History
During the 2023-2024 school year, Provost Denise Cobb shared her early ideas with faculty and staff for creating thematic pathways that would foster connections across student coursework and co-curricular activities by giving students the option of a problem or idea to explore. Provost Cobb described Changemakers as a way to highlight the very best SIUE has to offer and address challenges our institution faces in the current higher education landscape, including:
- Skepticism about the value of a college degree
- The “enrollment cliff” or reduced number of college-aged students which increases enrollment competition between institutions
- Scarcity of financial and human resources to conduct the work of the institution
- Widening equity and student success gaps
Then in April 2024, Provost Cobb solicited volunteers from faculty and staff to participate in a full day working session to bring Changemakers to fruition. The invaluable insights, perspectives, and expertise of SIUE faculty, staff, and administrators along with Provost Cobb’s vision for inclusive excellence, gave rise to the Changemakers initiative which is an innovative enhancement to the SIUE general education program.
In Fall 2024, Jessica DeSpain, Faculty in English and Director of the Community-Oriented Digital Engagement Scholars Program returned to the Spring volunteers to organize a new set of working groups to finalize planning and implementation Changemakers by Fall 2025.
The working group chairs met bi-weekly throughout the 2024-2025 school year and met with their working groups in the off weeks. The committees working to research and
implement the pathways included:
- Pathway Topics, led by Pamela Williams, Instructional Designer, Active Fall 2024
- First-Semester Transition, led by Matthew Schunke, Faculty in Philosophy and Director of First-Semester Transition
- Curricular Integration, led by Jessica DeSpain
- Co-Curricular Initiatives, led by Tammy Taylor, Associate Director of Career Services
- Marketing, led by Ramana Madupalli, Faculty in Marketing
