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

We're just a few short weeks away from the grand opening of the Tedrick Welcome Center.

Catch a sneak peek behind the scenes of SIU's newest building.

[MUSIC] Plus, the Great Cardboard Boat Regatta returns for its 51st year.

We'll have details on the upcoming event, as well as footage from the first ever regatta in 1974.

And this month in the lab.

>> I'm Jeff Gleim.

We're here at Charlotte West Stadium, and I'm going to show you how to hit a fastball.

[MUSIC] Or not.

>> But first.

>> We have about 30 days to go for the Southern Illinois Regional Takeover tour.

How's everybody doing?

[MUSIC] That's more like it.

That's more like it.

>> The Saluki Takeover Tour in southern Illinois kicks off at the Touch of Nature.

Outdoor Education Centre This is the first of several community events the SIU Foundation will host across the region and all Saluki supporters are invited.

The impact report starts right now.

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

I'm your host, Anna Twomey.

We'll kick off this show with developing news out of Southern Illinois.

The SIU Foundation has launched its third annual Saluki Takeover Tour across the region.

Hundreds of Salukis are expected to attend evening events featuring Chancellor Austin Lane, while the SIU admissions team will visit dozens of local high schools to recruit students.

This takeover tour began with a fantastic reception at the Touch of Nature Outdoor education centre surrounded by the gorgeous Shawnee National Forest.

>> Are you ready?

This is where it's at.

Now, we said probably five years ago that we were committed to maroon carpeting this region.

>> There's always so much energy and excitement when Salukis get together.

SIU Foundation Chief Marketing Officer Britni Bateman is at Touch of Nature with more from alumni and friends who attended this event.

>> It's a beautiful day, out of touch and nature.

For the first stop of the third annual Saluki Takeover Tour in Southern Illinois, and we're expecting nearly 200 Salukis here at this event.

>> It took me three weeks out here to realize that this is exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, and I think that's what makes SIU and that that's what makes being a Saluki special.

>> An excited crowd gathered inside Friedberg Hall to hear the latest about SIU's local recruitment and engagement efforts this spring, SIU saw an 8% increase in enrollment from southern Illinois.

>> We will be at just about every high school and community college in this region.

We have done that for a number of years.

>> And I think it's unique to size.

A university that Southern Illinois University is to have that kind of high touch in all of these places around our region is a big deal.

>> Alumni and friends also got to learn more about the critical role touch of nature plays in the overall Saluki experience.

>> There's no other university in Illinois that has the stuff, the things, the space that we have 3800 acres, 80 buildings, camps, community events.

>> For longtime Saluki supporters like Ed and Jan Buerger, this Takeover Tour kick off is a chance to build community.

>> We have got a great, great alumni, family.

We just need to continue to embrace it, bring it back to campus or take campus to it.

>> Thank you so much to all of the Salukis and supporters who came out to this event.

Reporting from Touch and Nature.

I'm Britni Bateman.

>> We'd love for you to join us at one of these local Takeover Tour events.

Our next stop is on Thursday, April 16th in Mount Vernon.

We're then headed to Carterville on Tuesday, April 21st, then to Redbud on Thursday, April 23rd.

To register, head over to SIUF.org/takeovers.

The Southern Illinois Takeover Tour follows two successful takeover stops in central Illinois.

The Salukis started in Springfield by taking over the Capitol for AG Day, networking with state legislators and educating the community about research at SIU.

SIU leaders are specifically working to secure funding for a new greenhouse on campus.

The chancellor then hosted hundreds of Salukis at the LRS hangar at the Springfield airport for a reception.

The Salukis then moved on to Peoria, Illinois, where students involved in the SIU Alumni Association.

Salukis, on the run program, made several stops at companies involved in the agriculture industry to learn more about career options.

Festivities wrapped up with a reception in Peoria at the Riverfront Museum.

>> Springfield.

We're back.

All right.

>> Chancellor Lane and President Mahoney do an incredible job of getting around the state, making sure Salukis come together as a family.

