Featured Stories
Whitworth Names Senior Avista Executive Jason Thackston as Vice President for Finance & Administration and CFO
SPOKANE, Washington, July 3 -- Whitworth University issued the following news release:
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Whitworth Names Senior Avista Executive Jason Thackston as Vice President for Finance & Administration and CFO
Distinguished regional leader with long-standing community presence and strong university ties to oversee finance and administration
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Whitworth University is pleased to announce longtime Avista executive and Spokane business leader Jason Thackston '92 will join the university as vice president for finance & administration and chief financial officer, effective Jan. 1, 2027.
Thackston's 30-year
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SPOKANE, Washington, July 3 -- Whitworth University issued the following news release:
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Whitworth Names Senior Avista Executive Jason Thackston as Vice President for Finance & Administration and CFO
Distinguished regional leader with long-standing community presence and strong university ties to oversee finance and administration
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Whitworth University is pleased to announce longtime Avista executive and Spokane business leader Jason Thackston '92 will join the university as vice president for finance & administration and chief financial officer, effective Jan. 1, 2027.
Thackston's 30-yeartenure with Avista includes 17 years in executive leadership across finance, operations, strategy and policy. He will retire from Avista at the end of 2026 to begin his new role at Whitworth.
A Whitworth alumnus and current trustee, Thackston is a prominent regional figure whose move from corporate leadership signals a defining moment for the university.
"Jason Thackston embodies the very best of leadership, corporate citizenship and civic contributions," Whitworth President Scott McQuilkin says. "Through his long and deep association with Whitworth, including as chair of the board of trustees, Jason has proven to be a trusted steward of our mission, guiding the institution with wisdom and foresight. In an ever-evolving higher education landscape, his expertise and acumen, and simply the caliber of his personhood, will contribute greatly to how we provide our students with a transformative Whitworth experience."
Thackston's affiliation with Whitworth spans more than three decades. He began his professional career in the university's business office. He joined the Whitworth Board of Trustees in 2011 and has since held several key leadership roles, including board chair (2014-20) and chair of the finance committee.
Thackston has also demonstrated sustained regional leadership through extensive service in nonprofit and civic organizations. He currently serves as immediate past chair of the Association of Washington Business and as chair of the University of Idaho's Energy Executive Course Advisory Board. His board service includes the YMCA of the Inland Northwest, Spokane County United Way, the Health Sciences & Services Authority, and the Independent Colleges of Washington, reflecting a strong commitment to community well-being and regional collaboration.
"In my time serving alongside Jason, I've watched him bring rigorous governance discipline to our most complex financial and strategic challenges while remaining deeply grounded in Whitworth's mission," says Julie Levi, J.D., board of trustees chair. "His move into this role reflects his genuine commitment to stewarding our resources in service of that mission. The university gains an executive who understands not just our numbers, but our calling."
Thackston and his wife, Julie, are both proud alumni of the Class of 1992. In addition, Julie earned her master's in marriage & family therapy at Whitworth in 2018. Two of their five children, Emma '20 and Sam '22, are also alumni. Their son Daniel will attend Whitworth this fall.
"Whitworth has been an important part of my life," Thackston says. "Both Julie and I appreciated the mind-and-heart education we received, and we have seen the transformative impact on our family. I believe strongly in Whitworth's mission and am excited to join such a talented community committed to equipping students to honor God, follow Christ and serve humanity."
Thackston holds a master of business administration from Gonzaga University and completed the Advanced Management Program at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
"At this pivotal moment in the shifting landscape of higher education, I am thrilled to have Jason join the Whitworth community in this new way," McQuilkin says. "He understands who we are and where we are going. His leadership will be instrumental as we thoughtfully continue to align our resources with our mission and invest in the university's future."
Thackston's appointment will follow Vice President & Chief Operations Officer Ken Brown's planned retirement at the end of 2026. Brown has served the university for more than 17 years, including as chief information officer before his current post. With strong and steady leadership, Brown has helped guide the university through significant operational, financial and technological developments, positioning Whitworth well for the future.
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About Whitworth University:
Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private Christian liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian church. The university, which has an enrollment of about 2,500 students, offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
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Original text here: https://news.whitworth.edu/2026/07/whitworth-names-senior-avista-executive.html
University of Notre Dame Law School: Veronica Maska '26 J.D. Wins 2026 Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition
SOUTH BEND, Indiana, July 3 -- The University of Notre Dame Law School posted the following news:
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Veronica Maska '26 J.D. wins 2026 Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition
Author: Arienne Calingo
Notre Dame Law School's Program on Ethics, Compliance & Inclusion has announced the winner of the annual Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition. Recent Notre Dame Law graduate Veronica Maska '26 J.D. was selected as the 2026 winner for her paper, Catholic Clerks in Capital Cases.
