[MUSIC] >> Coming up on the impact report.

>> All right.

>> Dozens of SIU alumni and friends celebrate a beloved former professor at the School of Aviation.

How Doctor David Newmeyer inspired generations of students.

The Salukis take over Texas.

>> From a competitive standpoint.

We become a first choice university for students, not a second choice or an afterthought because we're competing at a much higher level.

>> The SIU Foundation team hosted events all across the state in Dallas, Austin and Houston.

Hear from the Chancellor and alumni.

Plus, this month in the lab.

>> I'm Jeff Gleim and I'm going to take you on a behind the scenes tour of WSIU Studios from the control room to the green screen.

Stay tuned.

>> But first, the College of Business and Analytics celebrates a $2.1 million gift.

How the donation will help students get ahead on career planning.

The impact report starts right now.

[MUSIC] Hello and welcome to the Impact Report, brought to you from SIU Studios at Southern Illinois University.

I'm your host, Anna Twomey.

We're excited to kick off the New Year by sharing stories of impact and innovation happening right here on campus.

We have lots to get to on the show today, starting with a major gift to the College of Business and Analytics.

SIU alumnus and successful consultant Harvey Michaels and his wife, Carly, have donated $2.1 million.

That includes a matching contribution from the Deloitte Foundation.

This gift will establish the Harvey and Michael's Center for Academic Success and Engagement, informally known as the Harv.

The center will focus on academic support and career preparation for students.

Michaels and SIU leaders announced this gift during a recent Saluki Takeover Tour event.

>> This is going to be something that's going to be so impactful and transformational by getting rid of or equalizing, if you will, the economic and educational background barriers.

>> I also hope that when the parents walk in, they're going to see modern technology and see that there's a lot of change going on at SIU and see that this is the place for them.

And then finally, with all of that, my hope is that all of the recruiters come in.

>> SIU Foundation Chief Marketing Officer Britni Bateman is at the College of Business and Analytics.

With more on how the center for Academic Success and Engagement will change lives.

>> Thanks to the generosity of Harvey and Collie Micheals.

The future home of the Harv will be located on the first floor of Rehn Hall.

It will be the first thing students see when they walk into the building.

>> I have the ability to pay back and I want other kids to have what I have.

It's not where you start, it's where you finish.

So how can I help them on the starting line?

>> Harvey Michaels graduated from SIU in 1980, and went on to have a successful career as a senior partner with Deloitte Consulting.

He says the skills he learned at SIU helped him navigate his career.

After college.

>> I got an incredible education at SIU.

I met lifelong friends at SIU.

I had a lot of fun at SIU.

I had a lot of challenges at SIU.

>> The Michaels gift includes a matching contribution from the Deloitte Foundation.

The Harvey in Michaels Center for Academic Success and Engagement will integrate academic advising, tutoring, mentoring, career coaching and wellness resources under one roof.

>> That center is also going to focus on getting in the best recruiters from the best companies, and making sure that the opportunities for our graduating students are there.

>> Harvey hopes this gift and his faith in SIU will inspire fellow alumni to get involved and give back.

>> Part of this is, I hope my donation and and what I'm providing becomes a whole reinvigoration of Rehn Hall.

The College of Business.

>> Leaders at the College and business analytics are still in the planning stages of this new center.

We'll keep you updated as more information is available.

Reporting from Rehn Hall I'm Britni Bateman.

>> If you'd like to learn more about the Harvey and Michael's Center for Academic Success and Engagement, look for this story on SIUF.

>> Thank you for being here for this incredible celebration of an aviation icon.

We like to say that this is the number one aviation program in the country, and we don't think that's hyperbole.

We think it's fact.

>> Dozens of aviation alumni gathered on November 14th to honor former faculty member and mentor Doctor David Newmeyer, thanks to the generosity of those alumni.

The lobby at the Glenn Poshard Transportation Education Center is named in his honor.

Doctor Newmeyer passed away this past December, but his legacy will always be remembered.

Doctor Newmeyer came to SIU in 1975 as a part time instructor.

He later became the department chair of Aviation Management and Flight and led the program for more than 20 years.

>> Thanks, everybody.