>> Just reflecting on the memories and just being able to share those memories with other people.

Just to let them know that you don't want to miss out on on the experience.

Well, here's the thing.

We're Salukis.

We bleed.

We bleed, right?

So we bleed.

>> What a fantastic and memorable takeover tour.

Read more about it by heading over to SIUf.org.

>> We've got a special announcement.

I want to just announce a very generous gift at College of Business Analytics is receiving.

>> A couple was honored at the SIU Foundation's recent takeover tour in Saint Louis for a generous donation to the College of Business and Analytics.

Richard and Nancy Klassen, both 1975 graduates, made a gift establishing the Richard and Nancy Klassen Mentorship Lounge, which will be located inside the College of Business and Analytics.

The lounge will help provide career support, mentorship, resources, and so much more for students.

The Klassen met at SIU and have been together ever since.

They tell us they view their gift as an opportunity to connect students with each other and the wider business community.

>> Our our community down at SIU.

I've seen the difference it has made in our students being able to take their exceptional academia that they get going to SIU You and and combine that now and connect with people in the business community.

>> The Richard and Nancy Klassen Mentorship Lounge will be part of the Harvey and Michael's Center for Academic Success and Engagement inside Rehn Hall.

SIU alumnus and successful consultant Harvey Michaels and his wife, Carly, recently donated $2.1 million to make this center possible.

That includes a matching contribution from the Deloitte Foundation.

The center, informally known as the Harv, will focus on academic support and career preparation.

You can learn more about both of these exciting developments at the College of Business and Analytics by heading over to SIUf.org.

A major transformation at the Student Center has turned what used to be headquarters for WIDB radio into a vibrant hub for student creation and activity.

You're looking at video from the fourth floor of the Student center, with renovations nearly complete.

And here's what the area previously looked like.

What an amazing upgrade.

The space features a podcasting studio and places for students to study, play games, and so much more.

This initiative was led by students in SIU's undergraduate student government who saw a need for a gathering space.

The project was funded by a generous $250,000 gift from Bob and Pat England.

Two passionate Salukis, who met at SIU, ended up starting a traffic safety business together and have been married for nearly 60 years.

They tell us they're proud to give back to students.

>> We are so incredibly grateful for what Bob got in his education and at SIU, and what I got from SIU was Bob.

>> One of my great memories was going around noontime to the to the student center lounge and watching Dark shadow isn't.

>> Yeah.

Dark shadows.

>> It's.

The whole place was packed.

>> Being in college and studying.

It's not all about that.

It's.

You also have the social side.

>> The England Student Center Lounge will be officially dedicated later this month.

You're welcome to join us at that celebration at 11 a.m.

on April 30th.

>> Boat number four with a simple approach to the race.

>> This event is a fun one.

Salukis have been building cardboard boats and watching them sink or float for more than 50 years.

The Cardboard Boat Regatta returns this spring for its 51st year, drawing out hundreds of spectators from across the Southern Illinois community.

The SIU Alumni Association helped organize this year's event.

Executive Director Molly Hudgins says she's excited to welcome Saluki alumni and friends to campus.

>> Campus Lake is once again home to the Great Cardboard Boat Regatta.

It all started back in 1974 as a simple classroom experience.

It continues today as a Saluki tradition.

We will all come together again to see if those boats can float or if there's another catastrophic sinking.

On April the 18th, we'll be across the lake at the Becker Boat Pavilion.

>> And again, the upcoming regatta starts at 1 p.m.

on April 18th at the Becker Pavilion.

For more information about this event, contact the SIU Alumni Association.

Saluki softball hits a home run thanks to a gift from SIU alumnus and longtime softball fan Ron Smith.

The team recently unveiled a new video board at the Charlotte West Stadium on campus.

Thanks to Ron's $250,000 donation, Saluki Athletics hosted a dedication ceremony in his honor, where he threw the first pitch and spoke with senior associate athletics director for development Kat Martin about why he wanted to give back.

