(easy music) (camera beeps) (upbeat music) - Welcome to a special edition of "InFocus," I'm Jennifer Fuller.

A special fundraising event is coming up later this spring, the Saluki Ball, and we're talking about that with Chancellor Austin Lane and First Lady Loren Lane.

Thank you both so much for joining us.

- Thank you for having us, Jen.

- Happy to be here.

- It's the inaugural ball, and people look at this and see wow, big event, so let's talk a little bit about what the overall impact is.

What do you want out of this?

Can you talk a little bit, and I'll let either one of you start, about the inspiration for it.

- This is something that helps us get students over what we call the financial barrier.

As you know, there's a large percentage of our students that are in need of some type of financial assistance, and unfortunately, sometimes it makes a difference between whether the student stays here at the university or whether they go home, because they don't have the extra $1,000 or $500 or even $50 in some cases.

And so, even though we like to think that we're a very affordable university, for us to continue to provide access to a quality higher education that we have here at SIU Carbondale, it's important to have these type of events, because it does close the financial gap that we so need to to close.

- It seems to me that that's something people don't always realize.

When you hear about college debt, you hear astronomical numbers, not, I just need a little bit to get over that hump.

Do you see that a lot?

- We do see it a lot.

He, my husband, Chancellor Lane, termed the phrase, "Kids don't drop out, they stop out," and it's because of that $1,000, that $2,000.

And so, we thought, several years back, we came up with the idea, A, to close the financial gap for the students, but also to bring back alumni to be able to showcase kind of what we produce, what the university has produced and what the university is continuing to produce.

So those that have come before current students can inspire the current students to see what they can become later in life through, hard work, dedication, and staying the course.

And sometimes, it's a deterrent, when that semester bill is due and it says $1,500, and you can't call mom or dad.

We also see it a lot with some of the first generation college students as well, when they're putting their own selves through college.

And so it's just a way to be able to give back and support our current students, but also to let the community and the greater body of the university see what the university is continuing to produce.

- Universities and colleges are very good at things like Homecoming.

They're very good at things like Family Weekend, and they bring people back to the campus.

But if someone doesn't still have that connection to the campus, you're taking this to Chicago, for example, there have been Saluki takeovers, where you're going to different cities and reintroducing the university to people who spent so much time there.

How important is it, do you think, an event like this, that both raises money but also kind of reinvigorates that connection?

- Yeah, it's almost like a spring Homecoming, if you will.

It's happening in April, April 22nd at the Chicago, the Marriott Marquis Chicago.

It's one of our largest alumni bases that we have from the university, so a lotta Salukis up there in the Chicago land area.

First year, we'll do it in Chicago, and year after that, we'll come back to this part of the region, so it really is a way for us to connect with those alums.

Also, the largest percentage of students that come in in the freshman class and continuing students are from that Cook County area, so this also doubles as kind of a recruiting yield event, if you will, for students that have applied in the fall, that we wanna connect with or at least have a presence with in the spring.

So great event, and it does allow, as Loren mentioned, our alums to come back and see some of the talent that we have.

Other alums can meet other alums, so it's a really good way to keep Salukis connected.

- Let's talk a little bit about that connection.

A lotta times when people finish their degree, they go out into the world, they remember their time at whatever college or university they went to, but they don't have that direct connection.

How will this do that?

- I think it will do it.

Of course, it comes from the alumni as well.

They have to want to reengage, and so through that desire to reengage, it will just organically kind of reconnect them to the university, reconnect them to the faculty and staff, reconnect them to the memories that they had while they were here, so that they can see that while SIU Carbondale was great when they were here, through time, SIU Carbondale has gotten better and better and better and is becoming just more on the cutting edge of how they work, how the university works with the students and how the university supports and embraces the students.

And yes, it's important to educate our students, but it's also important to support them and kind of wrap our arms around them while they're here, so they can only focus on their education.

- That's a good point that I wanted to get to.

