On Friday and Saturday, we welcomed more than 320 prospective students and their families to campus to interview for Chancellor’s and University Excellence scholarships.
Chancellor’s scholarship weekend attracts outstanding students from Illinois and beyond who have already been admitted to SIU because they are attracted to our programs and our campus. That’s a very big deal. Students I talked with are interested in leadership and research opportunities, working with top faculty, and going to a campus that welcomes them with open arms.
They applied to SIU because they believe we can provide what they’re looking for. Scholarship weekend was our chance to show them how we will deliver on our promise. We needed to get it right, because these students have a lot of options as they make their final decisions about college.
Based upon my conversations with students and families, I believe we did, in fact, get it right. Thank you to everyone who demonstrated our well-known southern hospitality. It’s not something they’ll find at other universities they may be considering. You made a difference.
Celebrating international cultures
Among the many topics discussed during the weekend was the value of going to an institution with a strong international student presence.
You may know that I am a great believer in making sure we are doing everything within our power to attract students from other countries and make them feel at home at SIU. That’s because all students, no matter where they come from, are better prepared to live and work in a global society if they learn alongside people from around the world.
Please join me celebrating our international students during this week’s International Festival, which features an international food fair on Wednesday and a cultural show on Friday. Let’s show our pride in being an institution that welcomes people from around the world.
Your participation will be just one more example of southern hospitality in action.