Professor Randy Kozel, associate dean for Faculty Development and Academic Affairs and the Fritz Duda
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SOUTH BEND, Indiana, July 3 -- The University of Notre Dame Law School posted the following news:
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Veronica Maska '26 J.D. wins 2026 Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition
Author: Arienne Calingo
Notre Dame Law School's Program on Ethics, Compliance & Inclusion has announced the winner of the annual Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition. Recent Notre Dame Law graduate Veronica Maska '26 J.D. was selected as the 2026 winner for her paper, Catholic Clerks in Capital Cases.
Professor Randy Kozel, associate dean for Faculty Development and Academic Affairs and the Fritz DudaFamily Professor of Law, supervised the competition again this year. Entries were required to be original, unpublished works concerning any issue within the general category of legal ethics.
Maska's paper extends the analysis in now-Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Professor John H. Garvey's famous article, Catholic Judges in Capital Cases, by examining the ethical responsibilities of Catholic law clerks in death penalty cases. She argues that Catholic clerks can generally provide legal advice in such cases in good conscience. Barrett and Garvey conclude that Catholic trial judges should recuse themselves from death penalty cases but that Catholic appellate judges may be justified in hearing them. Maska contends that the ethical posture of law clerks at both the trial and appellate levels closely resembles that of appellate judges under Barrett and Garvey's moral framework.
Hailing from Austin, Texas, Maska is a double Domer who graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2022 with a degree in Business Analytics. During her 1L summer, she interned for Judge Andrew S. Oldham on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She spent her 2L summer at Gibson Dunn as a summer associate.
At Notre Dame Law School, Maska was involved with the Notre Dame Law Review as a senior articles editor, the Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic, and the Notre Dame Federalist Society, and served as president of Jus Vitae.
She earned three Faculty Awards for Excellence and was a member of the Dean's Circle for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 academic years. She was also a recipient of the Patricia O'Hara Scholarship and Leadership Award and the Polking Family Fellowship, a full-tuition fellowship established by Joan and the late Paul Polking, longtime members of the Notre Dame Law School Advisory Council and generous benefactors of the Law School.
Maska will clerk for Judge Amul R. Thapar on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and will then clerk for Judge Andrew S. Oldham on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Established in 1997, the Smith-Doheny Legal Ethics Writing Competition is an annual contest recognizing the best papers on legal ethics written by U.S. and Canadian law students. Maska will receive a cash prize for her winning entry.
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Original text here: https://law.nd.edu/news-events/news/veronica-maska-26-j-d-wins-2026-smith-doheny-legal-ethics-writing-competition/
University of Iowa College of Law: Darrow/Baldus College Brings Capital Defense Advocates to Iowa Law
IOWA CITY, Iowa, July 3 -- The University of Iowa College of Law issued the following news:
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Darrow/Baldus College brings capital defense advocates to Iowa Law
The annual training program combines hands-on case preparation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and specialized instruction on intellectual disability in capital cases.
Written by: Blake Etringer
The Clarence Darrow/David Baldus Death Penalty College returned to the University of Iowa College of Law to host its annual training program for capital defense attorneys, capital investigators, mitigation specialists, and law students.
Participants
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IOWA CITY, Iowa, July 3 -- The University of Iowa College of Law issued the following news:
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Darrow/Baldus College brings capital defense advocates to Iowa Law
The annual training program combines hands-on case preparation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and specialized instruction on intellectual disability in capital cases.
Written by: Blake Etringer
The Clarence Darrow/David Baldus Death Penalty College returned to the University of Iowa College of Law to host its annual training program for capital defense attorneys, capital investigators, mitigation specialists, and law students.
Participantsspend the week working on their own pending cases while learning from some of the nation's most respected capital defense trainers. Each day brings various learning activities, including small-group discussions, lectures, and strategy demonstrations focused on both the guilt/innocence and penalty phases of capital cases.
For practicing attorneys and mitigation specialists like Mary Kay Poirier, a mitigation specialist based in Kansas City, the training provides practical tools and opportunities for collaboration.