The student today is very different from the student 20 years ago, 30 years ago, even before that.

They need things that students 20 years ago didn't need or even want, in terms of that mentorship or those experiences.

How does the Saluki Ball help collect, connect people, I should say, to the opportunities that they have to be that mentor or to have that connection with a student who's currently here?

- Yeah, I think it, for us, it kind of ties into our strategic plan with Imagine SIUC in 2030.

When we're recruiting students, we want them to imagine that they can become the alums that are gonna be at the ball, right.

We want them to imagine the types of internships and the types of careers and jobs that they can have, just by coming to this university and the Saluki Nation network that actually exists, so it really is a university showcase, if you will.

We call it the Saluki Ball.

It's really a university showcase, that really bonds our community together and instills pride.

So we've got a lotta Saluki pride, not only in the state of Illinois, but across the country, across the world, and that's what we're asking is our alums to come back home, even though it's in Chicago, but still come back home.

We'll take the Saluki Nation and brand up to Chicago and reconnect and do it for a great cause.

Again, our students, you're gonna pay it forward for our alums that are gonna support our students.

You will be surprised how many students are unable to graduate in their senior year, where they're in the fall of their senior year and can't get to the spring of their senior year where they would graduate because the gap is there.

So I do always say, "Students don't always drop out, "they stop out, "'cause they don't have the financial resources."

And if it just takes a few bucks to get 'em there, I think people will see that as a win-win for not only feeling good about helping students, but then helping Salukis.

- We've spent a lot of time talking about higher education funding in the state of Illinois, the gaps that have been there in years past and perhaps still remain.

For people who are unfamiliar with how this works now, that you're maybe not working as you're going to school and paying as you go, how often does that gap really become the barrier between finishing a degree and having to go back out and find perhaps a minimum wage job?

- Yeah, great point about the gap and financially speaking.

Our state appropriations and our tuition revenue is what keeps us goin'.

We're very fortunate that the governor in the last session held our state appropriation, not only flat, but he actually inched it up about $3.8 million, so what does that mean?

It helps us do some things with our personnel that we have here.

Obviously, it helped our employees to be able to do an increase in their base salary, so that was really good.

One of the things it does in the last session, and you know this, the money for our MAP grants increased.

That's huge, because we have a lotta students that fit the profile where they can be awarded MAP grants, so that's a big thing that helps them come to SIU Carbondale.

And then, you really have to hunt and go after your own food, eat whatever you, I won't use the word, you know what I'm sayin', but you have to make sure your student tuition revenues are moving in the right direction as well.

And that allows you to be able to help, again, what we're talkin' about today, for students in their persistence and getting them to the finish line, and we can have the kinda staff and support that we need to get 'em there.

So the gap is, essentially for us, comes down to an average of about 2,500 bucks.

If you think of a student, who lives outside of Carbondale that has a need, you're looking at about $2,500 for that student to be able to come here, stay on campus, and have it all worked out.

We've done some creative things with Saluki commitment, where we're trying to help those students, again, that would be eligible for different grants that they don't have to pay back, but the bottom line is, and Loren mentioned this earlier, the student debt, and I think you said it too, the student debt has gone through the roof.

And we hope with programs like this, with galas like this, that we can close the gap without students leaving, trying to start their careers with a mountain of debt that they have to pay off that will hurt them for the rest of their life.

So this is a great way, I think, to really help do our part in making sure we're accessible and affordable.

- An evening, as you said, April 22nd in Chicago, where people can get involved.

People can go to the website, find out more, especially through the SIU Foundation.

What about staying involved?

How often do you want people to have that experience with the university, whether it's a virtual experience, they're sending an email or checking in, or a face-to-face in-person type of event?

- We want 'em to feel connected all the time beyond just the gala, and there's so many ways to do that, whether you do it through the alumni association, whether you do it through our foundation, whether you come to a Saluki basketball game, a football game, wherever you are, that Saluki pride should happen 365 days out of the year.

