Southern Illinois University's Board of Trustees was created by the Illinois General Assembly for the purpose of operating, managing, controlling, and maintaining SIU.

The board consists of seven members appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, and student members selected by the student bodies of SIU at Carbondale and SIU at Edwardsville. In addition, per state statute, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, or his or her chief assistant for liaison with higher education when designated to serve in his or her place, serves as an ex-officio member of the board.

Vision

As the seven appointed and two elected Trustees for Southern Illinois University, they share a mutual sense of affection, responsibility, and stewardship for the only senior system of higher education serving the people of Southern Illinois. Their obligations apply equally to the University's two institutions, SIU Carbondale and SIU Edwardsville, and to their distinctive instructional, research, and service missions.

They believe that at the heart of every great university of character is an extraordinary group of men and women who teach with joy in their discipline, dedication to their students, and commitment to bold inquiry. Such faculty inspire students, spark their intellectual interests, and help deepen their experiences in new and creative ways. It is in a university of character where basic assumptions are examined and weighed against other options; where new concepts are developed; and where ideas are tested.

As non-paid public servants, they see their function as part of an unending commitment to the State and its People by ensuring that through SIU and its community of teachers, scholars, and students, they aspire to transmit their heritage, to move toward a more humane and caring world, to bring fresh vision and new discipline to the fund of human knowledge, to enliven curiosity, and to cherish the life of the mind in its fullest exploration and expression.