"The 'Art of Negotiation' plenary demonstrated the need for a collaborative negotiation process that includes mitigation specialists as key members of the defense team," she said. "Their insights can provide essential mitigating evidence that strengthens plea negotiations, sentencing advocacy, and overall case strategy in death penalty cases."
The program also featured specialized training on intellectual disability in capital cases through the conference's Intellectual Disability Track, which focuses on ensuring clients with intellectual disabilities are properly identified, understood, and represented. Participants learned about common intellectual disability misconceptions and strategies for ethical client advocacy.
Many participants, including Payam Fakharara, a public defender from San Diego, found the Intellectual Disability training especially informative and useful for their practices going forward.
"I learned so much about the common misconceptions of intellectual disabilities," he said. "Going forward, I plan to widen the scope of what I consider while working with clients, like the impact of neurotoxins and other environmental factors."
Juliet Yackel, an attorney and capital mitigation specialist who founded the Intellectual Disability conference that merged with the Darrow/Baldus program five years ago, said she was encouraged by the next generation of advocates participating in the training.
"I learned there is hope for the future of public defense," she said. "This week I met a group of talented young professionals ready to serve the next generation of clients."
A recurring theme among student participants was the importance of understanding the person behind the case. For Iowa Law 3L Cathleen Manivong, one of the program's most significant lessons was learning to shift the focus from "what" to "who."
"Rather than centering conversations solely on the crime, legal issues, or available defenses, it is equally important to understand the individual behind the case--their childhood experiences, personal history, and the trauma that has shaped their life," she said.
2L Megan Soria said the program strengthened her commitment to becoming a public defender.
"Seeing attorneys who have a lot of empathy for their clients and wanting to get the best result for them has inspired me to want to be a fearless advocate," she said.
The program, organized annually by Professor Emily Hughes, is held in honor of the late Professor David Baldus, whose groundbreaking capital punishment research significantly impacted the death penalty defense community and the legal profession as a whole. Through hands-on training, interdisciplinary collaboration, and a commitment to understanding every client's story, the Darrow/Baldus College continues to advance excellence in capital defense representation nationwide.
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Original text here: https://law.uiowa.edu/news/2026/07/darrow-baldus-college-capital-defense-iowa-law
University of Hertfordshire Helps Unlock the Universe's Faintest Secrets as Landmark Cosmic Survey Begins
HATFIELD, England, July 3 -- The University of Hertfordshire issued the following news:
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University of Hertfordshire helps unlock the universe's faintest secrets as landmark cosmic survey begins
A new chapter in astronomy has begun with the launch of one of the most ambitious scientific projects ever undertaken - and researchers at the University of Hertfordshire are playing a pivotal role.
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile has officially begun its Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), a ten-year mission that will create the most detailed, high-definition time-lapse record of the
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HATFIELD, England, July 3 -- The University of Hertfordshire issued the following news:
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University of Hertfordshire helps unlock the universe's faintest secrets as landmark cosmic survey begins
A new chapter in astronomy has begun with the launch of one of the most ambitious scientific projects ever undertaken - and researchers at the University of Hertfordshire are playing a pivotal role.
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile has officially begun its Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), a ten-year mission that will create the most detailed, high-definition time-lapse record of thesouthern sky ever produced.
Every few nights, the observatory will capture vast swathes of the night sky using the world's largest digital camera, collecting an extraordinary volume of data that will help scientists answer some of astronomy's biggest questions.
By the end of the survey, Rubin is expected to catalogue around 20 billion galaxies, 17 billion stars and millions of changing cosmic events, creating an unparalleled resource for researchers around the world. Scientists hope the data will improve our understanding of everything from the formation of galaxies to the nature of dark matter and dark energy.
The UK is a major international partner in the project through the LSST:UK Consortium, funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). Bringing together 36 institutions, the consortium has spent more than a decade preparing the software, computing infrastructure and scientific tools needed to maximise the observatory's discoveries.
Among those leading this work is Professor Sugata Kaviraj, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Hertfordshire and co-Chair of the Rubin-LSST Galaxies Science Collaboration.
Professor Kaviraj and colleagues at the University of Hertfordshire, working with Liverpool John Moores University, have developed software that allows astronomers to detect and analyse some of the faintest structures in the universe. These extremely dim regions, known as the low surface brightness (LSB) regime, have largely escaped previous surveys because they are so difficult to observe.
Professor Kaviraj says:
"Our innovation enables Rubin's data-processing pipeline to identify, process and catalogue these faint objects, significantly expanding the scientific potential of the survey.
