What's Happening at Western

University News

What's Happening at Western

February 22, 2017

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Students, faculty, and staff at Western Illinois University are making a difference in the world every day, and the University is providing outstanding educational opportunities that benefit our students and society as a whole.

On Top of Spaghetti

On Thursday, March 2, the WIU Chapter of Best Buddies will host a spaghett dinner to raise funds to benefit their organization, which exists to help others. The "Spread the Word to End the Word" spaghetti dinner fundraiser will be held from 5:30-7:30 p.m. March 2 at the Macomb American Legion, 221 E. Washington St. Tickets are $5 in advance ($7 at the door). Best Buddies is a nonprofit national organization dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Western's chapter, has 40 members and 30 community residents.

Holy Bat Bacteria!

Research by WIU biology graduate student and Macomb High graduate Paris Hamm, in collaboration with WIU faculty, has resulted in the discovery of important bacteria that impacts the mortality of bats in the United States and Canada. Hamm has published "Western Bats as a Reservoir of Novel Streptomyces Species with Antifungal Activity" in the journal of the American Society of Microbiology. The journal will spotlight the article on its cover in March. The disease is known as White Nose Syndrome, first reported in the U.S. in 2009 and reaching Illinois in 2011. There is not currently a cure or a way to control the disease. The research identified 15 potential species of Actinobacteria by using genetic analysis and a laboratory assay to test 632 bacteria obtained from healthy bats. The Actinobacteria are found in soil and skin of mammals and are important producers of antibiotics.

Order in the Court

WIU and John Marshall Law School (JMLS) in Chicago have signed an accelerated admissions partnership that will allow high-performing students to complete their senior year at WIU and their first year of law school concurrently. The 3 + 3 agreement allows WIU students studying English, history or political science to enter JMLS after their junior year and after taking the Law School Admission Test (LSAT).

Can You Dig It?

The 2017 WIU Archaeological Field School, excavating at the Orendorf and Rice Lake Terrace archaeological sites, just west of Banner in Fulton County, IL, will be held in June and July. WIU faculty and students, and colleagues from the Upper Mississippi Valley Archaeological Research Foundation (UMVARF), have conducted excavations at the Orendorf site several times since 1977. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Orendorf excavations revealed evidence of the origins of Middle Mississippian Culture in the Central Illinois Valley in pits filled with pottery, tools, bones and shells.

Making a Difference Around the Globe

Peace Corps volunteers will share stories from their service at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28, in the Malpass Library Garden Lounge. These funny, heartwarming and surprising stories are set it Morocco, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia. The third goal of Peace Corps is to help promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans. Since March 1, 1961, over 220,000 U.S. citizens have served over 141 countries promoting peace through education and culture sharing.

Around the World in A Day

Gain a better understanding of the world's many cultures at WIU's 44th International Bazaar Saturday, March 4, from 5-10 p.m. in the University Union Grand Ballroom. Participants are able to ‘travel the world' and experience a range of cultures in one evening. As is tradition, there will be booths representing different countries and cultures, authentic food cooked by the students and a variety of performances.

Fighting MS

A new Western Illinois University student organization, "WIU Fighting M.S." will host an extreme obstacle 5K race at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 25 at Hanson Field. The WIU student organization was started by Aaron Carr, a senior communication major from Peoria, IL, whose grandmother passed away from multiple sclerosis. Proceeds from the event will benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Giving Veterans a Voice

"SITREP: Veteran Perspectives on Combat and Peace," a literary magazine for WIU students, alumni, faculty and staff veterans and service members, will continue in its third year. The project's advisors, Barbara Harroun and Jacque Wilson-Jordan, both assistant professors in the WIU Department of English, were inspired to create the magazine after years of working with student veterans in their composition and creative writing classes. Moved by the power of their students' stories, and receiving early support from Kathy Meyers, assistant director of the Veterans Resource Center, Harroun and Wilson-Jordan believed such work should be celebrated and shared beyond the classroom to provide a forum for veterans and service members, as well as foster a greater cultural awareness of their experience.

Miracle Jeans for Miracle Kids

On Wednesday, March 1, the WIU Dance Marathon will host the Miracle Jeans Day fundraiser, with proceeds of the event going to St. Louis-area Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. The WIU Dance Marathon (DM), which is a recognized student organization, has a series of yearlong fundraisers taking place for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, the organization's designated charity. Western's Dance Marathon is entering its fourth year on the WIU campus, with this year's goal set at $100,000.

Green Planet

As part of the annual nationwide Recyclemania initiative, members of the WIU are encouraged to take the "sustainability pledge." Western's sustainability pledge tree is located in the University Union Brattain Lounge.

Now We're Cookin

The Western Illinois University Knoblauch Café will serve nutritious lunches from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. again each Tuesday this semester. The meals are organized and run by students in the WIU Department of Dietetics, Fashion Merchandising and Hospitality (DFMH). The Knoblauch Café provides students with hands-on experience running a foodservice facility.

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