And so, it's incumbent upon us to, not only have staple events like this that, as I mentioned, it's like a spring Homecoming, but to make sure then when Homecoming comes around the fall, maybe if you're unable to get to this, you can get to that and still stay connected and involved.

Who doesn't wanna be connected to their alma mater?

I mean, that's a great feeling.

We have legacy folks.

You're a perfect example of that, right?

- I am.

- Your daughter is here with us, so those legacy students, when we see 'em show up, we know that their parents have to come back home with 'em, whether it's Parents Weekend or any of our games.

So we want it to be a continuous way to stay connected with our students, so they stay engaged and involved.

- Let's talk a little bit about the ball itself.

What do you expect from it?

What can people expect, if they're just still on the fence about whether or not they wanna go?

- I mean, I think with the ball, one of my favorite things with the ball, that we've done in previous years at other institutions, is we highlight alumni as well as students.

And it kinda brings back to our point earlier, where we talk about students being able to see what they can become, and alumni being able to see what their alma mater is continuing to produce.

So bringing those two together is something that's very valuable to us.

At the beginning of the gala, we always like to give the history of the university and let everyone know where the university is on enrollment, on graduation rates, persistence rates, retention rates, and things like that.

So we can be very transparent and say, "This is where your university, our university is."

We also like to bring world renowned entertainment.

We like to get through the show, as we call it, or the business.

We like to take care of the business on the front side, but we also wanna have a party.

We don't want people to get dressed up and come to Chicago and spend money on a ticket and a table and not have a good time.

So equally as important as raising money is making sure that everyone in attendance has a good time, that you leave there, and we kinda set you off on your summer 'cause it's really like right before commencement, right before summertime, with this great memory of SIU and what's going on.

And then getting you invigorated for the upcoming fall semester, post that summer break.

And so really, it's to come out, see where the university is, but have fun, raise money, showcase our current students, showcase what SIU produces, and then bring the two together.

- This is, of course, a part of the larger Forever SIU Campaign through the SIU Foundation.

For people who are unaware, how does that campaign help students?

What are you hoping that people remember, when it comes to the university is constantly working on ways to make sure those students don't have to stop out.

- Yeah, our SIU Foundation board is, I've never seen anything like it in my 27 years of workin' in higher education.

They call themselves really the accelerator, right, you'll hear Matt Kupec talk about that.

You'll hear foundation board members talk about how can they help the university with things like this, right, to close the financial gaps or to help retain students, to help get students to graduation, to help bridge students through our Summer Bridge Program.

So the list goes on and on and on about how valuable our SIU Foundation is to these efforts, and I think this is just yet another piece that's added to an already successful Forever SIU Campaign that we continue to strive towards.

We're at that half billion dollar amount that we're goin' after, so this is a piece to contribute to the overall success that we wanna have in fundraising, and then friendraising, to reconnect and to make sure that we're all doin' this together.

- You mentioned earlier the fact that SIU is an access university.

Lots of first time college students coming to SIU for their higher education experience.

How important is it for people to know that, to not just be those students themselves, but to be able to say, "This is where I went, "this is where I got that experience that I needed."

- Yeah, just Saturday, as I go through my commencement script, I talk about honoring the veterans that are in the audience, honoring the diversity that's in the audience.

And my last piece on that script is having all the first generation students stand, and you would be surprised, it's probably about 75% of the graduates who are standing are first generation and their families.

And you can hear their families on each side of Banterra goin' crazy.

So just think about how they're goin' to move the needle for their family, their own family, and then their existing family, as a shining example, right, of what an education can do to move you forward and get you into a situation that's better than where you came from.

So again, if we could do events like this, that help those first generation, those students that may be legacy, just the diverse population of students we educate here, all of the above, right, is who this scholarship will help, whether you're White, Black, Brown, you name it, it's helping all folks from all backgrounds succeed in college.

- The Saluki Ball is April 22nd in Chicago.

You can get more information through the SIU Foundation.