>> The old one was just not very good, and they wanted the graphics and all the things that were going with it, and we had just been awarded the the conference championship.

The women on the team were all lined up in front of the dugout, and they were standing there.

And then they started playing vignettes on the on the board of them in action.

And they just their reaction was, ah, just incredible.

>> Ron earned two degrees from SIU, his first in 1964 in marketing and another in 1966 in business administration.

Ron is also a member of the SIU Foundation Board of Directors.

We're so grateful for his generosity and many of you are probably familiar with the namesake of the Saluki Softball Stadium, Doctor Charlotte West, Doctor West spent four decades at SIU teaching, coaching and advocating for women's sports nationwide.

She's given so much to Saluki Athletics.

The SIU Foundation communications team had the opportunity to speak with Doctor West during a recent trip to Florida, where she now lives.

We asked Doctor West about her role in crafting and advocating for title nine, the landmark federal legislation mandating equal opportunities for women, including in athletics.

In 1960, Doctor West became SIU's first female athletics director.

She coached pretty much every sport you can think of.

>> Been involved in sports since the seventh grade.

Now, in my era, because I'm old, for women to have any opportunity to compete was rare.

Started everything I could to promote women's sports and back at that time, in the state of Illinois, women could not play another high school.

High school women couldn't have a team and play another one.

I believe so much in women having an opportunity.

And I had the advantage as the director of the women's program for years, to see how lives were changed when women had scholarship.

We had some athletes that I'm still in touch with that never could have gotten to college if we hadn't offered them a scholarship.

The opportunity for these females that would not have had an opportunity, I think is most important.

>> In addition to her work on title nine, Doctor West says one of the things she is most proud of is her involvement in the passage of the Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act, a federal law requiring universities to report athletic participation.

This helped bring more equity into the number of scholarships women receive compared to men, among other initiatives.

Imagine using caffeine from discarded coffee or tea to help create medicine for eye health.

It's possible with the innovative use of chemistry happening right here at SIU.

In a recent episode of R-1 Minute, produced by SIU's University Communications team, scientists explored the idea of green chemistry.

Green chemistry is a process designed to help reduce or eliminate hazardous waste.

At SIU, researchers are recovering a pharmaceutical compound called Methylxantine from caffeine.

>> So this approach not only produce pharmaceuticals, but it also pushed us towards a circular economy and a sustainable future.

>> The process of green chemistry also reduces cost significantly, adding to its sustainability.

This is the kind of research that's a great example of SIU commitment as a research one institution to turning global problems into solutions.

Coming up, the SIU Foundation team is up to bat with Saluki softball can Chief Operating Officer Jeff Gleim make a hit on a fastball?

You'll have to stay tuned to see that one.

[MUSIC] [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 ww.com.

[MUSIC] >> Welcome back and thanks for watching the impact report.

Saluki softball is one of the most decorated programs in Saluki athletics, having won six Missouri Valley Conference regular season championships and earned titles at five others.

Behind all of those achievements are hours upon hours of training and hard work at Charlotte West Stadium on campus.

We wanted to learn more about the skill and strength it takes to throw a pitch in softball, make a run on base and catch a fastball.

SIU Foundation Chief Operating Officer Jeff Gleim heads into the lab to find out.

>> Thanks, Anna.

We're here at Charlotte West Stadium, and it's the home of the Saluki women's softball.

Jen, thanks for taking some time to spend with us today.

Let me see if I get all my facts straight.

Okay.

You took over as head coach in 2022.

Three MVC tournament championships, one MVC conference championship.

You've been to two NCAA regionals.

One was the regional finals.

Yeah.

How have you had that kind of success?

>> Yeah, I think it's, you know, this is a national brand.

Obviously it's a brand that's sold for a long time very well.

Anytime you have major donors that are giving gifts in the way that, you know, Doctor West, Ron Smith, those types of folks, you know your program is going to do well.

You know, those that have resources do get a fair shot.

And that's what we have here.

>> I grew up playing baseball.

