The School of Journalism and Advertising at Southern Illinois University has a new name. 

On Tuesday, Sept. 9, the school was honored with the namesake of Charlotte Thompson Suhler, making it the first school on the SIU campus to be named after a woman, while also making it the first school within the College of Arts and Media to be named after an alumni.

SIU’s communications building was jam-packed with journalism students, faculty and alumni—the past generations and the next—all gathered in the lobby of the building to celebrate this occasion alongside Suhler’s friends and family.

SIU System President, Daniel F. Mahony chose one word to describe Suhler; “impact.” 

Suhler attended SIU from 1961 to 1965, many years before the advent of digital media. She worked with the Daily Egyptian during her time at SIU, which remains one of the only printed school newspapers in Illinois, and Suhler said that is very important to her.

“I’m a huge advocate for local newspapers,” she said. “People don’t know the amount of information they lose on a weekly and daily basis if they lose physical news.”

Suhler went on to work on the SIU Foundation board and founded the Fund For Women and Girls, a non-profit organization on the East Coast that helps women wherever they might be. 

In her career, she’s worked with the likes of Gloria Steinem and Tom Wolfe. She helped connect Steinem to Betty Harris, a publisher in the industry, which allowed Steinem to publish Ms. Magazine. 

“At a time when journalism is having a tough time being trusted, she’s like the cavalry coming in and having our backs,” said SoJA Director Jan Thompson. “The fact that someone wants to put their name on the School of Journalism and Advertising sheds a very positive light.” 

Suhler was greeted initially at noon in the Hall of Presidents, where she and her family shared a meal with the likes of Thompson and Lisa Knight, the SIU Foundation’s director of development for the College of Arts and Media. 

When Suhler was first approached about the idea of the school being named after her by Knight, “At first, she was kind of like, ‘what? Me? No,’ but eventually came around to the idea.” Knight said.

Suhler was “overwhelmed by the reception” at the ceremony on Tuesday, and came close to shedding tears during her speech. She spoke about how there are people who accomplished so much more than her that could’ve been here instead.

Knight spoke about Suhler’s willingness to give something like her name to the school,  “It’s just something we are so excited to see when an alum is so ready to get that engaged. And it just makes us ready to go out and keep doing this… it’s just incredible to see the circle of life here,” 

“I think she underestimates what she’s done and the impact that she’s made,” Knight said. “I’m so glad to see her family and friends come out and support. She’s left such a legacy. I just, I’m really excited to see how charismatic she is. The people, everyone else, can see that and see how she comes across as such a humble individual.”

When asked about what advice she wanted to leave with aspiring journalists, Suhler said, “I want schools to teach the difference between learning something and questioning it. You have to be as objective as possible. You have to be calm, clear and decisive. Don’t be hesitant to say what you know is right and wrong.”

Suhler is also the namesake for an Advertising Award to help female CAM students going into their junior and senior years. She was able to meet some of the recipients of this award at the ceremony on Tuesday. 

“I don’t normally get teary but… hearing the stories… it was special to know I made a difference in someone’s life,” she said.

Staff reporter Orion Wolf can be reached @[email protected] 

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