Thanks so much for being here.

I wanted to recognize, uh, a group of people who are here from the Seibert family.

Uh, I wouldn't be here if it weren't for them.

Uh, Brad.

Brad and his wife, Diana.

I came to visit because Brad and I worked together as airport planners in Chicago, and they hooked me into the Carbondale aviation thing, and that was in the mid 70s.

And here I am all these years later.

>> It was so amazing to see many of Doctor Newmeyer's former students attend this event and get to honor him in person.

Learn more about his legacy by heading over to SIUF Saluki.

>> How you doing?

Look at that.

I should say Texas Saluki, right.

Go, Dawgs!

>> The Salukis take over Texas.

Alumni from all over the Lone Star State came out to reconnect and network with fellow Salukis.

The SIU Foundation hosted takeover tour events in Dallas, Austin and Houston.

SIU Chancellor Austin Lane was there to meet alumni and give updates on all things new at SIU.

Several alumni traveled hundreds of miles to attend one of these events and take part in all of the Saluki pride.

>> It's people from all over the place that are coming here, so it's really great to see people from Texas coming to Austin just for this event.

>> To get this one opportunity every year to see this maroon.

It really reminds me of running through the tunnel and hearing, welcome the Saluki.

It just kind of brings everything home and reminds me of my past and and the amazing time that I had at Southern Illinois.

>> It feels like being home.

I feel like I'm so connected.

I'm a local girl.

I'm an SIU girl.

>> I think it's, uh, exceptional that we have our chance to come all the way out to Dallas, um, to connect with people on a more personal level.

>> As part of the Texas Takeover tour, Chancellor Austin Lane and members of the admissions team visited several high schools in the region to congratulate graduating seniors on their admittance to SIU.

The admissions team handed out tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships to prospective students.

Later in the show, Chancellor Lane joins us on set to discuss the impact of these takeover tour stops and how alumni involvement has been a game changer.

The Saluki Takeover Tour continues this spring with stops all over the country.

Up next, we'll head to Florida in February, Saint Louis and March, Central Illinois in March, and southern Illinois in March and April.

If we're making a stop near you, we'd love to see you there.

Register online at SIUF.org/takeovers.

Dozens of students scholarship recipients got to meet their scholarship donors in person for the first time ever.

The SIU Foundation's 12th Annual Scholarship Dinner was filled with generosity and joy.

It created an opportunity for students to build lasting connections with donors.

This event is hosted yearly inside the Student Center ballrooms.

We had the chance to speak with several scholarship donors and the students who received their scholarship about what this evening means to them.

>> We are so proud of him.

He is our recipient this year.

We've sponsored a scholarship for a couple of years now, and we couldn't be more proud of this young man.

>> This means absolutely everything to me, and I can't thank both of you guys enough.

>> It was important to me to give back to this university and to pay it forward to another student.

I received a scholarship when trying to go through my education, and I knew how important that was.

>> It's incredibly life changing.

It's an opportunity that I can't describe how much gratitude I have for it.

>> Such a beautiful event.

My favorite thing about the scholarship dinner is getting to see the genuine happiness shared between donor and scholarship recipient when they meet for the first time.

In addition to the dozens of long running scholarships we have here at SIU, alumni are creating new ones every year.

These photos are from the Iota phi theta New Year's Celebration, a Saluki fraternity event that raised funds for the Iota five Star scholarship.

Fraternity members are working to grow the scholarship.

After presenting their first award last year, SIU alumnus and Iota Phi Theta member Edward Lance helped establish this scholarship, and SIU Junior Frankie Stewart was the inaugural recipient.

We spoke with them about the impact this has had on their lives.

>> I was fortunate enough to be here at a time when, um.

Iota Phi Theta fraternity was still young.

I was, uh, I pledged the fraternity in my second year.

SIUF chapter was sort of the hub for all of the expansion outside of the East Coast.

One of our members, Lonnie Brown, was, uh, was a big star here on the track team along with Phil Robbins.

They were members of the inaugural chapter at SIU.

It was important to me now to start giving back.

So we had a saying in the fraternity that, you know, we weren't just here to to go to school.

We were here to take care of business.