Um, when those days were done, you know, you did the the old men's slow pitch softball league.

And I've done that just about all my adult life.

But the one thing that makes fast pitch softball, college softball different is the pitching.

Yeah.

Let's go see what it takes to be a pitcher in women's college.

Yeah, let's do it.

>> Well, the coolest part about, um, and a lot of sports, um, even if you're shooting a free throw, throwing a softball, hitting a softball, it does come from the ground up.

So a lot of what fans see is what comes out of the hand.

When you're watching a game, you're seeing so much action above the waist, but really the load portion is key.

Just like if I was a sprinter running down the track, the start that I get off to is really important for the end that I get to.

>> Let's try one.

>> There you go.

Okay.

>> The other leg.

Oh, there you go.

>> Oh.

>> Okay.

So usually I dig in right there so I can push off the mound.

Okay.

And then you want to get your, um, if you want an arm swing, you know, you can get some momentum to build up and rock.

>> Okay.

>> And then you'll push your legs out as far as they are.

Like you'll lead with your back leg, push out as far as you can go and just, you know.

>> And unlike baseball, where it's this.

>> Yep.

>> You're rocking back and then you're pushing off.

I'm not jumping.

>> It's honestly, it's a lot about timing.

Like you have to like, try to get your arm to land at the same time as your leg.

>> Oh, I forget I can do this.

>> Gotta hit all the parts of the clock.

>> All right.

>> Like close.

>> Hey, hey.

>> One more.

Let me just put all this together so it's.

>> Whew!

>> That one came in hot.

>> That was a rise ball.

All right.

We're going to stop on that one.

It's a lot harder than it looked.

Well for me anyway, it was a lot harder than it looks.

But we're going to do one more thing.

The next object then is to hit the ball.

>> In a way.

>> You went.

Yeah, you did go.

>> Okay, coach, my watch has been going off.

My heart rate is up.

I'm out of breath.

Not only was it fun, but it was an education to me.

And I hope to our audience as well, is what it takes to be a college athlete.

We're so proud of of you and these young ladies and what you've done and what you continue to do.

We wish you nothing but.

>> The.

>> Best of success.

>> We love being Saluki.

>> So if you've never been out to Saluki women's softball game, now's your time.

Nothing better to do.

Get out there and enjoy it.

So Jen, again, thank you for your time.

>> Appreciate it.

>> Hope everybody enjoyed that.

Go, dawgs.

Go, dawgs.

Back to you, Anna.

>> Thanks, Jeff.

You did pretty well out there.

Saluki softball has started off the season strong and is gearing up for a busy month ahead.

Keep up with their games and wins by following Saluki Athletics on social media.

Coming up, SIU Foundation CEO Matt Kupec has an exclusive look inside a nearly complete Tedrick Welcome Center.

Stay with us.

>> 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 tuning in.

After more than a year of planning and construction, the Tedrick Welcome Center is almost finished.

This is the newest construction on SIU's campus in more than a decade, and it was entirely funded by the SIU Foundation.

Throughout the first season of the Impact Report, we followed progress from shovels in the ground to a beautiful space taking shape in less than a month.

The building will open its doors to the community for the first time ever.

SIU Foundation CEO Matt Kupec has an exclusive look at the final stages of construction.

>> Thanks, Anna.

We are in the west lobby of the brand new Tedrick Welcome Center.

The first new building built on our campus in 13 years.

I'm here with Mark Hinrichs, class of 1981, former trustee.

Incredible alum and president of Impact Strategies, the company that have built this building.

Mark, tell us about this building.

>> Well, it's been just a tremendous opportunity for my company and me personally to be involved in such a transformative building for the campus.

Right.

My impact team has had a plan from day one in terms of building this building and executing that plan.

And along the way, we've had buy in from our subcontractor partners that have been just tremendous.

>> For 44,000ft, again, this was and you remember the old McAndrew Stadium site for our folks out there.

From the ashes of McAndrew Stadium rise, this great welcome center that will become the foundation offices.

