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

>> Saluki, are you out there?

>> A record breaking crowd turns out for the Saluki Takeover Tour in Chicago.

How hundreds of alumni celebrated Saluki pride.

Building a business in the fast lane.

How this Saluki entrepreneur started his own automotive company while still a student at SIU.

Plus, Saluki basketball is off and running for the season.

[MUSIC] >> Boys.

>> We go behind the scenes with coach Scott Nagy and sophomore point guard Ron House to learn how the team stays game ready.

But first, Saluki shut down the Carbondale Strip for homecoming.

Thousands descended on downtown for some Halloween fun.

We have full coverage coming up.

The impact report starts right now.

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

I'm your host, Anna Twomey.

We're excited to share stories of impact and innovation happening right here on campus with you.

We begin our show with scenes from an epic Saluki Spooktacular Homecoming at SIU.

Hundreds of alumni and their families came into town from all over the country.

They dressed up, they danced, they tailgated and watched the Salukis win the homecoming game against Northern Iowa.

The Siu Alumni Association partnered with the city of Carbondale to shut down the strip, just like old times.

>> Welcome back to Carbondale.

Welcome home to all of our alumni across generations.

We love having you back.

Thank you for showing up.

>> SIU Foundation Chief Operating Officer Jeff Gleim was there for all the fun and has this report from the main stage.

>> Hey, we're down on the strip in downtown Carbondale and as you can see behind me, we've got a lot of things going on.

We're here on stage getting ready to introduce the next band.

But with me is Molly Hudgins from the Alumni Association and Steve Bell from River radio, who happens to be a sponsor of all tonight's festivities.

But, Molly, let's talk to you real quick.

Tell us a little bit about about bringing two traditions together.

You got Homecoming and Halloween.

What's the alumni reaction been to this Saluki nation?

>> How much fun is this?

Look at this.

I mean, you asked about the reaction our alumni have shown up, but we've had families out here all afternoon, and now the alumni are hitting the strip for the main acts.

It's a big deal here in Carbondale.

Halloween has been a tradition for SIU.

It's been a tradition for this community.

And and homecoming is a is also a big deal.

We've got our Hall of Fame class back.

We've got a big tailgate.

You can't beat Southern Illinois and SIU Halloween homecoming weekend.

>> So Steve, you've taken these.

We'll take these two traditions, put them together.

You close down the strip, you add some music and a lot of fun in the background.

What's the community think about this.

>> Last year we called it an epic raiser.

Right.

And and it was.

But take a look.

I mean, this is what it's all about.

Carbondale was always known as a music scene, always has been.

I mean, we have some big name groups that have come through Carbondale over the years, and we're kind of bringing that flavor back.

So the fact we're closing the strip, we're adding Halloween into it, we're adding homecoming.

What better mix that right there, says Southern Illinois University right there.

>> You bring all these things together, and it makes for a very, very, very special homecoming.

So thank you both for all the work you guys have put into this thank to the city as well.

We really appreciate this.

Now let's go and enjoy.

Go, Dawgs!

>> Go, Dawgs!

Go, Dawgs!

>> What a great night.

We were so happy to see all of the Saluki alumni and friends who made it back into town.

The Saluki Student Investment Fund is celebrating 25 years of success at SIU.

Students and alumni at the College of Business and Analytics gathered for a special networking dinner over the homecoming weekend.

The Saluki Student Investment Fund is a student run organization that operates like a real investment firm, giving students hands on experience in managing a multi-million dollar portfolio on behalf of the SIU Foundation.

The Saluki Student Investment Fund got started back in 2000 with $25,000 in seed money.

That money was donated by two very special alumni, Omar and Carol Winter.

Omar and Carol are mentors to generations of Salukis, and we got to talk with them about their time at SIU and what it means to see the Saluki Student Investment Fund become the program it is today.

>> I graduated the first year the College of Business at Siu was deemed to be a certified university college.

>> We just celebrated in August our 68 wedding anniversary.

>> After retirement from Sundstrand aerospace, I was adjunct professor of two business courses during the 1997 1998 time frame.

The Sis will long be a learning success for the students who manage the funds, not just financial.

Practicing teamwork and performing at a high level.