We developed the Iota five star scholarship and the the real purpose, the mission is to be able to support students, usually students from underrepresented communities who have need.

>> Me receiving a scholarship, it helped tremendously because that's a that's money that I don't have to take out.

I'm sitting in my classes because of that money.

The message that I would give to the men of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Incorporated would be thank you.

Thank you for believing in me, because a lot of people don't get this opportunity, and I'm only one student out of thousands.

>> So she's our first recipient.

So we're going to we're going to treat her just that.

You know, we're going to be there for her for the rest of her life.

>> And Lance and Frankie Stewart represent Saluki so well.

If you'd like to learn more about this scholarship, head over to SIUF, a children's book filled with SIU traditions.

What an amazing way to spread Saluki spirit!

The SIU Alumni Association has launched a new book called SIU A through Z. Each letter highlights a unique Saluki tradition, landmark or experience with fun illustrations for all ages to enjoy.

This project was made possible through the generous support of John and Nancy Jackson, who are longtime friends of SIU.

Alumni Association executive Director Molly Hudgens says this book celebrates the university's heritage.

>> Obviously, this was a way to engage the next generation of Salukis, and we're doing that by telling stories, great pictures of campus, really cool illustrations that show what it means to be a Saluki.

So that next generation gets to hear how great it is to be in Carbondale and be in Southern Illinois, and how wonderful it is to be a part of the Saluki family.

>> You can purchase SIU A through Z online at Saluki market.com.

Proceeds support scholarships, alumni programming, and community outreach.

It's brand new.

Lights, cameras and action for the media production team over at Saluki Athletics.

Thanks to the generosity of SIU alumnus and Saluki fan Steve Wells, the media team now has a modern space to enhance its storytelling.

Thanks to Mr.

Wells gift, Saluki Athletics updated their studio space and acquired much needed media equipment including cameras, a soundboard, monitors, microphones and so much more.

The Steve Wells production studio will be the hub of content creation for Saluki Athletics.

And speaking of studio space.

WSIU television has a lot of it coming up, our own Jeff Gleim heads into the lab, from the anchor desk to the green screen to the control room.

Does he have what it takes to get a show on air?

Stay tuned.

[MUSIC] >> Private transportation.

Hotel accommodations.

[MUSIC] The chance to see him in action.

Studying English.

[MUSIC] With his wife and her fellow Salukis.

Alterations.

Live SIU.com slash.

>> Welcome back and thanks for watching the Impact Report.

The Impact report is recorded, edited and broadcasted by our friends over at WSIU TV, the public television affiliate based at Southern Illinois University.

WSIU TV serves local communities all across southern Illinois and broadcasts to five different states, reaching an audience of more than 5 million people.

Behind that amazing feat is a dedicated team of directors, producers, camera operators, and so much more.

SIU Foundation Chief Operating Officer Jeff Gleim heads into the lab to learn what it takes to make TV magic.

>> I'm Jeff Gleim, we're here at WSIU studio B, and with me is Larry Hunter, executive director of WSIU.

>> I'm going to take you behind the scenes.

You're going to do things that you've probably never thought about doing before, and show you how the impact reports done.

>> We're here in the studio, and I'm looking around and we're going to talk about lighting.

I feel like there's 100 lights in here and they all look different, but they all have a purpose, correct?

>> Yes.

We have basically four different types of lights in here.

Like right above me, these box units, we call them a light box.

They produce a more of a blanket effect of lighting, uh, cuts down on shadows, eye socket shadows, nose shadows, things like that.

Also, we have a Fresnel lights.

Those are good for putting a beam of light in a spot.

>> Wow.

>> So we need to make an adjustment.

>> Yes, and I will be your lighting person, which that is a legitimate position for production crews is you have somebody who is your lighting dummy, and that's just somebody who stands here while you point lights at them, grab the lights with both hands and turn it so the spot is hitting me on the top of the head.

>> Oh, okay.

Here you go.

You look good.

Next up, we head over to the heartbeat of the production process known as the control room.

So I'm looking at a number of different sized screens throughout this room.

I'm assuming each one of them are going to maybe a different camera.