"By enabling access to the low surface brightness regime, we have significantly boosted the scientific potential of the LSST. Much of the material that tells us how galaxies and galaxy clusters grow and evolve exists in these faint regions that have barely been explored by past surveys."
The software developed by the Hertfordshire team will allow researchers worldwide to study how galaxies assemble over billions of years, opening up entirely new avenues of research into the evolution of the observable universe.
The University's contribution forms part of a much wider UK effort. Researchers across the country have developed tools to combine Rubin's observations with infrared surveys, identify previously unknown celestial objects and process the enormous flow of information that the observatory will generate. During its lifetime, the survey is expected to produce up to 500 petabytes of data, with UK facilities processing around a quarter of the entire dataset.
Professor Kaviraj's work reflects the University of Hertfordshire's growing international reputation for research in astronomy, data science and machine learning. By combining advanced computational techniques with cutting-edge astrophysics, Herts' researchers are helping to ensure that one of the world's most powerful telescopes can reveal parts of the cosmos that have remained hidden until now.
As the Rubin Observatory begins its decade-long exploration of the southern sky, the discoveries it makes will shape astronomy for generations. The expertise of Professor Kaviraj and his colleagues means the University of Hertfordshire will be at the forefront of those discoveries, helping scientists uncover a richer, more complete picture of how our universe has evolved over billions of years.
Read more about studying astrophysics at Herts (https://www.herts.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate-masters/msc-astrophysics#Astrophysics).
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Original text here: https://www.herts.ac.uk/about-us/news-and-events/news/2026/university-of-hertfordshire-helps-unlock-the-universes-faintest-secrets-as-landmark-cosmic-survey-begins
UMass Chan Research Shows Exciting Step Forward in Innate Immune Stimulation and Vaccine Platform Development
WORCESTER, Massachusetts, July 3 (TNSjou) -- The University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School issued the following news:
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UMass Chan research shows exciting step forward in innate immune stimulation and vaccine platform development
By Jim Fessenden
Research by Katherine A. Fitzgerald, PhD, the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research Chair III, professor and executive vice chair of medicine, vice provost for basic science research and chief of the division of innate immunity, in collaboration with Elicio Therapeutics, Inc., shows potential for increasing vaccine efficacy. The findings,
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WORCESTER, Massachusetts, July 3 (TNSjou) -- The University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School issued the following news:
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UMass Chan research shows exciting step forward in innate immune stimulation and vaccine platform development
By Jim Fessenden
Research by Katherine A. Fitzgerald, PhD, the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research Chair III, professor and executive vice chair of medicine, vice provost for basic science research and chief of the division of innate immunity, in collaboration with Elicio Therapeutics, Inc., shows potential for increasing vaccine efficacy. The findings,published in Science Advances, have the potential to transform otherwise weak vaccine adjuvants into powerful innate immune system stimulators, opening new avenues for treatment of infections and cancer. Through their research, UMass Chan scientists have discovered how a novel vaccine platform using amphiphile (AMP) modified DNA adjuvants that target the lymph nodes stimulate the innate immune system to generate a potent T-cell response.
"AMP modified DNA adjuvants represent an exciting step forward in innate immune stimulation and vaccine platform development," said Dr. Fitzgerald. "These adjuvants generate a potent immune response by engaging inflammatory pathways that are crucial for vaccine efficacy. By making the immune system recognize the vaccine better, the platform can potentially increase effectiveness, allow for smaller dosage sizes and a lower number of shots required."
Adjuvants, pharmacological additives formulated to boost and shape the body's immune response or deliver antigens, are present in almost all vaccines. They make vaccines more effective and longer lasting by enhancing the immune system's ability to recognize pathogenic antigens. However, these adjuncts, the most common of which are aluminum salts, often are unable to elicit the long-term immunity or strong cellular immune response necessary for protection against pathogens such as malaria, tuberculosis and other viruses, because they diffuse away before reaching the immune system's command centers.
Experiments by Wei Zhan, a PhD student in the Fitzgerald lab, showed that the AMP modified adjuvants were jumpstarting the innate immune system by stimulating the TANK-binding kinase TBK1. This danger-sensing pathway generated strong innate immune responses which in turn promote robust adaptive immunity and long-term immune response memory with potent recall potential by driving robust production of interferon type-I, the body's early-warning system against pathogens. Interferon production then stimulates antiviral defenses in nearby healthy cells - in this case production of CD8 and CD4 T-cells.