To not let fellow students down is also high value learning.

The results are just as close to unbelievable.

>> A unique way to give back.

>> We are so grateful for Omar and Carol winter's generosity.

To learn more about their Saluki story.

Head over to SIU Zephyr.

>> You should be excited about what's happening at your alma mater, and we're going to continue to have this success with your support.

>> Saluki showed up in force for the fifth annual Saluki Takeover Tour in Chicago.

This event set an all time attendance record, drawing in a crowd of more than 400 SIU alumni and friends.

The SIU Foundation hosts this event each year alongside Chancellor Austin Lane.

This is the second time the event has been held at the Residence Inn in downtown Chicago, a hotel managed by Siu alumnus Tommy Van Chancellor.

Lane encouraged Saluki to be proactive recruiters and share their Saluki story.

>> So I'd love to come out to the SIU takeovers because it's a great opportunity to mingle with current Saluki old Saluki, and.

>> What you're seeing is people really connecting with each other.

It's new relationships.

It's rekindling old relationships.

It's exactly what you'd like to see.

It's like a reunion of new and old friends.

>> We are great dogs here, and we're going to do some good things here.

And it's for a good cause.

>> As this show goes to air.

The SIU Foundation has just wrapped up a takeover tour visit to Texas.

We visited Saluki in Houston, Dallas, and Austin.

We continue the tour next spring with stops in Florida, Saint Louis, Southern Illinois, Central Illinois, Atlanta, and California.

Check out the SIU Foundation website for more information.

In conjunction with the Saluki Takeover Tour in Chicago, the Women's Leadership Council hosted a special event for Saluki women looking to expand their network.

The event was co-hosted by SIU alumni and foundation board members Beth Miller and Tony Williams.

More than a dozen Saluki women attended and had the chance to learn more about the Women's Leadership Council Mentor Program, which connects SIU female students to female alumni in their area of study.

Students from the College of Arts and Media tagged along on this Chicago Takeover tour, and had the opportunity to speak with successful alumni in the media industry.

Their stops included a visit to see alumnus Andrew Kraus, the founder and CEO of AK partners, and alumna Karen Esbrook with The Zeno Group.

They spoke about marketing and media relations from their.

The students made a stop at Cutter Studios to meet with alumnus Chris Elliott and take a tour behind the scenes of commercial production.

These student visits are made possible by the Siu Alumni Association.

What began as a personal project to upgrade a truck led this Saluki to become CEO of his own auto parts company that now employs dozens of people.

2016 grad Adam Wolfe is the founder of Boost Auto in West Chicago.

Siu Chancellor, Austin Lane and members of the Siu Foundation team toured Boost Autos 50,000 square foot facility during a recent visit.

Adam launched Boost Auto in 2015 while still a student at Siu, taking advantage of the resources available at Siu's Small Business Development Center.

Adam makes every effort to support fellow Salukis and tells us 40% of his staff at Boost Auto are Siu grads.

We had a chance to speak with him about what inspired his success.

>> When I came to see you, I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur at some point, but I didn't know when that time would be.

It was my senior year down at Siu.

It was just before Christmas.

My girlfriend asked me, what do you want for Christmas?

And I said, side view mirrors for my pickup truck.

She's like, okay, where do I get them?

And then I was like, hmm, there's not really a good place to get side view mirrors for my pickup truck.

So I was like, hang on.

And that is when I decided to just figure it out myself.

Uh, so basically I started getting samples and doing iterations, everything like that.

Didn't get them for Christmas.

Started a business instead.

But hey, it's worked out in the end.

We established a scholarship a number of years ago.

Really just wanted to, you know, give back to the give back to the automotive program and give those Siu automotive students an opportunity to help offset some of their tuition and fees.

I want everybody to have the same opportunity that I had.

So the I absolutely love the automotive program so that scholarships focused specifically on the automotive program, but I just really wanted to give back and make sure that if you were interested in automotive technology, you could pursue that career and we could help offset some of that.

>> What an amazing Saluki story when we visited Boost Auto.

Our team was so excited to see Saluki flags hanging up in the lunchroom.

Learn more about Adam's story by heading over to SIU.

