"Segue" Radio Program is Now “The SIUE Beat”
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s public affairs radio program, “Segue,” will be reintroduced as “The SIUE Beat” on Sunday, July 30 during the 601st episode of the program. From its beginning in 2011, the show focused on faculty and ideas from the SIUE College of Arts and Sciences. Since then, the show has developed and explored ideas that speak to the campus as a whole.
“Segue” began as a radio program on jazz and blues station WSIE 88.7FM with former dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Aldemaro Romero Jr., as the host. Current dean and host of the show, Kevin Leonard, PhD, shares insight behind the origin of the program.
“Dean Romero chose the name “Segue,” I believe, to honor his father, the famous Venezuelan composer Aldemaro Romero Sr. Segue means to move without interruption from one piece of music or scene to another, “Leonard said. “At its inception, the radio program may have reflected Dean Romero’s sense that a different topic for each episode represented a move from one role, state or condition to another.”
Former chancellor Randy Pembrook and Leonard started co-hosting the show in 2020.
“My episodes generally highlighted events and people associated with the College of Arts and Sciences, and Chancellor Pembrook’s episodes focused on ideas and issues relating to the entire University and the St. Louis community,” Leonard said.
Leonard became the sole host of the program when Pembrook retired in 2022. Realizing that the show’s growth had extended beyond the University and into the fabric of the community, he started conversations with WSIE General Manager Jason Church to rebrand the show. Church acquired new theme music with a composition from SIUE 1997 alum, Mo Egeston. When it became time to choose a new title for the program, Leonard paid homage to Romero by selecting another musical term with shared meaning — a beat, a rhythmic unit in music and a reporter’s area of specialization.
Citing core alignments with the strategic plans of SIUE and the College of Arts and Sciences, Leonard’s goals include promoting diversity and inclusion; retention; and research and creative activities.
“I believe “The SIUE Beat” will continue to inform listeners throughout the St. Louis area of the achievements of SIUE students, staff, faculty and alumni and promote the exciting and appealing events occurring on the SIUE campuses,” Leonard said.
“The SIUE Beat” airs on WSIE 88.7FM in the familiar 9 a.m. Sunday timeslot. Listeners may tune in or visit siue.edu/wsie.
Photo: College of Arts and Sciences Dean Kevin Leonard, host of “The SIUE Beat”.