Chancellor, Mrs. Lane, thanks for coming in.

- Thank you.

- Thank you, Jennifer.

- We're back on "InFocus," still talking about support for Southern Illinois University and its students, and this time we're talking with the Vice Chancellor for Development and Alumni Relations, Matt Kupec.

Matt, thanks for joining us.

- Jennifer, great to be here, always great.

You do such a wonderful job, and I brag about you guys all the time.

- Well, we appreciate it.

- You reach five states, 5 million people, biggest broadcast studio south of Chicago.

- This is true.

- But anyway, sorry about that, but every time I talk about you guys, I gotta talk about it.

- Appreciate it.

Well, we just heard from Chancellor and Mrs. Lane about this inaugural Saluki ball and the important benefit that it's going to create for students in terms of bridging the gap when they need help.

That's something that the foundation has been focused on since it's inception.

What types of things are you working on?

- Yeah, this is big, and as we just heard from Chancellor and Mrs. Lane, we're gonna introduce this gala, this Saluki Ball.

It's gonna be a wonderful event, put the light on our university up in Chicago.

And we'll talk a little bit about the specifics in a second, but the foundation's primary role is scholarships.

This year, we're gonna give out over $4 million, $4 million worth of scholarships, the most ever in the history of the foundation.

What that means, Jennifer, is one out of eight students will receive a foundation scholarship, 13%, that's pretty cool.

And right now, we're thinking about how do we grow that?

We need to get, should it be 25%, 30%?

So that's important to give out scholarship dollars, but then you wanna give out the right, all scholarships dollars are right, but this particular case of the Saluki Ball is filling that gap.

We look at there's some young people, talented young people, that may have to stop out because of economic reasons.

You know, there's a disparity, and if we can just find the dollars, which this ball will do, we can keep them in school, let them continue on with their dream, and then go on to lead a productive and meaningful life.

So, it's just kind of scholarships, it's kind of like another gear for scholarships, and it's just, it's pretty cool 'cause that's the impact.

When you think about it, one of every eight students here receives a foundation scholarship that makes, that's rewarding.

And we just had a board meeting a little while ago, and everybody feels really good about that.

- People talk a lot about the cost of higher education, and I know administrators at the university are constantly talking about tuition and fees.

How do we continue to make SIU an accessible university but cover the costs of doing business.

The foundation helps keep those costs for the students low.

It also helps support faculty in some of the things that they do, right?

- It certainly does, and you're right, and we need to keep raisin' more dollars.

We will keep that foot to the pedal and to raise those dollars.

At the university, we have not raised tuition in years, and that's a admirable thing.

So the foundation needs to come in to give the resources to the university, some cases, backfill some scholarships that we offer, so there's real money there.

And this does, this does support faculty in a way, but we raise a lot of other monies to support our faculty.

Faculty are the heart and soul of a university.

We can't live without the students and we love 'em, and we wanna keep bringin' more and more back to school here, but the faculty help recruit students.

They help drive the research we do.

This is a global research university.

Our research is, I think I heard our Vice Chancellor for Research spoke earlier today.

We're in the top 8% in research, and for our students to have access to that, so it all works together.

I'm gonna give you a bit, a story that I love about the importance of research.

We have a group called the Student Saluki Investment Fund.

20 something years ago, this is a cool, this is cool.

20 something years ago, the foundation, I gave them some money to invest, as a portfolio manager of our endowments.

That has risen now to $3.5 million.

They're one of our best performing managers, and these are our students.

This is not Monopoly money.

This is real money, that then as we grow it, we're able to give out more scholarships.

It's truly one of, I think, the most spectacular programs, and I've been at some great universities, that I have seen to see our students get this real life experience managing real money that is doing things to help our university.

And then they go on and get jobs, this incredible career placement there.

They just were in a competition, many of those students, who finished 4th in North America, 12th in the world out of about 1,000 schools.

So those are, again, scholarship money is intertwined with all those things right there, and it really makes you feel good about what we do at the foundation.