We are about halfway through construction on the Tedrick Welcome Center, and so much progress has been made inside and out.

Compare these images taken just a few days ago to this footage from five months ago.

Wow.

The exterior of the building is almost complete.

Inside, the first and second floors are starting to take shape.

Right now, crews are finishing up the overhead plumbing and HVAC systems.

Once it's complete, the Tedrick Welcome Center will be home base for student and alumni tours, will have a ballroom and outdoor portico for major events, and so much more.

The Tedrick Welcome Center is set to open by May of next year.

To keep up with construction updates.

Be sure to follow the Siu Foundation on social media.

Yeah.

>> A lot of our students do have off campus jobs or on campus jobs to support them.

It's just they don't have enough funding to even meet their basic needs.

>> For some Saluki, being stressed isn't just about classes and exams.

They're also worried about where their next meal might come from.

The Saluki Food Pantry, inside the Siu Student Center aims to tackle this problem head on, offering free meals and snacks to any student in need.

Siu Foundation Chief Marketing Officer Britni Bateman has more on the growing need for food assistance, and how the Saluki community can help.

>> The Saluki Food Pantry is located on the lower level of the student center.

Staff tells us that hundreds of students rely on this help each year.

>> Peanut butter goes quick.

I mean, who doesn't love a peanut butter jelly sandwich?

>> Graduate student Zoe Dollins shows us the food options available to Salukis in need when students visit the food pantry.

Zoe helps them find items to prepare several meals.

>> We start in this area, so we have a bunch of canned meals here.

We also have some snacks.

We are a little low, but we do have some some of these buns here that we got from an event on campus.

So we're trying to get those out as well.

>> Food pantry staff say they often struggle to restock the shelves.

The pantry does not receive funding from the university or a student fee relying completely on donations.

>> We are seeing an increase in students utilizing the food pantry, especially in the last five years.

We can see from our applications that students are there working.

You know, they are working part time jobs, they're working full time jobs, but yet it's still not quite enough.

>> We're hard hit on basic items the peanut butters, the tomato sauces, the pastas, the rice those go out of here pretty quickly.

So we're pretty well restocking those every day.

And sometimes we don't have any to replace them with.

And so we might go a week or so before we can replenish.

So that's why it's important to keep our shelves stocked.

>> Zoe does her best to help students feel safe and welcomed.

>> My goal is for them to want to come back.

I want them to feel like they aren't being judged in any way.

Like everyone's having food insecurities, especially with prices.

>> Staff here at the pantry have been able to offer small amounts of fresh refrigerated food, and they hope to expand that offering in the future.

Reporting from the student Center, I'm Brittany Bateman.

>> The Saluki Food Pantry is such an important resource for students.

If you'd like to learn more about how you can help, head over to the Student Center website and search for Saluki Food Pantry.

Coming up, we go in the lab with Saluki basketball.

We're talking strategy with Coach Scott Nagy and checking out a day in the life of sophomore point guard Quel Ron House.

We'll be right back.

[MUSIC] >> Experience one of the finest private Freddy Fazbear hotel accommodations.

[MUSIC] To get the chance to see SIU students studying languages.

Space is limited and the experience is once in a lifetime opportunity.

Her fellow Saluki.

More information is available at SIU.

A little more about Columbus Travel.

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

The Saluki basketball team recently tipped off its season coach Scott Nagy, and the dogs feature six returning players and eight new faces, including electric point guard Quel Ron House.

We're headed into the lab, where senior Associate Athletics Director Jeff Wilson and Quel Ron, better known as CU, give us an inside look at what it takes to be a Saluki basketball player.

From the coach's office to the classroom and down to the court.

>> I'm here with Quel Ron House Endsley from the Saluki men's basketball team.

Excited to have him here.

Ron, you're new to Siu.

This year.

You're going to be running point guard a lot for the team.

What are you most excited about as we go forward through the season?

Seeing this team grow and kind of being a leader on the court.

>> How much we do connect as a team.

How like how are our teammates sacrifice for each other?

>> Justin, when you bring in a guy like you, you see coach bringing a guy like that.

What do you see out of CU as a leader as when you see the team interacting?

>> Yeah, no.

