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WIU to Host Illinois Supreme Court Oral Arguments on March 11; Cases Announced

Mar 03 2026

Western Illinois University hosts the 2026 installment of the Illinois Supreme Court’s Riding the Circuit program as justices hear oral arguments in two cases beginning 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 11, in the University Union Grand Ballroom.

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WIU Community Celebrates Conference-Champion Leathernecks

Mar 03 2026

As March Madness begins, Western Illinois University is proud to celebrate its women’s basketball team, who earned the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) regular season championship for the 2025-26 season.

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Broadcasting Students Win IBS Awards

Mar 03 2026

Western Illinois University Broadcasting and Journalism students won annual Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) Awards for “Best Television Talk Show” and were nominated for five other awards.

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WIU Student Alexis Miller Accepted into Golden Apple Program

Feb 19 2026

Western Illinois University student Alexis Miller, an Art Education major, of Trivoli, IL, has officially accepted an offer to join the Golden Apple program, an initiative dedicated to strengthening the teaching profession and supporting future educators.

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WIU Ag Students Give Strong Showing at PAS Conference

Feb 18 2026

Three Western Illinois University Agriculture students earned the right to compete at nationals during the Spring 2026 Professional Agricultural Students (PAS) Conference on Thursday, Feb. 12.

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Western Illinois University Kicks Off Exciting Spring Semester

Feb 09 2026

Western Illinois University’s Spring 2026 semester is in full swing, and WIU is celebrating new funding for high-impact programming, retention gains, athletic performance, and student achievements. The semester is full of great events that highlight high-achieving WIU students.

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Former Leatherneck Frisman Jackson Coaching in Super Bowl

Feb 05 2026

Western Illinois University will be cheering on one of their own on Super Bowl Sunday as alumnus and Seattle Seahawks wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson will be coaching in the big game.

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WIU Student Audrey Pender Earns Prestigious Project Business Professional Certification

Jan 27 2026

Western Illinois University proudly celebrates Political Science and Law student Audrey Pender for earning the Project Business Professional (PBP) certification, a prestigious credential from the Project Business Foundation that emphasizes project management with a strong focus on business and contractual aspects.

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WIU Livestock Judging Team Earns National Championship, Top-Five Finish at Major Competitions

Jan 26 2026

Western Illinois University’s Livestock Judging Team earned national recognition this season, placing in the top five at the Cattlemen’s Congress in Oklahoma City, OK and being named the 2026 National Western Stock Show Senior College Champion Team in Denver, CO.

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Buie Turns Opportunity at WIU Into Success

Jan 21 2026

From foster care to nationally recognized artist and professor, Tyanna Buie's journey is a story of resilience, creativity and discovering what's possible when opportunity meets support. Western Illinois University wasn't just where Buie earned a degree; it was where she found belonging and the freedom to become herself.

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IHSA Basketball Super-Sectional to be Held at Western Hall

Jan 15 2026

The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) will be hosting a Class 1A Boy’s Basketball Super-Sectional at Western Hall on March 9.

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WIU Student Spends Summer at Argonne National Laboratory

Jan 13 2026

Ahead of her senior year, WIU Physics student Chelsie Hadley spent the past summer contributing to research in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, IL.

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Fulfilling a Promise: Ross Returns to WIU 31 Years Later to Finish Degree

Dec 22 2025

After 31 years, Steven Ross is able to say he kept his promise as he walked across the graduation stage at Western Illinois University.

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WIU Student Earns First Place at International Research Symposium

Dec 04 2025

When a Chicago native, Andrea Padilla, a senior Agriculture major, returned to higher education after a decade-long hiatus, she didn’t expect her path to lead through Western Illinois University’s agricultural research fields—or to a first-place national research award. But since arriving at WIU in 2023 to complete her bachelor’s degree, she has transformed curiosity into purpose and purpose into impact.

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WIU Ag Students Show Their Expertise at PAS Conference

Nov 20 2025

Members of the Western Illinois University Professional Agriculture Students (PAS) earned seven awards at the Fall 2025 PAS Conference Nov. 13.

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WIU Alumnus Establishes ROTC Scholarship for Future Military Leaders

Nov 19 2025

Western Illinois University alumnus Kenneth S. Hawkinson, B.A. `78, M.A. `79, has established a scholarship to support junior and senior students enrolled in the Advanced Course of Military Science (ROTC) at WIU.

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WIU Wins CASE Best of District V Awards

Nov 17 2025

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) recently announced Western Illinois University as the winner of two 2025 Best of District V Awards, recognizing the creativity and innovative ideas produced by WIU’s staff in 2024.

