SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

public, coeducational institution of higher education in Carbondale and Edwardsville, Ill., U.S. It offers approximately 75 bachelor's, 60 master's, and 30 doctoral degree programs. The main institution at Carbondale comprises eight colleges and four schools, including a law school; a medical school is located in Springfield. The Edwardsville branch is made up of nine schools, including the School of Dental Medicine in Alton; there is also an academic centre in East St. Louis. Research facilities at Carbondale include the Center for Archaeological Investigation, the Cooperative Fisheries Research Laboratory, the Coal Extraction and Utilization Center, and the Materials Technology Center. The Morris Library contains more than 2 million books and a notable collection on philosopher John Dewey. The Environment Resource Training Center was founded at Edwardsville in 1977. The university operates an off-campus facility in Nakaj o, Japan. There are approximately 24,000 students at Carbondale and 11,000 students at Edwardsville. The university was chartered in 1869 as Southern Illinois Normal University and opened that same year. It grew to become one of the largest teachers' colleges in the state. In 1943 it began offering graduate-level course work. In 1947 its name was changed to Southern Illinois University. The first doctorate was awarded in 1959. In 1957 the university founded two academic centres, in Alton and East St. Louis. The success of these centres spurred the creation of the Edwardsville campus, located on bluffs along the Mississippi River; it opened in 1965. Among noteworthy faculty members at Southern Illinois University were architect R. Buckminster Fuller at Carbondale and dancer Katherine Dunham at Edwardsville.