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SIU professor, Najjar Abdul-Musawwir, displays a painting of his of a vase in his studio at the Glove Factory on Friday, Feb. 13, 2021 in Carbondale, Ill. As a young adult, Abdul-Musawwir dropped out of high school and was later imprisoned after an armed robbery attempt. While in prison, he had a change of heart after meeting a nearby inmate who encouraged him to self-educate himself “I ended up not being in school and when I got in prison, he [a fellow inmate] made me realize that I couldn’t read...as a result, I read everything I could get my hands on. I read the dictionary several times from front to back, Abdul-Musawwir said. He left prison with his GED and came to SIU to start his undergraduate. Abdul-Musawwir was later offered to teach a class and to this day he is a professor in the School of Art and Design as well as the Department of Africana Studies.

Professor went from prison to prestige through art

By Jared Treece, Staff Photographer
February 25, 2021
Pulliam Hall can be seen Jan. 30, 2017, on the universitys Carbondale campus. (Jacob Wiegand | @jawiegandphoto)

Iron sculptors to craft metal Valentines

By Tyra Wooten
February 10, 2017

SIU’s upcoming events

By Diamond Jones, Daily Egyptian
March 29, 2016
Bidding the Blue Barracks goodbye

Bidding the Blue Barracks goodbye

By Anna Spoerre, @annaspoerre
December 15, 2015
School of Art and Design settling into new home

School of Art and Design settling into new home

By Jonathan Swartz, @JP_Swartz
February 23, 2015
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Serving the Southern Illinois University community since 1916.