I'm really excited for CU for this season.

We're expecting big things from him.

Um.

Kuz found his voice the last couple of weeks that we've been here.

It's really been a joy to see CU lead this team use his voice.

And like I said we're expecting big things out of CU this season in terms of production and leading this team.

>> Justin takes me and CU to visit with coach Scott Nagy, who is in his second year at the helm of the Salukis.

What are some of the things about the way coach runs the team that is appealing to you or their particular style of offense, a particular style of basketball or leadership that he brings that you just really like?

>> Don't lie, don't lie.

>> I would say overall, um, when I first came here, just about winning and just, um, them pushing me to to be that leader, be that guy and just emphasize me to just to just to be better and not not BSing on the court and just helping others and being being a leader and being confident in myself.

>> When you bring somebody like you to the team, what attracts you to a player like that where you're like, I want that guy to be a part of my team.

>> Well, we we want people to be Salukis.

You know, I need him and everybody else not to worry about their stats.

And if we continue to to make the right things, the focus, which is I'm going to play hard.

I'm going to trust coach, even though I know he's not perfect.

Uh, but yes, uh, you know, the staff has more experience in you know, we know what it takes.

The only stat we really care about is can we get that w.

>> Next we meet with Hillary Wittenborn, associate athletics director for academics, to talk about the balance between student and athlete.

It's very serious.

You got to we want to graduate everybody.

We want to do all those things.

But what do you like the most about doing this?

>> I think it's really just the one on one that we get with student athletes.

You know, I am I'm probably their biggest fan.

I'm going to be the one screaming on the sideline.

I think really seeing them walk across the stage really is my draft day.

>> How important is it to have a resource like Hilary and Kaylee and Alexis in this office?

>> Having them on my like on my backyard with me is just it's very good reminding me that I have work due the next day, or just telling me and just asking me questions how I feel about this class.

How am I doing in this class?

Making sure I'm on top of my classes.

Making sure that I'm eligible, and completing my work.

>> After that queue takes me to the Banterra center court where we play a classic childhood game.

All right.

Cue play a little game of pig.

We're gonna see how that goes.

Right now, let's see what you got.

Damn.

>> Good shot.

>> Oh, that felt like a bucket.

All right, we're gonna go for this, I hear.

Oh, I gotta make this.

We're still going for I. I'm not missing on purpose, I'll tell you that much.

All right, here we go.

That's short.

All right, now we're up to G. So Q don't do anything too hard, man.

Oh.

The two hander.

I think that's enough for today.

Back to you in the studio.

Good game.

>> Q Jeff Wilson doing his best there to keep up.

And glad he did not attempt that last shot.

That would have been rough.

The Salukis have several more games before the end of the year.

Visit Siu salukis.com for more information about dates and tickets.

Coming up new construction and new energy in Carbondale.

Siu Foundation CEO Matt Kupec is on set speaking with leaders in Carbondale about new efforts to encourage Saluki alumni to bring their business to southern Illinois.

Stay with us.

>> The Saluki Takeover tour is back.

Bigger, bolder and Coast to Coast.

Join us to connect, celebrate and show the world what it means to be a Saluki for life.

[MUSIC] See you there and go dawgs!

[MUSIC] >> Welcome back and thanks for watching the Impact Report.

I'm Matt Kupec, CEO of the SIU Foundation.

There's been a surge of construction activity in Carbondale, including the new multi-modal station on the strip and the new downtown entertainment and events plaza to build on this momentum.

The Siu Foundation has partnered with several organizations to start Saluki Build Here, a partnership focused on encouraging Siu alumni to build their businesses in Southern Illinois.

Joining us, me now is Carbondale Economic Development Director Steve Mitchell and Siu Foundation chief marketing officer Britni Bateman.

Thank you both for joining us, Steve.

Lots of great stuff happening.

Tell us about it.

>> Matt, you're right.

There is absolutely a lot of great stuff happening in Carbondale, Illinois.

Uh, one of those things is Southern Illinois Multi-Modal station.

If you're not familiar with it, it's a 23,000 square foot, $26 million development.

We just finished phase one.

Phase one includes, obviously, the Amtrak station.

