November 02, 2023
SIU’s Paul Simon Institute to host Metro East Youth Leadership Weekend
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Paul Simon Public Policy Institute will host a retreat this weekend to welcome young Black men from the Metro East to participate in events that foster development and civic engagement.
The institute will hold the 18th Metro East Youth Leadership Weekend on Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 4-5. The theme for this year’s event is “Young Men: Be Extraordinary, Be Tomorrow’s Leaders, Begin Today, Starting Now!” Between 40 and 45 students in eighth through 12th grade will learn about leadership development and community service, plus motivating and encouraging youth to contribute to their communities and make good choices.
Media availability
Reporters, photographers and news crews are welcome to cover the leadership weekend activities. For more information on events and times, contact Linda Renee Baker, Paul Simon Public Policy Institute university professor and project director, at 217-553-6660 or lrbaker@siu.edu, or Jaclyn Durcholz, institute communications and marketing coordinator, at 812-631-8517 or jaclyn.durcholz@siu.edu.
The program will feature numerous activities, including a tour of the Glenn Poshard Transportation Education Center, followed by comments by SIU President Dan Mahony. There will also be a keynote by Jaylen Smith, mayor of Earle, Arkansas, who at 18 years old, became one of the youngest mayors in the United States in January 2023. After attending the Saluki football game, the participants will have conversations with SIU students and moderator Todd S. Bryson, associate director of residence life, University Housing, on a variety of topics centered on college retention and graduation.
On Sunday morning, students will hear a presentation by Father Joseph A. Brown, professor and director of SIU’s School of Africana and Multicultural Studies, at the Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center, followed by various leadership activities. The students will then go to the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute on campus for a keynote by Randolph Burnside, associate professor and director of the SIU School of Medicine’s Medical/Dental Education Preparatory Program (MEDPREP). John Shaw, institute director, will then announce the 2023 Paul Simon Leadership and Character Award recipients before students return home.
The weekend’s schedule includes:
Saturday, Nov. 4
- 9:30 a.m. — Tour of the Glenn Poshard Transportation Education Center, Southern Illinois Airport.
- 10 a.m. — Remarks by SIU System President Dan Mahony.
- 11 a.m. — Keynote address by Jaylen Smith, mayor of Earle, Arkansas.
- 11:30 a.m. — Student Services Building, SIU campus. Session with SIU Offices of Admissions and Financial Aid.
- 1 p.m. — Saluki Stadium, SIU football game vs. South Dakota.
- 4 p.m. — SIU Student Center, team building activity with SIU Esports.
- 5:30 p.m. — Lentz Dining Hall, tabletop discussions and leadership exercises.
- 7:30 p.m. — Conversations with SIU students, moderated by Todd S. Bryson, associate director of residence life, University Housing.
Sunday, Nov. 5
- 8 a.m. — Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center; presentation by Father Joseph A. Brown, professor and director of SIU’s School of Africana and Multicultural Studies.
- 9:15 a.m. — Leadership activities at Touch of Nature.
- Noon — Keynote by Randolph Burnside, associate professor and director of the SIU School of Medicine’s Medical/Dental Education Preparatory Program (MEDPREP).
- Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, 1231 Lincoln Drive, Carbondale — John Shaw, institute director, will announce the 2023 Paul Simon Leadership and Character Award recipients before students return home at 2 p.m.
Students are attending from Belleville Township East High School, Belleville West High School, East St. Louis Sr. High School, Cahokia High School, Clayton (Missouri) High School, Granite City High School, Mascoutah High School, O’Fallon Township High School and SIU Edwardsville East Saint Louis Charter High School.
The late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, who founded the institute, then associate director Mike Lawrence and Linda Renee Baker, a university professor with the institute, established the program in 2003. Simon participated in the inaugural event in November that year shortly before his death a month later. This is the first leadership weekend since 2019, which was paused due to COVID-19 pandemic.