week.
The Heartland Women's Writers Guild will be at the campus at 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 4 to share works in honor of National Poetry Day. The guild, formed in 1998 by Roselyn Mathews of Waterloo, provides local women of all ages, backgrounds and writing experience a forum to share their writings. And, now, they will share those works with you.
"Members of the guild bring their own unique experiences, talents and passion for writing. The Red Bud Campus is pleased to share this talent," notes Deborah Oakley, student and community services coordinator.
If music is more your style, then join the campus' celebration of Country Music Month with an outdoor concert featuring Country Music Machine. The tunes kick off at 6 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 7 on the lawn. The concert runs until 8 p.m. Light refreshments will be available and proceeds benefit the campus' Phi Theta Kappa Chapter, Beta Iota Iota.
In case of inclement weather, the concert will move indoors to the Performing Arts Room.
For information or to register, contact the campus at (618) 282-6682, ext. 8114.