Our role is to serve as an accelerator.

We don't make SIU, we help to make it better, and scholarships are one of the primary examples of the way we do that.

- A lot of people take a closer look every year at about how they can get more involved, and as we heard from the Chancellor and Mrs. Lane, this year, the Saluki Ball is an opportunity for people to get more involved, to give back to the university.

Tell us a little bit about what people can see and do there and how they can connect with you.

- Yes, we just heard the Chancellor and Ms. Lane talk about, and kudos to them, this is their idea.

They had great success with this we heard when they were at Texas Southern, and Loren Lane is leading the charge.

And again, it's a gala, black tie.

I haven't worn a black tie in about four years.

I'm a little worried whether it's gonna fit or not, so I got a couple of, I've got some time to really get back in shape.

But it's, we're gonna go to the Windy City, and so there's a cool.

We'll have a big gala, and I'm really thrilled to announce, 'cause the performance, the musical performance that night is Brian McKnight.

Brian, for those of you who know, is a 16 time Emmy nominee, R and B, just rock.

He's a rock star, I guess, R and B star, and got the real song, "Back to One."

I won't sing it for everybody, but Chili's just did a commercial with that song, and it's maybe the funniest commercial I've ever seen.

So we're reachin' out to Chili's right now, see if they'll support us for the ball.

So at the gala, we'll have the big events, folks will be dressed up, we'll have a big reception and a beautiful dinner.

We'll honor a couple of alums for Lifetime Achievement Awards, a couple of our great students in terms of what they've done, a short program.

We'll hear from Dr. Lane and Mrs. Lane, then we'll just listen in concert, Brian McKnight in concert for an hour.

And then we got some DJ, not me, I'm not gonna be spinnin' the tunes, but I might be helpin' the DJ out.

But, so it's gonna be a great night that night.

Friday night, April 21st, we're havin' a big alumni gathering at the Ravinia Brewery.

Ravinia, many of you know, has a deal with our Fermentation Science Institute, and we've become great partners with them.

So Friday night, you go out with the Salukis together in the Windy City.

Saturday night is the big gala.

But you know what the fun part is, for folks who live in the Southern Illinois area, we have now worked with Amtrak to have two trains.

We have on Friday morning, we got, there's gonna be a Saluki train goin' up to the Windy City, 70.

Can you imagine travelin' up, how much fun that's gonna be, ridin' up and coming back together early Sunday morning?

So, maybe nobody will sleep that night, but it's, so you, if you live down here, it's a way to get up there together without the hassles of transportation, we're taking care of that.

We have a sponsor, and then you go up, it's gonna be a great, great weekend of activities in the Windy City.

And we'll do it in Chicago, as Dr. Lane just talked about, but then next year, we'll rotate to St. Louis and through Southern Illinois.

But it's, and the Cook County is really important to us in the pipeline of students.

It's our biggest producer of students, so there's a lot goin' on.

We've got presenting sponsors.

We can seat up to 1,000.

It's our first time, we're nervous, but we think we might be at that 1,000 mark.

We think it's gonna be truly one of the great, great events in our university's history, and this is just the start, 'cause we'll do it every year from here on out.

- Little less than a minute remaining.

For people who want more information, they can go to the website.

- [Matt] They can.

- And if they can't for whatever reason get to this, can they also go to the foundation website to learn more about how to get more involved?

- For sure.

It's Saluki Ball, all the information's there, how to sign up.

We've booked hotel rooms.

You can do that right there.

So again, to everybody, if you get a chance, let's come out together, celebrate.

- Matt Kupec is the Vice Chancellor for Development and Alumni Relations at SIU Carbondale.

Thank you so much for joining us.

- Thanks for having me, you do a great job.

- And thank you for joining us on "InFocus."

You can find all of our episodes on our YouTube channel and at watch.wsiu.org.

For all of us here, I'm Jennifer Fuller.

Thanks for joining us.

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