December 02, 2009
Regional association honors Castle with award
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Donald E. Castle recently won the highest award given by a regional organization for student affairs professionals.
Castle, assistant director of student programs for the Student Center, won the Susan Yung Maul Distinguished Service Award from the Association of College Unions International Region 9. The award recognized Castle for his significant contributions and years of service to the association a well as his commitment to student programming and to leadership development within the professional field of college unions, according to Lori L. Stettler, director of the SIUC Student Center.
“Don is a professional who has devoted his entire career to serving students through student programming,” Stettler said. “He is the individual who works behind the scenes to make programs run successfully so that students compliment their academic coursework with real world experience.”
Castle, assistant director since 2003, supervises the fiscal, facility and program operations of the University Programming Office, the Student Center Bowling and Billiards Center and the Student Center Craft Shop. The Elgin native has a number of other supervisory roles too and works with student-produced events, student organizations and student volunteers. He previously served as university programming coordinator 1999 to 2003, coordinator of student development/assistant university programming coordinator 1987-1998 and interim coordinator of student development-multicultural programs and services 1996-1997.
His career also includes a stint as general manager of Booker’s Backyard Sports Bar and Restaurant and working 1984-1987 as coordinator of student activities for Elgin Community College.
Castle holds a master’s of science in education from Western Illinois University (1984). Castle earned a bachelor of science in music at Illinois State University in 1979 and an associate in arts in music from Elgin Community College in 1976.
Actively involved for many years in ACUI, Castle has served on conference and steering committees several times and as regional director. Region 9 includes colleges and universities in Indiana and Illinois with the exception of the Chicago metropolitan area. He also made a presentation at the 2009 ACUI Region 9 Conference “State of Our Unions: Students Connecting, Serving and Learning” Nov. 6-8 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
“I have enjoyed working with the great people involved with ACUI Region 9 and I am honored to receive this award,” Castle said.