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WIU Professor to Give Campus Update from COP 30

Nov 12 2025

Western Illinois University English Professor Everett Hamner is attending the 30th annual United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change conference (COP 30) in Brazil and will bring his first-hand account to the campus community next week.

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WIU GIS Students Receive ILGISA Student Awards

Nov 12 2025

Two Western Illinois University Geographic Information Sciences (GIS) Center students, Deandre Olive and Eliza Johnson, were recently honored with Illinois GIS Association (ILGISA) Student Awards at the 2025 ILGISA Conference for their outstanding technical skills, professionalism and contributions to the field of Geographic Information Science.

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WIU Professor Dives into Partnership with National Geographic

Nov 07 2025

Leathernecks already have a global reach, but Western Illinois University Kinesiology Professor Christopher Kovacs is taking it to new depths — below the sea.

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WIU Political Science Professor Presents Research at International Colloquium in Cuba

Nov 06 2025

Western Illinois University Political Science Professor Julia Albarracín attended the International Colloquium on Latino Studies in the United States last month in Havana, Cuba.

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Putting the Double in W

Nov 05 2025

Western Illinois University has a lot to be excited about and celebrating National Multiple Birth Awareness Week is no different. We asked some of our multiple students about their experiences of being born as twins, triplets or even rarer multiples and how it shaped their upbringing and college life.

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WIU ICREST Scholars Attend AAAS S-STEM Conference in San Diego

Oct 29 2025

The Western Illinois University School of Engineering and Technology Scholars Caleb Brown, Isaiah Joiner, Seamus O’Donnell and Kenzie Alexander recently attended the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS S-STEM) conference in San Diego, CA.

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Teaching for the Future - Anni Suman

Oct 24 2025

When alumna Anni Suman, a spring 2025 graduate, thinks about Western Illinois University's Master of Arts, Teaching (MAT) program, she thinks of a place that will give opportunities and support in order to help their students to succeed.

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Marini Named Lincoln Academy Student Laureate

Oct 21 2025

The Lincoln Academy of Illinois recognized Western Illinois University Honors student Julietta Marini as one of its newest Lincoln Academy Student Laureates.

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WIU Recognizes 2025 Town & Gown and Honorary Alumni Award Recipients

Oct 20 2025

WIU Photography Lab Manager Sarah Ritter `12 `17 and Engraving by Lin Owner Lin Stults were presented with the 2025 Town & Gown and Honorary Alumni Awards during the community reception for the inauguration of Western Illinois University President Kristi Mindrup on Thursday, Oct. 16. The two were selected in recognition of their impressive support of WIU and the Macomb community.

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Leatherneck Heritage: Three Generations of Educators

Oct 15 2025

For McKenna Churchill-Spangler `24, attending Western Illinois University wasn’t just a choice—it was a continuation of a proud family legacy. Following in the footsteps of her mother, Spring McDaniel-Churchill, and her great-grandmother, Phyllis Palmer-McDaniel, McKenna represents the third generation of McDaniel-Churchill women to earn their teaching degrees from WIU.

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Neck to Neck: Two Generations of Leathernecks Meet to Discuss Their Paths

Oct 10 2025

On a dreary morning in early 2025, two men met for the first time at a conference table on the 43rd story of a downtown Chicago skyscraper. As the clouds filled the windows with a blanket of white, the two chatted about their time as WIU students, their experiences as fraternity men and their interests in law careers.

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Political Science Student Earns Prestigious Certification

Oct 08 2025

Western Illinois University Political Science graduate student Md Asif Khan recently earned the prestigious Project Business Professional (PBP) certification from the Project Business Foundation.

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Two Leathernecks Named in Illinois Nurses Association 40 Under 40

Oct 06 2025

Western Illinois University Nursing professor Ashley Frederick and 2024 alum Jaden Beckwith were named to the Illinois Nurses Association 40 Under 40 Emerging Nurse Leader list this fall.

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Retired Professor Commits $3 Million for Scholarships

Oct 01 2025

The 2025 Western Illinois University Foundation donor banquet, held on Friday, Sept. 12, featured an exciting announcement about a transformational investment from a retired WIU professor and his wife. Jim and Judy Niss, of Winter Park, FL have arranged to endow two scholarship funds via a $3 million estate gift.

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A Decade of Impact: Westen Endowment Turns 10

Oct 01 2025

In 1971, a WIU Football legacy began in Macomb that has lasted more than half a century. That was the year Coach Brodie Westen, along with his wife, Jane, moved from Champaign, IL, to begin his Leatherneck coaching career.

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