Welcome Letter from the Dean

Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students,

August 17, 2009

Once again the summer has quickly passed, and I trust everyone is hastily preparing for the fall semester.

This summer has been an eventful one with much activity happening. The Summer Music Theatre season went very well with audiences enjoying the shows immensely. Summer Music Camps, Art camp, Summer Drawing Academy and summer school enrollments were excellent this year, and I thank all the faculty and students who assisted by teaching, designing and performing this summer.

Western was the proud host of the International Horn Symposium in June. Over 700 participants came to WIU from across the globe for a weeklong symposium that was lauded as one of the organization’s best ever symposia. Many of you assisted in this endeavor, but special thanks goes out to Randall Faust for his vision and supervision of the entire operation.

We also have good news on facilities. Memorial Hall renovation continues on schedule. We still anticipate moving into the building late next summer. I thank you again for your patience during this lengthy renovation project. Gov. Quinn has signed the capital bill, and soon we begin finalizing construction documents for our new Performing Arts Center. Please stay tuned for more information in that regard. I am also happy to report that a programming and cost estimate have been completed and presented to the upper administration regarding the building of a new Visual Arts Center. That project will be placed on the list and prioritized for new construction. I will be giving updates on those plans in the near future.

Please make plans to attend our Faculty Recognition Luncheon on September 28, 2009 in the Heritage Room at 11:15 AM. All faculty and staff are invited. At this event we will celebrate with our faculty awardees and review the college’s accomplishments and goals for 2010. Please try to attend, and, as always, latecomers are welcome.

We also have some new faculty and faculty assistants on campus this year. They are Dr. Jiyeon Kang and Dr. Bree McEwan in Communication; Dr. Shawn Vondran, Dr. Douglas Thompson, Ms. Amy Cadle and Dr. Jeffrey Brown in Music; Scot Bouillon in Theatre and Dance; and Robert Brownlow in Art. Please extend a warm Western welcome to them.

This is an exciting time for the college. We owe our accomplishments to each and every one of you. Our college boasts the hardest working faculty, highest level of faculty/student contact hours, and the highest percentages of surveyed student satisfaction. Thank you all for your excellent work and I look forward to another year of adventure, collaboration, and successes.


pkk signature

Paul Kreider
Dean, College of Fine Arts and Communication
Western Illinois University
1 University Circle
Macomb, IL 61455
309.298.1618
PK-Kreider@wiu.edu

If you need this content in an another format, please contact Khaing Saw at KK-Saw@wiu.edu or call 309/298-2619.