A day has been dedicated to interim Chancellor Paul Sarvela, who died Sunday at Memorial Hospital of Carbondale.

“Therefore, I, Pat Quinn, governor of the state of Illinois, do herby proclaim Nov. 14, 2014 as Dr. Paul Sarvela in Illinois in recognition of the contributions he made to SIU and the people of the Land of Lincoln,” Quinn wrote in a proclamation Thursday.

“Dad, this is officially Your Day,” Sarvela’s daughter Kristin wrote in a Facebook status Friday, which received more than 195 likes.

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Amber Holt, @ambercholewa, tweeted saying Sarvela’s wife Debbie received a letter from Quinn on Friday informing her of the news.

“His daughter just announced it on Facebook, and his wife announced it at church during the service,” Holt tweeted.

Sarvela earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1981, a master’s degree in educational psychology in 1983 and a doctorate of philosophy degree in health education in 1984. He and his colleagues received more than $4 million in grants and contracts for SIU and regional and state agencies, according to his obituary.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Luke Nozicka can be reached online at [email protected] or on Twitter @lukenozicka.