"This study highlights our ability to precisely direct immune activation to the lymph nodes and unlock powerful, durable T cell responses through novel mechanisms, such as TBK1 and type I interferon (IFN-I) signaling. We believe these new AMP-DNA immuno-activators represent a meaningful step toward expanding the AMP toolkit of next-generation immunotherapies across oncology and infectious disease," said Peter DeMuth, PhD, chief scientific officer of Elicio.
Elicio provided the AMP modified reagents to the Fitzgerald lab. The funding for the pilot study came from the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research Chair III. Data generated from this work will be used to apply for grant funding to further investigate the underlying mechanisms driving the innate immune response to these adjuvants.
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Original text here: https://www.umassmed.edu/news/articles/2026/07/umass-chan-research-shows-exciting-step-forward-in-innate-immune-stimulation-and-vaccine-platform-development/
Ritsumeikan University Has Been Ranked 683rd Overall in the QS World University Rankings
KYOTO, Japan, July 3 -- Ritsumeikan University issued the following news:
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Ritsumeikan University has been ranked 683rd overall in the QS World University Rankings
Quacquarelli Symonds Rankings
The British university assessment institution Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) began independently publishing university rankings in 2010. It is considered one of the three major rankings, and compared to other rankings focuses on academic reputation (evaluations by academics of the best quality of research being produced at universities in their specific subjects) and employer reputation (evaluations
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KYOTO, Japan, July 3 -- Ritsumeikan University issued the following news:
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Ritsumeikan University has been ranked 683rd overall in the QS World University Rankings
Quacquarelli Symonds Rankings
The British university assessment institution Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) began independently publishing university rankings in 2010. It is considered one of the three major rankings, and compared to other rankings focuses on academic reputation (evaluations by academics of the best quality of research being produced at universities in their specific subjects) and employer reputation (evaluationsby employers of the best quality of graduates produced). In addition, in order to receive high evaluation scores from international researchers and to rank in the top, universities must be globally recognized and must conduct world-class research. QS Rankings include World University Rankings and Asia University Rankings, as well as QS World University Rankings by Subject and QS Graduate Employability Rankings.
QS World University Rankings(R)
Ritsumeikan University has been ranked 683rd in the QS World University Rankings(R) published in June 2026. Among Japanese private universities in the Ranking, Ritsumeikan University has been placed third. In terms of the ranking by evaluation indicator, the "Employer Reputation" is the most highly rated evaluation indicator for the University, ranked 178th in the world (12th in Japan), followed by "Sustainability" at 446th in the world (13th in Japan) and "Academic Reputation" at 438th in the world (14th in Japan). The University has been evaluated higher in these three indicators than in the other indicators.
QS Asia University Rankings
Ritsumeikan University ranked 139th in the QS Asia University Rankings published in November 2025.
The University is evaluated quite highly, placed at the top among private universities in western Japan and 3rd in those in Japan nationwide. The QS World University Rankings and the QS Asia University Rankings have different criteria and weightings. In the Asia University Rankings, Ritsumeikan University obtains higher evaluation than in the World University Ranking due to the increased weighting of "Employer Reputation", in which the University demonstrates its strengths, as well as the additional indicator "Proportion of Outbound Exchange Students".
QS World University Rankings by Subject
Ritsumeikan University has been ranked for two broad subject areas and ten narrow subjects in the QS World University Rankings by Subject published in March 2026. 1,908 universities worldwide have been scrutinized across 55 narrow subjects in five broad subject areas for the ranking. Universities must demonstrate outstanding research outcomes and reputation in each subject to be placed in the ranking; therefore, earning a position in the ranking even for one subject is not easy. The number of narrow subjects for which Ritsumeikan University has been ranked is ten, which is the third highest among Japanese private universities.
In addition, three narrow subjects have been ranked in the top 200 globally, including "Classics & Ancient History," which has been ranked in the top 50.
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Original text here: https://en.ritsumei.ac.jp/rankings/qs/#sekai_ranking
Five Join SIU Alumni Association Board of Directors
CARBONDALE, Illinois, July 3 -- Southern Illinois University issued the following news release:
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Five join SIU Alumni Association board of directors
The SIU Alumni Association has selected five alumni -- with diverse backgrounds and experiences -- to join the organization's board of directors and serve a two-year term beginning July 1.
