May 5, 2019

SIU Colleagues,

With a heavy heart, I must share with the SIU community that two of the most storied and loved Salukis died this weekend: Harvey Welch and Seymour Bryson. 

Both embodied the best of what it was to be a Saluki. They honored us by choosing to be students at SIU and then became prominent in numerous roles as educators and contributors to the education of future students. They set a high standard that has been emulated by many others who benefited from the opportunity to work with them and share their love of all things Saluki. Their contributions to SIU, the community and region beyond have been widely acknowledged and will never be forgotten.

You can learn more about Harvey from his board nomination for a Distinguished Service Award, which he received at last spring’s commencement. You can learn more about Seymour from press releases announcing his retirement and his recent recognition as a 2019 distinguished alumnus.

On behalf of the university community, I extend our condolences to their families and also our deep appreciation for sharing and supporting Harvey and Seymour in their countless hours of service to SIU. We will post links to information about services at chancellor.siu.edu as it becomes available.

John M. Dunn
Chancellor