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1HZ DYLDWLRQ DQG DXWRPRWLYH IDFLOLW\ RSHQV IRU FODVVHV /$85(1 '81&$1 'DLO\ (J\SWLDQ Students crowded maps of the new 228,000 square foot Transportation Education Center Monday as they searched for classroom locations the first day of the semester. Finishing touches are being made to the new TEC facility, which has been under construction since 2010 and a goal for transportation program leaders since the ‘90s. Located at Southern Illinois Airport, the center will house the University’s automotive programs, which were formerly held on the 60-year-old Carterville campus. It will also serve the aviation technology and aviation management and flight programs. About 660 students started class this week at the center, said David NewMyer, chair of the aviation management and flight program. “It will be great once everybody gets over the being-lost part and gets to the point of what the building can do for them,� he said. The project was originally expected to cost $52 million to build, NewMyer said, but it cost $43 million because of low bids from construction companies from the recession. Because the entire project was funded through state capital development funds, the $9 million difference will be put into equipment. “With that money we’re going to get some good stuff,� NewMyer said. The center will replace the use of six buildings from the Carterville campus and two buildings at the airport. “A lot of people think we’re abandoning everything on the airport,� he said. “That’s not true.� Of the six buildings SIU uses on the airport campus, two will be abandoned. A few features of the 185,000 square foot main building are a library, flight simulators, three automotive technology labs, classrooms, training labs to simulate an airport tower, a large space for conference room or events, and faculty and staff offices. Flight simulators, which cost about $250,000 when fully assembled, will also help save money

LYNNETTE OOSTMEYER | DAILY EGYPTIAN

Mike Burgener, chair of aviation technologies, examines a turbo jet test cell Monday at the new Transportation Education Center at Southern Illinois Airport. The building replaces the 60-year-old facilities located in Carterville. The tentative date for the grand opening of the 228,000 square foot complex is Oct. 26. by cutting gas expenses. The simulators will display the southern Illinois and St. Louis area so students can get the chance to use the machines before they navigate the skies in flight. “It’s a big step up for us,� NewMyer said. “We don’t do anything like that now.� Aviation opportunities

In addition to the flight simulation center is what NewMyer called the hub for the flight program — the weather dispatch center. Student workers at the center’s desk give students their keys, fuel cards and information to check them into flights through a computer system as well as monitor area weather reports. Much of the process was previously done through physical paperwork, NewMyer said.

“We have a hangar full of charts,� he said. David Bias, a senior from Chicago studying aviation flight and management, was available to students Monday at weather dispatch. “It’s almost like an airport terminal,� he said. “It will show you who is on the schedule, what time they’re flying, what’s their destination.� Please see TEC | 3

(PSOR\HHV TXHVWLRQ YHKLFOH UHORFDWLRQ 3URJUDP PDWFKHV QHZ 5,/(< 6:,1)25' 'DLO\ (J\SWLDQ A recent decision to move university-owned vehicles from Lincoln Drive to a parking lot on the campus’ west edge has upset some university program employees. Forty-two parking spots were opened up after Chancellor Rita Cheng made the decision to move some university vehicles to a different parking lot. Some members of Project 12-Ways, a program through the university’s Rehabilitation Institute that helps children in the community with special needs, are concerned the move was not the best decision. Project 12-Ways is a program involved with the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services and employs students who work with families to treat problems that compromise children’s welfare, according to the program’s website. Nancy Peck, who works for Project

12-Ways, said the decision to move the vehicles came at a meeting earlier this year between Cheng and university administrators. Peck said it was announced that everyone who uses a university car parked along Lincoln Drive would have to move them to the law school parking lot. Peck said her department heard Cheng thought the cars were an eyesore and ugly. She said employees in her department think the decision to move the vehicles was made because Lincoln Drive is where the tours for parents and prospective students are held, and Cheng didn’t want the vehicles visible there. However, Cheng said the decision was made to create more parking spaces. She said moving the service vehicles out of red and blue decal parking spots freed up 42 spaces. “There’s no reason why service vehicles should be parked in prime spots,� Cheng said. “We have to put our students and faculty first. We had

heard throughout the spring semester from students and staff that they were having difficulty finding places to park. Those 42 parking spaces are going to be really important.� While the change may help some students and staff find a place to park, Peck, who filed a safety complaint, said it has only made life more difficult for Project 12-Ways. She said the move to a parking lot far from the program’s offices presents safety issues to the students who use the vehicles for their jobs. “The students that work for this program were really upset,� Peck said. “They are the ones that have to go to this dark parking lot at night, and they are the ones that are scared. They are being made vulnerable.� Kristy Shannon, a graduate student in behavior analysis and therapy and Project 12-ways employee, is among the students affected by the move. Please see PARKING | 3

VWXGHQWV ZLWK PHQWRU 7$, &2; 'DLO\ (J\SWLDQ In addition to meeting many new professors, classmates and roommates at SIU, new students can get to know their mentors. The new Saluki Peer Mentor program is an initiative meant to welcome new students to campus, said Phillip Campbell, coordinator of the Saluki Peers Program. Through the program, all new students are assigned a mentor. While there was previously a mentor program in place at SIU, Campbell said it only catered to certain groups and academic success programs. He said the Saluki Peer Mentor program has expanded that initiative by pairing new students and mentors with similar interests and backgrounds. Freshmen and new transfer

students with 26 or fewer credit hours are each assigned a mentor and required to complete the University College 101 course, Campbell said. Mentors are required to attend the University College 101 course, too, and have constant communication with the instructor, Campbell said. There are 125 mentors in the program, all from different races and backgrounds in order to meet the diversity of all new students, he said. There are also non-traditional mentors for students who are new to the university but have children, full-time jobs or are former-but-returning students. The program’s goals are to give new students a role model and provide them with information about getting around campus, extracurricular activities and tips to help complete their first year at the university, Campbell said. Please see MENTOR | 4

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