But we'll have 13,000ft dedicated to a welcome center that will start our student recruiting trips.

For the general population to come here.

Interactive experiences.

I think this is as good as it gets.

Mark.

>> It is, it is.

And and what better place to welcome new Salukis?

Right.

>> We're coming into what we call the flex space.

This will be an ability to handle folks Mark up to 400 folks, a function seminar, all seminar, all kinds of lectures and conferences.

So tell us a little bit about this room.

>> Well, as you can see, it's actually can be subdivided into smaller space.

Spaces are enlarged into one big space, which gives the foundation and the community ultimate flexibility to be able to use it.

>> So, Mark, we're down the first hall of the foundation offices.

What we like to call is the philanthropy center space.

You know, philanthropy is a campus wide effort.

And we have built this to make this an asset that all departments and schools on our campus can use because we are really we're going to build our effort to fundraise.

We're doing incredible things with our faculty, staff, our leadership at 50 million right now for the year, record breaking year.

But we're going to continue to grow that to support our students and faculty.

So let's take a look into an office to see to show our folks, you know, this is one of the one of the offices we have.

So we moved to the second floor, Mark, what we call the collaborative space.

We think this is going to be a great room for our campus to come over here, do collaborative type.

>> Work.

>> The other beautiful thing about this we overlook the west lobby, the main lobby.

We're going to have 12 interactive boards.

Think about hitting Mark.

You go back to 19, your decade here, 1981.

This is what Carbondale looked like, that kind of thing.

These are look at the famous alumni like Mark Henry.

Isn't that cool?

So you get a sense of place.

It's a showcase piece.

We think one of the best in southern Illinois for sure, to contribute to the growth of the whole region.

So Mark, thanks for joining us today.

>> Great to be here.

Thank you so much.

>> Congratulations.

>> Very proud.

>> Of it.

Let me sing you guys corporate impact strategies praises again.

You guys were spectacular in building this great team effort as you mentioned earlier.

So come out and see this great new Tedrick welcome center.

And let's go back to you.

>> Thanks, Matt.

So much exciting progress on campus.

The SIU Foundation will host a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Tedrick Welcome Center on May 1st, and a public open house on May 2nd.

For all the details about those events, head over to SIUf.org and we'll be right back 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.

As we wrap up the show.

Let's check out a moment from this month in SIU history, courtesy of our friends over at Morris Library Special Collections.

With the 51st Cardboard Boat Regatta coming up, we thought we'd take you back to the very first regatta in May of 1974.

Morris Library Archived video from the event, allowing us to see and hear how excited the Saluki community was for it.

The regatta started as a challenge for students in the design 102 class, and it quickly became a campus wide phenomenon.

Decades ago, the cardboard boat regatta was so unique and such a spectacle it would be covered on major TV networks like MTV and Good Morning America.

We're looking forward to seeing photos from the event this year.

We hope you all have enjoyed our reoccurring segment.

A moment with Gray Dawg.

The SIU Foundation started airing this segment on our very first edition of The Impact Report last June.

A moment with gray Dawg recently won a Silver Addy at the Southern Illinois American Advertising Awards back in February.

We're proud of our team, and in honor of this award, we'd like to reshare our very first moment with Gray Dawg featuring his plans for the Tedrick Welcome Center.

>> What?

>> What's he doing here?

>> Looking for a doggie door, I think.

>> So who's going to tell him he's not allowed inside?

>> Not me.

>> We'll wrap up this episode of The Impact Report with some good news out of the School of Aviation.

You're seeing photos from a very special campus visit.

Students got to have lunch with two incredible alumni in the aviation industry, Bill Norwood and Theresa Claiborne.

Bill is a Saluki Hall of Fame athlete and was the first black pilot at United Airlines.

Theresa was the first black female pilot in the US Air Force.

They spent a day on campus speaking with students and touring the Southern Illinois Airport.

What an awesome visit and thank you for watching the Impact Report.

You can find all of these stories and more at SIUf.org.

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]