Statewide: The Push To Reopen College Campuses This Fall

NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS | By Sean Crawford

Published May 21, 2020 at 1:50 PM CDT

On this episode of Statewide, a task force has been created to figure out the best way to get students back to college this fall. We talk with a higher education leader about what's at stake and the challenges ahead.

And, high school seniors missed out on traditional graduation ceremonies. For valedictorians, that meant not being able to stand in front of their classmates and deliver an address. But they still have things to say and we'll listen to a few of them.

Those stories and more on this week's Statewide.

Our lineup:

* Bill Wheelhouse interviews Illinois Board of Higher Education Executive Director Ginger Ostro about efforts to get students back on campuses this fall.

* Commentator Alison Vawter of Macomb talks about adaptation and resilience.

* Lee Gaines reports for Illinois Newsroom on prison hygiene and what's happening to supplies being sent to inmates.

* Christine Herman of Side Effects Public Media examines how universities are helping increase testing capacity.

* Eric Stock with WGLT finds out more about antibody testing from a central Illinois doctor.

* Mary Hansen speaks with SIU School of Medicine Pediatrics Department Chair Dr. Doug Carlson about a a syndrome in children linked to the coronavirus.

* Peter Medlin of WNIJ talks with some valedictorians about the messages they want to convey in what has been a strange year.

* Adriana Cardona-Maguigad of WBEZ introduces us to a Chicago student with autism surprised to find out she was a valedictorian.

* Olivia Mitchell reports on the newest alderman in Springfield and how he's keeping busy during the pandemic.

Statewide for the week of May 22, 2020Listen to Statewide across Illinois in:

Bloomington/Normal – WGLT 89.1 (Fridays 11 a.m. - Noon, Sundays 6-7 a.m.)
Carbondale – WSIU 91.9 (Fridays 2-3 p.m. and Sundays 6-7 a.m.)
Mount Vernon - WVSI 88.9 (Fridays 2-3 p.m. and Sundays 6-7 a.m.)
Olney - WUSI 90.3 (Fridays 2-3 p.m. and Sundays 6-7 a.m.)
Rockford/DeKalb – WNIJ 89.5 (Saturdays 6-7 a.m., Sundays 6-7 p.m.)
Springfield/Decatur - WUIS 91.9 (Fridays 11 a.m. - Noon, 11 p.m. - Midnight, Saturdays 9-10 a.m.)
Peoria – WCBU 89.9 (Sundays 6-7 a.m.)
Pittsfield - WIPA 89.3 (Fridays 11 a.m. - Noon, 11 p.m. - Midnight, Saturdays 9-10 a.m.)
Urbana/Champaign – WILL 580 (Fridays 11 a.m. - Noon, 7-8 p.m.)
Quad Cities - WVIK HD 2 (Sundays 11 a.m. - Noon)