Robert W. Best '94, Andrew J. Krause '92, Jennifer Polk '03, Sean J. Smith '00 and Jonathan A. Tallman '98 were ratified by the board at its spring meeting in May from a national candidate pool of about 50 applicants. The new appointees will undergo board
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CARBONDALE, Illinois, July 3 -- Southern Illinois University issued the following news release:
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Five join SIU Alumni Association board of directors
The SIU Alumni Association has selected five alumni -- with diverse backgrounds and experiences -- to join the organization's board of directors and serve a two-year term beginning July 1.
Robert W. Best '94, Andrew J. Krause '92, Jennifer Polk '03, Sean J. Smith '00 and Jonathan A. Tallman '98 were ratified by the board at its spring meeting in May from a national candidate pool of about 50 applicants. The new appointees will undergo boardorientation and begin serving their term. They join as Laura Soucy, a 1987 graduate, begins her term as president of the board, succeeding Scott Moller '85.
"We're proud to have such an amazing group of alumni joining us, and I'm excited to work with them over the next couple of years," Soucy said. "These alums stood out among a very strong slate of other Salukis who volunteered to serve on the board. We're looking forward to what they will bring to the table."
Molly Hudgins, executive director of the SIU Alumni Association, also lauded those selected for the board and thanked everyone who applied.
"I'm never disappointed with the response when we ask Salukis to step up and serve their alma mater," Hudgins said. "We had a great selection of candidates, and I want to thank everyone who applied. We've chosen people with a diverse set of skills and ideas equipped to carry the Association forward."
New members to the SIU Alumni Association National Board of Directors are:
* Robert W. Best '94
Best, a certified financial planner, is a senior vice president with Morgan Stanley and a partner in the Kelley/Best Group of Morgan Stanley in Indianapolis. He has been recognized as one of the Best-in-State Wealth Management Advisors by Forbes Magazine for Indiana and advises on over $600 million in client assets, including nonprofit organizations. Best earned a U.S. Army commission through the Saluki ROTC Battalion. He spent several years on active duty before pursuing his civilian career in financial services. Best remains engaged with SIU through his alumni association membership, the Sigma Phi Epsilon, Illinois Kappa Chapter Fraternity alumni group, and participation in events, including Homecoming and regional Saluki gatherings. Best and his wife, Missie,'95, reside in Zionsville, Indiana.
* Andrew J. Krause '92
Krause is the president of PRSA Chicago and is a Chicago-based communications and public relations professional with an entrepreneurial background in marketing, promotions, and stakeholder engagement. A former student leader in SIU's Public Relations Student Society of America chapter, Krause remains actively involved with the university through alumni events, student speaking engagements, and mentorship of Saluki interns and early-career professionals. Krause resides in Chicago.
* Jennifer Polk '03
Polk is a business and marketing executive who serves as a managing vice president in Gartner's Marketing and Communication Practice, where she leads analysts delivering strategic insights to chief marketing officers. A former chief marketing and digital experience officer at Feeding America, Polk brings more than two decades of leadership experience spanning marketing, digital strategy, and organizational transformation. She is a proud alumna of Southern Illinois University Carbondale's College of Business and Analytics and has remained connected to SIU through mentorship and service. Polk is also a wife, proud mother of three, and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She lives in Aurora, Illinois.
* Sean J. Smith '00
Smith's connection to SIU began in 1996 when he arrived on campus as a 16-year-old freshman from Abilene, Texas. As the son of a military parent, he spent much of his youth moving between states before finding a sense of belonging in Carbondale. While earning his Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice in 2000, Smith became a campus leader, serving in Undergraduate Student Government and as president of both the Black Affairs Council and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Smith serves as assistant principal at Thornridge High School in Dolton, Illinois. His career has included leadership roles with Chicago Public Schools and as principal of Vivian E. Summers Preparatory School. He holds three graduate degrees and is pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership. A dedicated alumnus, Smith founded the Chicagoland "Dinner with Salukis" series, strengthening alumni connections and supporting Saluki-owned businesses. Smith lives in Chicago.
* Jonathan A. Tallman '98
Tallman is the superintendent of Red Bud Community Unit School District 132, a role he has held for 14 years, leading district operations, finance, personnel, and strategic planning. A proud SIU alumnus and former Saluki football player, Tallman has remained engaged with the university through service on the SIU Alumni Association's College Council, representing the School of Education. Tallman lives in Red Bud.
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Original text here: https://news.siu.edu/2026/07/070226-five-join-siu-alumni-association-board-of-directors.php
