Dear Colleagues,

The COVID-19 pandemic is easing in the United States thanks to the success of rapidly developed and distributed vaccines. As of May 25, more than one half of the entire U.S. population has received at least one dose of a vaccine, and nearly 40 percent are fully vaccinated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have advised us that fully vaccinated individuals can uncover their faces in most places and situations. As conditions continue to improve, capacity restrictions will be lifted for public spaces and meetings. For the most recent campus updates, please visit the SIUE COVID-19 Information page.

I look forward to students, faculty, and staff returning to SIUE in numbers we have not seen since the early spring semester of 2020. It will be good to have face-to-face meetings and to attend public lectures and musical, theatrical, and dance performances.

Read Dean Leonard's full letter.

Each spring, the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) recognizes student achievement at its annual Honors Day Convocation. With COVID restrictions still in place, the 2021 Honors Day ceremony took place virtually in April, where a total of 287 distinguished CAS students were recognized, culminating in 358 awards and scholarships.

SIUE’s largest single gathering outside of commencement recognizing student achievement, Honors Day celebrates the scholarships and awards of outstanding students throughout nearly two dozen departments and programs within CAS.

Read more here.

The function of libraries continues to improve, steering more toward digitalization and the changing times, but the last year has seen a catapulting need and desire for online learning because of the unexpected and unwelcomed fallout from the pandemic. 

In an effort to better provide patrons with cutting edge advancements and in response to digital expectations, SIUE’s Lovejoy Library hired CAS alumnus Mitchell Haas, assistant professor in Library and Information Services, as its first online learning librarian. Haas earned a bachelor’s in history in 2010 from SIUE.

Read the article.

Susanne DiSalvo, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, has received the highly competitive National Science Foundation CAREER Award totaling $463,557.

The award supports her research entitled, “Population and evolutionary dynamics of bacteriophage-symbiont-host interactions: Development of a multi-layered model microbiome,” the findings of which will elucidate virus-host evolution and may inform alternative strategies for treating bacterial infections.

Read the article. 

Please join the SIUE Department of Theater and Dance in congratulating Professor Peter Cocuzza, MFA, on his retirement at the end of the spring semester.

Cocuzza started at SIUE in fall 1995 and has taught a variety of performance-related classes. He earned his MFA degree in performance from the Professional Acting Training Program at Ohio University.  

Cocuzza, a one-time chair of the department, has directed more than 26 plays at SIUE, including “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Grease,” "High School Musical," “Oliver," "South Pacific,” and “Sound of Music.” He is also the founder of the Summer Theater Workshop, a summer camp for children and teens, founder of the Cougar Theater Company, co-creator of the SIUE Xfest, a four-day festival of alternative theatrical experimentation that started in 2019, and writer/director/co-creator of the “Theater of the Mind” radio drama group. 

As an actor, he has performed dozens of roles on stage, adapted and toured a one-person show entitled, “Town Hall Tonight,” toured Children’s Theater with the Saltworks Theatre Company, toured Shakespeare with the Three Rivers Shakespeare’s Young Company, and has several regional commercials to his credit. 

Thank you, Peter Cocuzza, for your dedication, insight and vision that has guided this department for the last 25 years.

Segue is a 30 minute radio program airing on WSIE 88.7 The Sound on Sundays at 9 a.m. and is hosted by Kevin Leonard, PhD, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences as well as Chancellor Randy Pembrook, PhD. This show features interviews showcasing campus and community leaders and discussions about issues and ideas on the SIUE campus and within the College of Arts and Sciences.

Some recent guests include: 

• American singer, songwriter and composer Jeremy Schonfeld
• Senior Studio Art major and Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities program associate Kylea Perkins
• Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, Danielle Lee, PhD

Listen live at siue.edu/wsie. 
Listen to past episodes at siue.edu/segue.