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President's Holiday Letter | Join us in 2009 in a City Near You |Commencement Ceremonies Held | Threatening Note Prompts Increased Security

President's Holiday Letter

During the holiday season as we reflect on all for which we should be grateful, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Western Illinois University community for your continued support and for making this University the wonderful place it truly is.

Elaine and I are thankful for the many friends we have made since joining the Western community seven years ago. It is a privilege to serve as the president of Western Illinois University and to be a resident of Macomb.

I wish each of you a holiday season filled with health and happiness.

Sincerely,
Al Goldfarb

Click here to read President Goldfarb's message from the winter issue of the Western News.

Join us in 2009 in a City Near You

Your WIU Alumni Association hopes you will join us for an Alumni & Friends Event near you. We are kicking off the year with a Chicago Alumni & Friends Event at Steppenwolf Theatre starring WIU Alumnus and actor John Mahoney MA ’76 who will join us for a brief post-performance talk. Then, we are heading south for three great events in Florida at the end of the month—Orlando, Ft. Lauderdale and Ft. Myers/Naples. Or, join us in Dubuque at the Dubuque Aquarium in February. We are again hosting an Ultimate Alumni & Friends Day in Arizona during the White Sox Spring Training, as well as a complimentary social at The Art Institute of Chicago featuring a private viewing of the Edvard Munch Special Exhibition, including The Scream. Our calendar is filling up quickly. Visit wiu.edu/alumni/events/ for all the information. With some many great events, there is sure to be one or more that interest you.

Click here to enlarge the above graphic.

Chicago, IL Steppenwolf Theatre	Orlando, FL	Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Ft. Myers, FL	Nashville, TN	Memphis, TN
Dubuque, IA	Second Annual Ultimate Alumni Day in Arizona	Black Alumni Black Tie Scholarship Gala
Boston, MA	Pittsburgh, PA	The Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago Symphony Orchestra	All Leatherneck Reunion	Los Angeles, CA
Chicago Golf Outing-Seven Bridges	Quad Cities Golf Outing	Peoria Golf Outing

Commencement Ceremonies Held Despite Ice Storm

Commencement ceremonies held Dec. 19-20 on the Macomb campus marked the hooding of the first nine of 22 candidates in Western's inaugural doctoral program in educational leadership and recognized the academic and personal accomplishments of Western Illinois University students and alumni. Despite severe winter weather causing the University to be closed until 11 a.m. Dec. 19, forcing finals to be held later in the day, and a weather advisory that continued throughout the weekend, Commencement Ceremonies were held as scheduled.

Nearly 1,250 students - including some 900 undergraduate students, more than 90 nontraditional students in the Board of Trustees Bachelor of Arts degree program, more than 230 master's-level graduate students and nine doctoral students who applied for graduation in Fall 2008 - were eligible to participate in Commencement Ceremonies.

Click here to read the full story.

Threatening Note Prompts Increased Security at WIU-Macomb Campus

On Wednesday, Dec. 17, Western Illinois University issued a heightened security alert after an unconfirmed threatening note was found in an elevator in the Leslie F. Malpass Library.

Extra police presence was heightened on campus with support from city, county and state law enforcement agencies; however, the University remained open and final exams continued as scheduled. The investigation is ongoing.

The handwritten note, which read, on one side: "You think you stopped the massacre Never can be sure. Tomorrow;" and on the other side: "Bang;" was discovered in the early morning hours by a library student worker.

A timely warning alert was issued using Western's Emergency Alert System. There were 22,343 successful deliveries, which included 16,265 individual contacts.

In addition to the extra law enforcement on campus, residence halls and dining areas were secured.

"We will continue to investigate this incident, and we will prosecute the individual responsible to the fullest extent of the law," said WIU President Al Goldfarb.

To view the complete press conference regarding the incident, click here to visit Western's YouTube Channel; click here to visit WIU's MySpace TV; or click here to visit WIU's Facebook page.

Congratulations to the January winner-- Seth Elschlager '06. He found Rocky in the full Commencement story.

Can you find this exact Rocky (in black and white) some where else in the eNewsletter? If you find him, email us at A-Association@wiu.edu and let us know where he was placed. One winner will be picked from all the entries emailed on the first day of the month and will get a WIU Prize Pack! Good luck.

**Congratulations to the December winner--Kit Clark '71. She found Rocky on the From the Director webpage.

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