THE
Daily Egyptian SERVING THE SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY COMMUNITY SINCE 1916.
DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2025
VOL. 108, ISSUE 22
SIU secures prestigious R1 status
Mylee Walker mwalker@dailyegyptian.com
SIU Carbondale announced on Feb. 13 that the university has met the requirements to become an R1 university, meaning it meets benchmarks in research activity and expenditures as measured by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The classification measures universities by research expenditures
and research doctorates awarded. While institutions used to be considered in 10 metrics for R1 status, for the 2025 Carnegie Classifications there is now a clear threshold for them to meet. R1 schools are defined by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Higher Education as institutions that typically “spend at least $50 million on research & development and produce at least 70 research doctorates in a year.”
In a December interview with Newsradio WJPF, SIUC Chancellor Austin Lane said that the university was on track to join the other 146 institutions that are classified as an R1 doctoral university. “Being R1 recognizes our commitment to research at the highest level. It puts SIU in elite company,” Lane said. “It makes our programs more attractive to prospective students and increases the
visibility of the incredible work that is already happening at Southern.” Dozens of university officials and supporters gathered at the DunnRichmond Economic Development Center to celebrate the university’s elevation to R1. “It’s a big deal for our faculty. Our faculty are doing amazing research,” Lane said at the event. “It propels our university, it pushes into places that are with the upper echelon
Fandoms collide, communities thrive at Saluki Con 2025
Cosplay contestants sit on stage during a costume contest hosted at Saluki Con Feb. 16, 2025 at SIU Student Center in Carbondale, Illinois. Deangelo Handley | @_deevisuals4 Carly Gist cgist@dailyegyptian.com
Saturday night on Feb. 15, local middle schoolers Catie and Annie Emery met Sean Astin, an actor and filmmaker famously known for his roles in “The Goonies,” “Lord of the Rings” and “Stranger Things,” among others. Astin was in Carbondale Saturday for Saluki Con 2025, an annual pop culture convention held at Southern Illinois University. Although Astin did not appear on the con floor, he spoke to a packed Shryock Auditorium about his
life and career for the “Special Saturday Night Speaker” event. “It’s also kind of cool that he’s in Carbondale, right?” Jennifer Emery asked her daughters. “That Carbondale would bring your hero here? Usually, you have to go to St. Louis or Chicago to see your hero, right? But right here, you got to see somebody you look up to and admire, so that was really cool.” Nervous and shaky, the mega fans said they enjoyed listening to Astin speak at the event beforehand. Astin answered audience questions and
shared words of advice with the crowd, including, “People will root for anyone who shows them their heart.” Jennifer said that Annie, who wants to be an actress and author, cried the entire time. “It was neat to hear everything he had to say, and we learned a lot about him we didn’t know, didn’t we?” she asked. Saluki Con 2025 took place Feb. 15 and 16. As a celebration of science, technology, arts, humanities and comics, the event brought together an array of fans, many of whom mentioned
how welcoming the environment was. Tina Kitchell drove around two hours from Roxana, Illinois to attend the convention. She brought a stuffed animal along — a red ruffed lemur she calls Reggie — which is a tradition she said she started as a joke around five years ago. Since then, she’s been to around 100 comic cons, which she loves because “people don’t judge here,” she said. “I’m 45 years old with a stuffed animal. I mean if people are gonna SALUKI CON | 6
of universities. There are only 187 R1s. think about the thousands of universities that are out there – to have a regional university here in southern Illinois be designated as such is just amazing.” Staff reporter Mylee Walker can be reached at mwalker@dailyegyptian.com or through Instagram @myleewalkerwrites
SIU Hall of Fame coach ‘Itchy’ Jones dies at 87
Lylee Gibbs Ryan Grieser lgibbs@dailyegyptian.com rgrieser@dailyegyptian.com
Former SIU Baseball Hall of Fame coach Richard C. “Itchy” Jones died on Monday, Feb. 17 at age 87. According to a Saluki Athletics press release, Jones coached 39 years at the collegiate level, 21 of those being at his alma mater, Southern Illinois University, where he led the Salukis to five Missouri Valley Conference titles and 10 NCAA tournament appearances. He retired as one of college baseball’s top-20 all-time winningest coaches. Fifteen years after his retirement, Jones ranks 27th in NCAA history with a record of 1,242-752-6. Jones, for whom the SIU baseball stadium is named, was an icon who immortalized the No. 1 during his decades in Carbondale. He presided over the program from 1970 to 1990 and achieved a career record of 738345-5, which is still the program record. Jones coached 18 Salukis to the major leagues and guided the Dawgs to five College World Series appearances. He is the only coach to bring SIU to such an appearance. A celebration of life will be scheduled for a later date according to the press release. Editor-in-Chief Lylee Gibbs can be reached at lgibbs@dailyegyptian.com Sports Consultant Ryan Grieser can be reached at rgrieser@dailyegyptian.com