>> So normally we have four cameras and the little boxes are the different cameras.

We have preview.

We have program preview tells you what you're going to punch up.

Preview program is what we are actually putting on air.

>> So this is called a switcher.

>> This is called a switcher.

>> Okay.

So how does one learn all this.

>> Um, mostly through hands on practice, honestly.

Um, we teach a lot of students.

We have a lot of students come through this, this control room, and that is wonderful.

And that's one of the highlights of being here, is working with the students.

>> From here, we head back into the studio to take on one of the more challenging aspects of TV production, the green screen.

I'm standing here in front of what is known as a green screen.

I have a graphic here in front of me that's talking about the Saluki Takeover tours, and I'm trying to point in direction of where these are.

I've got to figure out left and right maybe as backwards here.

>> So for getting your hand gestures right, this is the opposite of a mirror.

So it's not like you can practice in the mirror at home and come here because then everything's backwards.

>> So this is our teleprompter.

This is how they make it come across as though they just know all this information.

Whatever they're reading is just rolling here and it usually comes at this dot.

>> Thank you for sharing this with me.

And, um, I think maybe I get a chance to give it a try.

Welcome to InFocus on WSIU.

I'm Jeff Gleim today.

>> Well, Jeff, I'll tell you, it's been a pleasure having you actually try how to be a broadcaster today in our studios, having the foundation crew in shooting this so people understand what goes into a show that we produce here at SIU, like the Impact Report and many other things.

>> It's been a blast.

And again, I want to thank you and I hope everybody learned something today and had some fun along the way.

So back to the studio.

From this studio and I take it away.

>> You've got to hand it to Jeff Gleim there.

He's a TV natural.

Did a very good job.

There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes of producing this show, and we're so thankful for the WSIU staff who make it happen.

Coming up, SIU Foundation CEO Matt Kupec has an exclusive interview with SIU Chancellor Austin Lane about the Saluki Takeover tour in Texas and the role alumni are playing in out of state recruitment.

Stay with us.

[MUSIC] >> Southern Illinois University has a rich history and much more renowned for cutting edge research, ranking among the top 4% in the country.

Salukis achieve pride and glory competing at the highest level.

World famous alumni across the globe united in our mission with unstoppable momentum, igniting a bright future.

This is a university ascending.

We are southern.

>> Welcome back and thanks for watching the Impact Report.

I'm Matt Kupec CEO of the SIU Foundation.

Recently we had the opportunity to go through Texas for the Takeover Tour in Texas, and we're pleased to be joined by Chancellor Lane, who led the effort.

And Chancellor, welcome and tell us about the Takeover Tour.

>> Well, thanks for having me on the impact Report.

This is amazing.

You guys are doing great work.

Uh, Matt, I guess it was almost four and a half years ago.

Uh, we talked about being unapologetic, and we wanted to take the university to the masses.

You mentioned we had over 260,000 Saluki alums, and we wanted a way to get the the message out about the great things that were happening at Southern Illinois University and these takeovers.

I have to tell you, I've never seen anything like it where we engage those faculty and staff and and those folks that go with us to these tours.

You take your team, your development team, and we're able to really reach the masses.

And as a result, that return on investment is just fantastic.

So the number of students that we get out of Texas, as you know, I spent 30 plus years in Texas working there.

And so to go back and recruit students out of that state to get them here to southern Illinois, uh, means everything.

So thanks to you and your staff, you guys made this possible for us to be able to to go to Texas and in Indianapolis and Chicago and all these other places to engage, uh, future Salukis and most importantly, uh, those alums and donors that are out there as well.

>> It's been really exciting to see the engagement, the leaning in of our our Saluki, our donors, our alumni.

Uh, specifically, there are a lot, of course, in Houston, but we met with Bob Gower and, and, uh, Harvey Michaels and Eugene Walker Chancellor, we had the opportunity to talk to Bob and Harvey.

Let's listen to what they had to say.

>> And if you go to SIU, it'll be a big, big boost for you.

I graduated from SIU.

I got a master's, a bachelor's degree, and a master's degree there.

All of you today.

Congratulations.

This is a really special award.

SIU is a special, very special university.

