Jeff Doherty
Carbondale City Manager
Carbondale is a college town and SIU has a tremendous influence on the community's economy, government, character and culture. Most people reading this right now, including me, are here because of SIU.
SIU's influence goes well beyond Carbondale. It is the largest employer in Illinois south of Springfield. It has the largest payroll of any employer in five counties of this region. SIU is the primary economic engine for all of Southern Illinois, and it is centered in Carbondale.
Carbondale hasn't always been a college town in its 150 years. First, it was a small railroad town that just happened to have a little college on the south side. When the railroad's decline began in the 1940s, SIU's rise as a major university was being initiated. During the 1950s and '60s, more and more students came to SIU. By 1970, there were 24,000 students coming to SIU. Carbondale, the small conservative former railroad town, was not as quick to adjust to the growth.
One major area in which Carbondale was slow to adjust was in meeting the housing demand for thousands of new students. As Mayor Dillard recalls, SIU asked Carbondale to "throw open your house for the new students." While off-campus dormitories and apartments were built, they did not satisfy the demands. Trailer parks grew in and around Carbondale. Blocks of family neighborhoods near campus changed into student housing areas. Today, the rental housing market is a major part of Carbondale's economy.
Over the years, students kept coming to SIU and Carbondale. Business was good. Life was good. Everyone became fat and sassy. Suddenly, in the 1990s, student enrollment began to drop. There are varying views about why SIU's enrollment dropped, from the elimination of associate degree programs and the growth of John A. Logan College to increased competition from other universities, poor housing alternatives and unfriendliness by businesses and the city toward students and Halloween, either because of its elimination or because of the negative reputation it gave SIUC and Carbondale.
Lower enrollment at SIUC hit home. The community responded. The Carbondale Chamber of Commerce and the city of Carbondale joined forces with SIUC through the Chamber's Saluki Pride Committee to develop recruitment and retention programs for SIU students. Efforts have included direct mailings to prospective SIU students, scholarships, SIUC student-welcome tent on move-in day and participation in the SIUC student recruitment fairs. The city of Carbondale has initiated a marketing program that includes messages of appreciation to SIUC students through print ads and banners, and the city continues to sponsor the Spring Thing concert on campus.
As another method of addressing SIU's enrollment, it is often said that the city needs to develop better relations with SIUC. The town-gown relationship between the city of Carbondale and the SIUC administration is one of good communication, cooperation and trust. We work closely together on many issues and approach them with the understanding that what is good for one will benefit the other. A monthly breakfast has long been held at which the city, the Chamber of Commerce and SIUC administrators meet informally to discuss various issues.
Is the city unfriendly to students? This community is actually very accommodating toward students. At the City Council level, two chairs with microphones are reserved for the representatives of both the Undergraduate Student Government and the Graduate and Professional Student Council. The city has worked closely with SIUC students in the past on various issues including mass transit, housing, including the implementation of the Mandatory Rental Housing Inspection Program, bar-entry age and towing, through which the city worked with USG and adopted a towing rate for private towers on private property.
Carbondale is a college town with an economy that is reliant on SIUC. The University shapes the community in many ways. It is important that the city work closely with the SIUC administration and student body. We want Carbondale to be an attractive, prosperous community and a fun place to live.
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
