Have you ever wondered who oversees the Student Center or Touch of Nature? Have you ever been confused by the long titles you see for members of university administration, often prefixed by the word “interim”?

If that sounds like you, we have your back — below is a list of the people who make decisions at SIU on everything from academics and the school’s budget to community outreach and alumni relations.

Advertisement

System President

Randy Dunn oversees all three SIU campuses — Carbondale, Edwardsville and the School of Medicine in Springfield. Before being appointed to his current position in 2014, Dunn was president of Murray State University in Kentucky and Youngstown State University in Ohio. He first came to SIU in 1995 as an associate professor in the Department of Educational Administration and Higher Education. In his current role, Dunn is the head of the entire SIU system and provides input to the Board of Trustees and each campus chancellor. He often provides long-range strategic plans for the university system.

Chancellor

Carlo Montemagno was appointed chancellor by the Board of Trustees in July. He previously was a professor of engineering at the University of Alberta in Canada and founded the university’s interdisciplinary Ingenuity Lab. As chancellor, Montemagno is essentially the chief executive officer of SIU’s Carbondale campus. All the university’s day-to-day operations fall to the chancellor, everything from budget oversight and employee relations to campus buildings and regional economic development.

Acting Interim Provosts & Vice Chancellors for Academic Affairs

Lizette Chevalier and David DiLalla were appointed by the Board of Trustees to take over for interim Provost Susan Ford after her retirement in June. Previously, DiLalla served as SIU’s associate provost for academic administration and Chevalier as associate provost for academic programs. As the acting interim provosts, these two will be the chief academic officers of the university. The provost reports to the chancellor and collaborates to set academic priorities for the campus and allocate funds to carry these priorities forward. Other provost responsibilities include student retention, faculty hiring, promotion and tenure, community outreach and general student support.

Advertisement*

Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance

This position was left vacant after the spring 2017 retirement of Kevin Bame, but in July the Board of Trustees appointed Judith Marshall as the Executive Director of Administration and Finance for the university, and she will oversee the Office of the Vice Chancellor of Administration and Finance. This office provides administrative oversight for the campus via subunits such as University Accounting, the Budget Office, the Department of Public Safety, Plant and Service Operations and Human Resources and Payroll.

Vice Chancellor for Development and Alumni Relations

In this role, Jim Salmo is the chief executive officer of the SIU Foundation, the university’s fundraising arm. Salmo took up this position in 2012 after serving as director of the Rhode Island College Foundation for two years. Salmo and the SIU Alumni Association work to engage alumni with the university through events, philanthropy and “facilitating opportunities for students and alumni to connect professionally,” according to the Alumni Association’s website.

Interim Vice Chancellor for Research

James Garvey, a professor of zoology and director of the Center for Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences, was appointed to this position on an interim basis in 2013. His role entails guiding university initiatives related to research, scholarship, creative activity and technology transfer. The office has several subunits, including the Center for Ecology, the Advanced Coal and Energy, the Neuroscience Research Center, and the Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory.

Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

In 2015, Lori Stettler, the former assistant vice chancellor for auxiliary services, took over this position. The university had eliminated this office in 2011, but Stettler was chosen to “revive” the office, according to the university press release announcing her appointment. Stettler oversees student life and student services for the campus, including University Housing, the Student Center, the Recreation Center, Student Health Services and Touch of Nature.

Interim Associate Chancellor for Diversity

Chosen to fill this role during the fall 2016 semester, a major task for Elizabeth Lewin is working with the recently established Diversity Council to develop strategies to make academic and administrative units more inclusive. She also reaches out campus-wide to consult with and train campus units on cultural and professional competency and inclusion and diversity in the classroom.

In November 2016, Dunn said once a permanent chancellor was selected the work would begin to fill the interim administrative positions seen here. Keep up-to-date on SIU’s leaders by checking the Daily Egyptian for developments.

For more information on campus administration, check http://siu.edu/about-siu/leadership.php.

Campus editor Marnie Leonard can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @marsuzleo.

To stay up to date with all your southern Illinois news, follow the Daily Egyptian on Facebook and Twitter.

Advertisement