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To combat sexual assault and other acts of sexual misconduct, Western Illinois University is taking a strong stand and speaking out.

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Two Western Illinois University Professors have extensive experience in the study of earthquakes, including how the recent changes in the seismic maps impact their classroom work.

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Western Illinois University alumnus and teacher Michael Brunt will take part in Ocean Exploration Trust's (OET) Nautilus Exploration Program this month in the Gulf of Mexico. He is one of 24 selected individuals from around the world to take part in the exploration program that is being streamed live via the web.

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Two Western Illinois University faculty members have been awarded a continuation of their grant funding to study the life history and interaction of Asian carp in the Upper Mississippi River Basin.

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Keeping track news covering terrorism, counterterrorism and homeland security is just part of what Western Illinois University's Director of Homeland Security Research Program Dean Alexander does on a constant basis. Alexander, an associate professor in Western's School of Law Enforcement and Justice Administration (LEJA), teaches LEJA and homeland security courses. He also conducts homeland security-related research, writes articles for security publications and presents at international conferences on a regular basis.

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New social networking research by a Western Illinois University faculty member investigates how individuals use Facebook to maintain their friendships.

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A group of school administrators, who are enrolled in Western Illinois University's Educational Leadership Program, was in a school building in Washington, IL, Nov. 17, the day a deadly tornado outbreak swept across the Midwest. The educational leaders made it through the storm and provided the area's residents much-needed help—after the twister devastated their neighborhood.

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A student and professor in the Western Illinois University School of Law Enforcement and Justice Administration recently penned, "Is the Woman Next Door a Terrorist?" for Security Magazine.

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If you've perused the map of Western Illinois University on Google Earth, you may have noticed a few of the buildings appear to be three dimensional or "in 3D." Sherman Hall, the Leslie F. Malpass Library, Waggoner Hall and a few other buildings protrude from a mostly otherwise flat depiction of the campus.

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Western Illinois University senior Garrick Hodge is partnering with his stepbrother, X Games adaptive snocross bronze medalist Garrett Goodwin, for a new book about perseverance.

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The research of a Western Illinois University professor and two of the school's meteorology students could contribute to better tornado prediction methods.

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A Western Illinois University faculty member who published a widely covered study about Facebook and narcissism last year has authored another study about Facebook and romantic relationships.

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The Louvre, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art ... classic art museums and galleries that play home to some of the world's most famous works of art. On the Western Illinois University campus, the new Gallery 810 may just serve as a temporary home to the next Picasso, Dali or O'Keeffe.

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Flowers often have a meaning or message: love, apology, congratulations, sympathy, friendship ... and thanks to a Western Illinois University student organization, environmental awareness.

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An interactive bullying survey for parents and children created by Western Illinois University School of Law Enforcement and Justice Administration Associate Professor Jill Myers is available on WQPT's website (see www.wqpt.org/stopbullying). According to Lora Adams, director of marketing and local content at WQPT-Quad Cities PBS—a media service of WIU-QC in Moline—The Cyber Safe Cyber Savvy Survey provides an additional anti-bullying resource for families and is available in conjunction with WQPT's promotion of its new program, "Stop Bullying with Dr. Jennifer Caudle," which is scheduled to air at 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 18.

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On Leap Day last year, the largest natural disaster in Illinois in 2012 devastated a small town in Southern Illinois. Since the Feb. 29 EF-4 level tornado that tore through Harrisburg one year ago—hitting the ground with a force of 175-180 miles per hour and leaving eight people dead, injuring many others and destroying more than 250 homes—Western Illinois University Department of Health Sciences Emergency Management Assistant Professor Jack Rozdilsky has been on site close to 10 times to study the response and recovery efforts of the small town's stretched emergency management resources. His visits and data gathering have culminated in the qualitative study, "Disaster Management with Limited Local Resources: The 2012 Illinois Leap Day EF-4 Tornado." The research was funded by a grant from the University of Colorado Natural Hazards Center through its Quick Response Grant Program, which is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

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Western Illinois University Department of Biological Sciences Professor and Fulbright Scholar Eric Ribbens has created one of the largest collections of the Opuntia fragilis, or prickly pear cactus, on the planet for his research of this rare and, in some places, endangered plant. The collection is housed on a University-owned farm near the Macomb, IL, campus.

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A new book by a retired faculty member in the Western Illinois University School of Law Enforcement and Justice Administration (LEJA) focuses on the importance of voting. According to LEJA Professor Emeritus Clyde Cronkhite, "Law Enforcement and Justice Administration: Strategies for the 21st Century" (published by Jones & Bartlett Learning), in the republic form of government, laws and how they are enforced are meant to be a reflection of the will of the majority.

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"The year was 1874, and the Hennepin Canal had achieved national significance and would be built as a federal waterway." Through this succinct declaration, the introduction section of Western Illinois University Geography Professor Emeritus Donald "Bill" Griffin's new book, "Voices of the Hennepin Canal: Promoters, Politicians, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers," sets the stage for this historical account of how this waterway, located in Western Illinois and opened in 1908, was built and operated until 1951 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

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Rural Illinois Campus Goes Out With a "Bang" July 14 ... implosion a first in Macomb, IL. At exactly 7 a.m. this morning (July 14), Wetzel Hall on the Western Illinois University campus, was imploded.

