Student Affairs

The Division of Student Affairs at SIU is committed to supporting the mission of the University by providing purposeful and engaging programs, resources and spaces. The goal is to create a comprehensive experience that supports and challenges all students to achieve their academic goals and realize their personal potential.

Student Affairs professionals facilitate student transition into the campus community, promote student involvement in out-of-classroom learning experiences, assist student organizations, provide leadership training and coordinate a wide range of programs and services designed to foster student learning. Please see our funding priorities below and click the Give Now button above and select the fund you wish to support.

First Saluki Center Fund

The First Saluki Center is a campus-wide collaboration - an initiative developed by the Division of Student Affairs and the Dean of Students, working together with Academic Affairs. We connect SIU’s first-generation students with academic resources, social and emotional support, financial literacy, opportunities to get involved on campus and in the community, and career preparedness assistance.

At SIU Carbondale, 40% of undergraduate students are first generation.

The First Saluki Center offers a variety of resources for first-generation students including:

· Peer Mentor Program: SIU student mentors are Saluki upperclassmen and graduate assistants, who assist and connect first-generation students to resources on- and off-campus, assist with students’ academic preparation, and their social and personal transition to SIU Carbondale. A peer mentor serves as a coach, guide, and a positive role model.

· Living Learning Community: Shared experiences create unique bonds, and first-generation students can enjoy an enhanced experience by becoming part of our first-generation Living Learning Community (LLC). Students build a community with other first-generation students, explore what it means to be a first-generation college student, connect with faculty and staff, and learn about valuable academic and campus resources to help them succeed.

· Life Skills & Academic Workshops: We sponsor a variety of informational workshops throughout the fall and spring semesters for the benefit of first-generation students.

· Need Based Financial Assistance Opportunities: According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 27 percent of first-generation college students come from households with an annual income of $20,000 or less. We realize that

finances can interfere with completing educational goals, so first-generation students will have the opportunity to receive need based financial assistance.

· First Generation Connection: It is a campus-wide collaboration that introduces and connects first-generation students with peers, faculty, and staff who are here to help them succeed.

HEROES (Higher Education Resources and Opportunities for Salukis in Need) Fund

The HEROES program is for SIU students experiencing stress about their meals, financial situation, living situation, access to healthcare, transportation, and/or clothing, personal care, and school necessities. Individual support, guidance, and advocacy are provided to ensure all students' needs are met so they focus on their academic success.

Your support will help us provide clothing, personal care items, school materials, transportation, food, medical care and counseling to Salukis who are trying to invest in their futures while going without.

Saluki Cares Fund

Like so many others, our students are in need. The money raised will go directly to current students, helping them pay their bills, keeping food on their tables and strengthening their bonds to SIU. For example:

· Some students do not have laptops or other technology necessary to take their courses remotely or online.

· The Saluki Food Pantry is supporting a growing number of students who live in the community, including students with families.

· Many students need assistance with housing costs, including those with off-campus jobs that have been suspended.

Your assistance is vital to our ability to respond quickly when they need help the most.

Thank you for considering a gift to the Saluki Cares Emergency Student fund and giving us the tools to remain flexible and fulfill our mission. Your gift today will make a difference.

SIU Food Pantry

The Saluki Food Pantry is a direct response to the need among the student population for more resources to fight food insecurity -- the lack of nutritious food. With rising fees, textbook costs, and living expenses, it has become increasingly difficult for students to juggle the costs of living with the costs of obtaining a university degree, and thus many students are finding themselves choosing between essentials such as food and the costs

of college. The Saluki Food Pantry cares deeply about SIU students experiencing hunger and hold them in the center of all we do. Our goal is to develop and sustain a food pantry on campus to provide food assistance to students in times of need, helping them to stay in school and meet their educational goals.

At SIU we believe that no student should be hungry. So our challenge is obvious: how to move from today, where more than 31% of students on campus need food assistance, to tomorrow in which no student at SIU faces hunger. The Saluki Food Pantry believes that students facing hunger issues can create their own solutions through knowledge. We will provide a means for students to gain skills such as shopping, cooking, budgeting, gardening, nutrition, as well as making students aware of the additional resources available to them on campus and in the community.

Our goal is to reduce hunger today by ensuring no student misses a meal due to lack of resources, ensure students have access to adequate supply of nutritious food, and ensure that students seeking food assistance can find it. We also hope to engage our campus community by increasing awareness of food and hunger issues and building more engaged students and campus leaders. And finally, reconnect Food and Health by promoting good nutrition, contributing to campus wellness, and impacting lifelong eating habits.

Drs. Richardson Greek Leadership Development Endowment Fund

This fund was established by 1969 SIU graduate Robert Richardson and his wife Silvana in early 2025. Robert was a member of Theta Xi Fraternity while at SIU, while Silvana earned her bachelor’s degree at Loyola University. Robert and Silvana returned to SIU to be house parents at the Ta Kappa Epsilon fraternity (TKE) from 1982-85. Silvana also became involved with the Alpha Sigma Alpha Sorority during this time and worked with the SIU chapter in various roles.

Robert and Silvana have fond memories of their time as house parents and in turn, want to ensure future students have similar opportunities for leadership development while experiencing Greek Life at SIU. This fund was established to send more students to the leadership conference each national chapter hosts annually. Your gift will invest in our leaders of tomorrow!

SIU STUDENT LOUNGE
The 4th floor of the SIU Student Center is undergoing a remarkable transformation, driven by student desire! Once the student radio station WIDB, Undergraduate Student Government (USG) embarked on reimagining this space into a vibrant hub for leadership, collaboration, and creativity, all driven by the vision and energy of SIU students themselves. We are looking for donors who believe in this student need to help bring this space to life. This project is dependent upon your financial support to ensure our students have access to an inspiring, functional, and inclusive environment that truly reflects their needs and ambitions.