>> You want to be a pilot?

You want to be a dental hygienist.

You want to be an accountant.

You basically want to be an AI master.

SIU offers it all.

You're at a place that you're prepared for anywhere you decide to go.

And I decided to go to SIU and I loved it.

>> What encouraging words to hear Harvey and Bob talk about their experiences with SIU.

What this university has meant to them.

Chancellor.

Just another example of the importance of these takeover tours.

>> You know, one of the odds with Doctor Gower being in Houston with his family.

He's got a wonderful family, and for him to make this type of a commitment to his alma mater is priceless.

I know with Harvey, you know the new Harvey Center that's coming here, you know, that's that's a guy out of Chicago.

Him and his family and the work he's been able to do in Texas, uh, is, again, it's amazing.

>> From a personal, uh, perception from you.

For you.

You bring some leadership team with you.

What does it make you feel when you go there and you see that kind of outpouring of affection and love for the institution?

>> You know, it's confirmation.

Um, you always know it's out there, but to actually be able to see it in action is just confirmation that there is such a thing as Saluki nation.

Uh, those 270,000 plus that you're talking about when we meet them.

They are so excited that we are there and that we're advocating for their alma mater, that we're trying to move the institution to new heights, and they're willing to help us do it.

We're partnering with high schools.

We're partnering with their superintendents, their counselors, their principals.

Uh, we're talking to community college folks in those areas.

So it's it's a long effort, despite what you're just seeing in that video.

And I think that's what makes the difference in our takeovers, that net, that return on investment that we're seeing every time we leave one of those takeovers.

And so, uh, I hope it's something we can continue.

Uh, it definitely has made a big difference in our enrollment increases that we've been able to see our reach outside of Illinois.

As you know, we've got to recruit students outside of our state if we want to hit that 15,000 by 2030.

So it's just a creative way to take the university on the road and, and yield more students that are interested in coming to southern Illinois.

>> And what I love to about the conclusion of the tour in the year is that we finish here in Southern Illinois, and that pretty good capstone.

>> That's the capstone.

Uh, you know, I'm probably going to get in trouble for this, but we talked about a maroon carpet of the region and making sure that we promised five years ago that we would always recruit in our own backyard.

And I think we've got evidence of us doing that.

>> Truly, the Saluki takeover tours have been a remarkable success.

I think the best compliment we can get is alumni keep asking when we're coming to their city and their town, so stay tuned for more.

But thanks for joining us today, Chancellor.

Thank you.

And we're going to take a break right now.

[MUSIC] >> The SIU Alumni Association is proud to announce that the Saluki market is officially open.

This e-commerce platform, powered by Shopify, showcases the products and stories of entrepreneurs who are alumni, students, and friends of SIU.

Browse and purchase hundreds of items offered by your fellow Salukis.

Best of all, a portion of each sale goes to support scholarships and programs for current students.

Shop SIU first by visiting market.com.

[MUSIC] >> Welcome back.

Up next, a fun fact from the SIU history books, courtesy of our friends over at Morris Library Special Collections.

Here comes the bucket brigade.

These photos are from January 1949.

Delyte Morris had just taken over as president of SIU and faced a campus overwhelmed by a post-war surge of students.

There wasn't enough classroom and housing space for them all, so President Morris encouraged the students to march through the streets of Carbondale and campus, carrying buckets demanding more funding from the state legislature.

Lawmakers did end up increasing funding, and this set the stage for two decades of growth that transformed SIU from a small teacher's college to a major research university.

And now our beloved Saluki mascot.

Here's a moment with Grey Dawg.

>> We have a new guy doing sports tonight.

Hope he does well.

Doesn't seem to be too talkative, but I like his spirit.

>> You never know.

Some people shine when the camera is on.

Let's cut.

I don't think this is going to work.

>> Well, at least Grey Dawg will always have his time in the spotlight at games, cheering on the athletes and riling up the fans.

Thank you so much for watching the Impact Report.

You can find all of these stories and more at SIUF.

We'll air a new report once a month, and if you miss it, you can find it on the SIU Foundation's YouTube channel.

Take care and we'll see you next month.

Go, dawgs!

[MUSIC]