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alton — east st. louis — edwardsville
vol. LXIX no. XII
‘We will persist, we will thrive,’ Chancellor gives inaugural address, asks how SIUE can improve
TAYLOR FLEIG Alestle Reporter Chancellor Randy Pembrook brought up many important topics at his Chancellor’s Address Thursday, Sept. 22, in the Meridian Ballroom. SIU System President Randy Dunn believes that speeches such as this address are important in regular time to give the SIUE community an idea into the eyes of the campus CEO, the chancellor. He said it is important to hear from the chancellor regarding the direction that he is going to take the university. “We are never satisfied because at universities there is always something more to do, as
well as there is always something else that we can do to push students to help them with earning their degrees. The difficulty, of course, is that when you claim everything as your own and do it all, then nothing gets accomplished,” Dunn said. Following Dunn’s introduction, Pembrook took the stage on his fifty-third day as chancellor. Pembrook said one of his main focuses for the university is determining what is best for the students and how SIUE faculty can implement what is best for the students. A theme that emerged from his speech was that SIUE was not committed to surviving, but thriving.
“We need to be entrepreneurial and market ourselves,” Pembrook said. According to Pembrook, another focus of his is to increase student and faculty retention by continuing to expand online programs and engage in trying to focus on marketing to older potential students rather than just the typical 18-year-old high school seniors. “If we know that the 18-year-old market is shrinking, then if we continue to only focus on that, then by definition, unless you find something that no one has thought of, then you’re going to have a shrinking enrollment,” Pembrook said.
Pembrook related his hardships of growing up on a farm in Southwestern Illinois to the hardships that the Illinois state budget is currently experiencing, saying that we will thrive through the hardships. “I witnessed the ability of people in my community to overcome challenges. We will overcome the challenges we face we will persist and we will thrive,” Pembrook said. CHANCELLOR | pg. 3 | Photo courtesy of University Marketing, Communications
Homecoming in full swing, students get ‘McFly’
Left, junior Kyle Bracely, of Chicago, picks up a t-shirt Monday, Sept. 26, at the annual homecoming kickoff at the Stratton Quadrangle. The 2016 Homecoming theme is ‘Back to the E.’ | Brian Muñoz / Alestle
Fire station construction delays opening until late October MIRANDA LINTZENICH Alestle Reporter After nearly 11 months of construction, hopes to finish the SIUE campus’ fire station are going to be reassured with the scheduled completion coming late October, or early November this year, according to L. Wolf Contractors Superintendent Wayne Terrill. The City of Edwardsville broke ground Nov. 7, 2015, and had a projected finish date in August, according to SIUE. As of June, the projected date for completion was in September as stated in a previous article, but unforeseen circumstances moved the completion of the project to a later date. “The weather was a big factor, for sure. We got almost 5 inches of rain at one time and our roads on the site got washed out,” Terrill said. “I’ve had to add more rocks just to get our vehicles and the guys in and out.”
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Construction of the newest Edwardsville Fire Station, located on the northwest side of campus, is set to open late October or early November, according to L. Wolf Contractors Superintendent Wayne Terrill. | Allison Gregory / Alestle
Even with minor setbacks, firefighters, like Lt. Rodney Hall, remain positive and ready for the station, located on the northwest side of campus, to open. “The fact is that we are adding a new station because the city has grown drastically,” Hall said. @thealestle
According to Hall, the volume of calls for the fire station has increased as well. “My first year, we had maybe 1,400-1,500 calls; this year we are at 2,465,” Hall said. “We were in need of more staffing and more stations.” @thealestle
Hall has had experiences at the campus that affirm the need for the station, according to him. “When calls happen, the goal is to provide shorter response calls on campus,” Hall said. “I’ve been personally involved in three fires in Cougar Village — one of which students were trapped. Even two or three minutes would have made a difference.” The new station will cover campus and all of the warehouses along 255, according to Hall, and even to 111, according to Terrill. “Right now we respond from station one,” Hall said. “Our goal is to respond to a fire or medical emergency in six minutes.” Freshman computer management and information systems major Stephanie Spillers, of Edwardsville, is in full support of the station. “I think people will feel a lot safer knowing that there’s a fire station nearby,” Spillers said. “The response time won’t be as long as The Alestle
it would be if the responders were coming from across town.” The station opened up six positions, four of which have already been filled, according to Hall. Each of the firefighters will rotate, so there will not be a set team that works within the specific station. But with positions being filled, that switch will come soon. After almost a year of construction, Terrill said he is exited for the fire station to finally open to the public. He said he is sure that after the long months of construction and preparing the station, there will be a positive outcome from it. “I’m looking forward to when it gets finished,” Terrill said. “It’s nice to be able to say, ‘Hey, I helped coordinate that.’” Contact MIRANDA LINTZENICH Call 650-3527 Tweet @mlintz_alestle Email mlintzenich@alestlelive.com
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