As we wrap-up a very unusual semester, I have many people to thank. First, I thank our faculty, who made a rapid shift to new ways of teaching and worked tirelessly to support students who were learning to adapt to online education at the same time. I thank our staff – those on the front…
Author: John M. Dunn
John M. Dunn is chancellor of Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Learn more about him at chancellor.siu.edu.
Uncharted waters and resilience
As we all know, we are in uncharted waters dealing with a virus that has created havoc on all of our social institutions, including family, schools, sports and many, many more. Please continue to monitor our coronavirus “Frequently Asked Questions” site for updates. The questions and answers continue to grow and, in some instances, are…
The HLC Accreditation Journey
Last week, a team of peer reviewers from the Higher Learning Commission was in Carbondale and Springfield as part of our 10-year accreditation review. The close of the two-day visit wasn’t the beginning of the accreditation process, however, and it is not the end. Before I talk about our accreditation journey, I would like to…
Fall to spring freshman retention highest in a decade
Official spring enrollment totals bring more good news related to retention. Nearly 91 percent of the first-time freshmen who enrolled at SIU Carbondale in the fall returned to continue their education in the spring semester. This is the highest fall-to-spring-retention rate for new students in at least 10 years and reflects an increase of 5…
Share your favorite facts about SIU
What are the points of pride you wish everyone knew about SIU Carbondale? In my State of the University address, I encouraged everyone to learn all you can about SIU’s attributes so you can be an advocate for the university. Here are the questions I asked: Did you know every U.S. undergraduate student can attend…
Supporting Saluki success through graduation, Part 2
In my last blog post, I outlined some of the ways we are focusing on student retention, including our efforts to provide early connections, specialized support and a robust campus life. Here are some other attributes that contribute to student retention. Hands-on learning and research sets SIU apart One of our defining features as a…
Supporting Saluki success through graduation, Part 1
I recently wrote about the myriad ways we are working to recruit more students to SIU Carbondale. These efforts are paying off. Our number of transfer students is up as is our yield rate for getting admitted students to register for classes. For the second year in a row, our freshman class had the highest…
Enrollment reflects increase in retention
Recently, I shared the many strategies we are implementing to recruit new students, from more on-the-ground outreach to use of innovative technology tools. We are doing as much in retention, as well, including enhanced academic advisement; implementation of an early warning system to identify students who may be struggling; hands-on learning experiences through research, creative…
Balancing the budget
We have had a very successful start to the academic year. From the opening of the eSports facility in the Student Center to Watermelon Fest to the first week of classes, the campus has been busy and productive. We continue to work collaboratively on academic reorganization, and we have held several successful off-campus events engaging…
Attracting a new generation of Salukis
The last couple of years have brought a lot of change for SIU Carbondale, and we have seen many positive developments. For instance, last year, we welcomed our strongest class of new students in recent history, with the highest average ACT score in the last 20 years. And those students have made SIU their home-away-from-home,…