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Western Illinois University Department of Health Sciences Assistant Professor Amanda Divin and her colleague, Keith Zullig, an associate professor in the West Virginia University School of Public Health, recently conducted and published a study that explores non-medical prescription drug use and depressive symptoms in college students.

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Western Illinois University's Titan Arum #3, a plant nicknamed the "Corpse Flower" due to its putrid odor when it blooms, is on the verge of blooming again. The first time it bloomed was June 29, 2010.

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Uri Rosset, a lecturer at Sapir College in Sderot, Israel, and an expert on the Middle East, was Western Illinois University in early May as a guest lecturer for the School of Law Enforcement and Justice Administration (LEJA) and its Homeland Security Research Program (HSRP). Through his classroom presentations and University-wide lecture covering terrorism, the Middle East and the Arab Spring in the Middle East and North Africa, Rosset provided WIU students and faculty with contemporary and historical perspectives of the Hamas and Hezbollah organizations, as well as of the Arab Spring revolutionary wave.

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Recent research indicates advancing sustainability in the area of curriculum is falling behind other efforts to incorporate sustainability in the higher ed setting, such as in facilities planning. This two-part series will look at a few of WIU's curriculum-oriented and academic programs designed to help incorporate sustainability in formal instruction. Part 1 is available at http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/586292/

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The new book, “Jerusalem in World War I: The Palestine Diary of a European Diplomat,” is the first English translation of the diary of Spanish counsel Conde de Ballobar. The book, by Western Illinois University Assistant History Professor Roberto Mazza, gleans the recorded events Ballobar witnessed as well as his experiences and insights into late Ottoman Jerusalem. His diary also included a detailed account of local churches battles to control the city’s holy sites, the spread of Zionism and the establishment of British rule.

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A study of a contract grading system where freshmen college students chose their coursework from a variety of assignments which were graded pass/fail, and were required to master 85% of the material to receive a passing grade, produced positive results supporting the use of contract grading in contemporary college classrooms.

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Facebook's Dark Side Topic of Study by WIU Communication Professor

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Not only do international students bring diversity and a greater cultural experience to a community, the economic impact is significant as well, according to NAFSA - Association of International Educators.

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Sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. A popular saying that isn't necessarily true, because words that are used carelessly and without thought can cause as much hurt as those sticks and stones. And that's why a group of Western Illinois University students, faculty and staff are taking action.

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Recent research indicates advancing sustainability in the area of curriculum is falling behind other efforts to incorporate sustainability in the higher ed setting, such as in facilities planning. This two-part series will look at a few of WIU's curriculum-oriented and academic programs designed to help incorporate sustainability in formal instruction. Part one will provide a brief look at the recently established Coneflower Workshop at WIU, a dedicated initiative with a goal of infusing sustainability into the curriculum, as well as the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs' ongoing Sustainability Brownbaggers series. Part two will cover how the Brownbaggers series has been integrated into the environmental studies minor offered through WIU's Institute for Environmental Studies (IES), as well as provide an overview of the mission of the IES.

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Sherman Hall at Western Illinois University (formerly the Western Illinois State Normal School) opened its doors for classes Sept. 23, 1902. At least since 1907, a janitor's closet on the third floor in this building has been the place for janitors to sign -- in ink, pencil or etching -- for the benefit of posterity.

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A 2011 fall semester political poll of Western Illinois University students showed that they are interested in, though not necessarily active in, the current presidential campaign, are unhappy with the direction of the nation, but would re-elect President Barack Obama.

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Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" are ways people can unleash their inner Slash and Eddie Van Halen personas, but the Wii gaming system an go well beyond those two popular games to be used for innovative - and educational - opportunities within music education.

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Successful development of the technology could create the standard engine of the future and show up in homes and businesses as lightweight power generators, fire pumps, outboard motors and portable air conditioning units. Pending the test results, it is expected that by early 2013, a "platform" engine will be readied and delivered for government field tests with the Department of Defense.

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What do Jesus, Bob Dylan, Woody Allen, George Washington and Charles Darwin have in common? “These historic figures and recent work by dozens of psychologists contribute to the provision of solutions to complicated human problems,” said Bem Allen, author of the new book “Common Sense Versus Wisdom: A Guide to Emotional Control and Rational Thinking.”

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A five-year, nearly $1,000,000 project that helps future teachers in Illinois serve the state's large population of English language learners. A $500,000 alternative crop research project that provides students with plant-breeding internships, as well as future green-energy career possibilities and has implications for helping displace many petroleum-based products. A $240,000 grant that helped to enable the construction of a new facility at a biological research and teaching station on the Mississippi River, which has allowed scores of students, PreK-college level, learn and experience how human activities impact ecosystems. These projects, with the help of the Western Illinois University Office of Sponsored Projects, are ones that WIU's innovative faculty members have carried out (or are currently working on) and support the University's core values of academic excellence, educational opportunity, personal growth and social responsibility.

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Jack Rozdilsky, an assistant professor in Western Illinois University's emergency management program in the WIU Department of Health Sciences, specializes in natural hazards and emergency management issues.

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Producers of agriculture products will have the chance to learn more about the exciting new crop, field pennycress, and its possibilities for use in bio-fuels and industrial products at the WIU Pennycress Field Day June 2, near the Western Illinois University Macomb-campus.