As matter of fact, it's such a nice facility that, uh, officials with Amtrak calls it the jewel of the Southern Line.

Uh, so we're very proud of that.

But it's much more than that, Matt.

Uh, within phase one construction, where Amtrak is now, we also have space for workforce development so people can come and look for new jobs and help with their employment.

We also have a co-working space to help support our, our, uh, new aspiring entrepreneurs in town.

Phase two is under construction right now, and we expect that to be completed right around after the first of the year.

Phase two includes not only location for tourism and interstate bus travel.

And uh, our, uh, local transit, but also space for SIU.

And it's not just transportation.

It's about connecting.

The multimodal station is all about connecting that.

What we're doing is we're making it easier for people to get to Carbondale to see the great things that are happening in Carbondale and to support our local businesses.

>> Just incredible.

They look beautiful.

It's so exciting to see the construction and to build on that.

Brittany.

Uh, we've recently announced a new partnership to, uh, Saluki build here.

>> Absolutely.

Saluki is built here is such an exciting initiative.

We've partnered with the alumni association.

See, now, the city chamber, the chamber, Carbondale, main street.

It's really an amazing opportunity to bring some of these resources together.

And speaking of connecting, our job is to really help connect Saluki owned businesses to the right resources so that they're successful.

And we recently had an event at hangar nine, had a huge turnout.

The energy was just electric in that room.

>> Love the the partnership here.

You know, the new construction rising from the ground, uh, showing the growth of Carbondale.

And then with this initiative of Saluki build here, we recently had the opportunity to talk to some of those Saluki business owners.

Here's let's listen to what they had to say.

>> One of the great things about running a business in Southern Illinois is actually being close to SIU.

>> I would say the university, not only does it provide a lot of resources for us and student workers, but it also really brings a lot of culture to our lives.

>> This is a great place because there is access, um, you can reach out to almost any business owner around and they will give you all the information that you need.

I have done that for two people that I know are opening businesses this past week, and they did it for me when I was opening a business.

>> I really feel the energy turning, and I think a lot of people are catching on that this is this is a great place to be.

>> You can really feel the energy here with in Carbondale with both projects.

So Steve and Britni, what's your message to Saluki alumni about bringing their business here?

>> I would say Southern Illinois is not just a location to build a business, but to be connected and to feel like you're at home.

Uh, where people know you, support you, and want to make sure that you do the best that you can.

>> Absolutely.

I will just say what you just said about feel Like Home.

I love living in Southern Illinois, and I would love to see more Salukis come back to southern Illinois, because when you're here, you're family.

And when someone who is a Saluki, any business really.

But when you're a Saluki business that's thriving.

Other Salukis want to celebrate that and help you get where you want to go.

>> You know, we've already have about 1000 Saluki alumni that have businesses here in Southern Illinois, so Saluki alumni come join them and let's keep on building on this momentum going on here at Carbondale and at Siu.

So thanks for a great, great report, both of you.

And we'll be back right after this short break.

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

Salukis achieved 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.

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

In November of 1972, Siu staged the Midwest premiere of Scott Joplin's opera Treemonisha, a story about the battle between education and superstition.

Set 20 years after the Civil War that earned him the Pulitzer Prize.

Joplin had published Treemonisha in 1911, but it never was performed after the score was rediscovered in 1970.

SIU own Katherine Dunham directed and choreographed its world premiere in Atlanta, then brought the opera to Shryock Auditorium.

You can listen to a recording of Treemonisha to the Morris Library website.

[MUSIC] And now, our beloved Saluki mascot.

Here's a moment with Grey Dawg.

>> Hi Grey Dawg.

Okay, okay.

Give me just a moment.

Molly, there's someone up front who says he's a life member, but I'm not sure.

>> Well, he's been a member since 1951, but also says he's been a member for 518 years.

>> Ah, he must be counting in dog years.

Oh.

>> Well, Grey Dawg gets a special pass for that one.

Thanks for watching the Impact Report.

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

Org.

This is our last show of the year.

The impact report will take a break in December and return with new episodes starting in January.

If you missed a previous episode, you can find it on the Siu Foundation's YouTube channel.

Take care and happy holidays!

Go, dawgs!

[MUSIC]