News

• 12/04/2025 - SIU Board of Trustees approves honorary degrees, Distinguished Service Awards
• 11/10/2025 - SIU Simmons Law School hosts swearing-in ceremony for new attorneys
• 11/04/2025 - SIU’s Simon Institute hosts Du Quoin, SIU Law alumna Jen Daulby to discuss her career
• 10/29/2025 - SIU Health Law Moot Court to examine ADA, mental health issues
• 10/14/2025 - SIU Simmons Law School increases first-time bar exam passage rates
• 09/18/2025 - SIU Simmons Law School sees 25% increase in first-year students this fall
• 09/15/2025 - SIU first-year law, medical school students collaborate on professional responsibility
• 09/08/2025 - SIU’s Constitution Day includes panel discussion on federal vs. state education issues
• 07/25/2025 - SIU Simmons Law School gives students a preview of legal careers
• 06/20/2025 - SIU Simmons Law School, SIUE show high school students how justice works, crime scene to trial
• 06/05/2025 - SIU SIU Simmons Law School offers mobile legal clinics for senior citizens this summer
• 05/05/2025 - SIU Simmons Law School commencement ceremony is May 9
• 05/01/2025 - 19-year-old SIU criminal justice grad earns degree, pursues legal career
• 04/15/2025 - Federal judge, former SIU law professor to present Simonds lecture
• 04/09/2025 - Media Advisory: Naturalization ceremony is April 11 at SIU Simmons Law School
• 03/26/2025 - SIU law students use eDiscovery tools to seek justice
• 03/18/2025 - SIU Simmons Law School to host SIU Carbondale hosts Illinois Supreme Court oral argumentsIllinois Supreme Court arguments
• 02/25/2025 - SIU Simmons Law School to host Illinois Supreme Court arguments
• 01/21/2025 - U.S. Rep. Krishnamoorthi to discuss public service at SIU Simmons Law School Lesar Lecture

• 11/14/2024 - SIU chooses dean for Simmons Law School
• 11/08/2024 - SIU Simmons Law School hosts swearing-in ceremony for new attorneys
• 10/31/2024 - SIU Health Law Moot Court examines state products liability statute, federal False Claims Act
• 09/16/2024 - SIU Simmons Law School to host Illinois Human Rights Commission talk on civil rights law
• 09/05/2024 - SIU first-year law, medical school students to focus on professional responsibility
• 08/19/2024 - SIU Simmons Law School Class of 2027 holds induction ceremony
• 08/16/2024 - SIU Simmons Law School unveils new name, honors donor
• 08/14/2024 - Media Advisory: SIU Simmons Law School ribbon cutting, induction on Aug. 16
• 07/19/2024 - SIU Simmons Law School hosts legal symposium in Belleville
• 07/11/2024 - Angela Upchurch appointed acting law school dean
• 05/06/2024 - SIU Simmons Law School commencement ceremony is May 10
• 04/03/2024 - SIU School of Law Simonds lecture to focus on presidential power
• 03/21/2024 - Media Advisory: SIU Law celebrates 50th anniversary with gala on Saturday
• 03/07/2024 - Emeritus professor chronicles SIU School of Law’s 50-year history as a ‘labor of love’
• 03/01/2024 - SIU School of Law Diversity Prelaw Summer Institute seeks students
• 02/20/2024 - SIU Law to honor five alumni at 50th anniversary gala March 23
• 01/31/2024 - SIU Law to host virtual lecture on using AI in the legal profession
• 01/29/2024 - SIU recognizing Black History Month as a time of ancestral healing

2023 News

• 12/07/2023 - SIU law professor to discuss justice issues in Kenya
• 12/05/2023 - SIU Law student focuses on passion for restorative justice in Metro East program
• 11/01/2023 - SIU Law Health Law Moot Court examines IVF, bankruptcy dispute
• 09/26/2023 - Former Watergate prosecutor, MSNBC legal analyst to discuss pioneering career in SIU Law’s Lesar Lecture
• 09/22/2023 - SIU School of Law celebrates large, diverse first-year class as it marks 50 years
• 09/11/2023 - Conversation on Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling is Sept. 19
• 08/18/2023 - Grant will help SIU School of Law clinic expand civil law services to veterans, their families
• 08/02/2023 - SIU political experts: Latest Trump indictment presents new challenges for nation
• 05/18/2023 - Media Advisory: SIU School of Law hosts Diversity Prelaw Summer Institute next week
• 05/03/2023 - Mission continues: Veteran earns SIU law degree to better help fellow vets
• 04/07/2023 - SIU Moot Court team captures national child welfare/adoption law title
• 03/29/2023 - SIU School of Law Simonds lecture to focus on trade law
• 03/14/2023 - SIU Law alumnus, Illinois public health director Vohra to deliver law school commencement address
• 03/03/2023 - SIU School of Law alumni sworn in to appear before U.S. Supreme Court
• 03/02/2023 - SIU School of Law’s Ryan Bioethicist Lecture to examine future of reproductive rights
• 03/01/2023 - SIU School of Law Diversity Prelaw Summer Institute seeks students
• 01/06/2023 - SIU School of Law, SIU Edwardsville team up to offer students joint law, MPA program

• 11/30/2022 - SIU Law’s Elder Law Clinic Wins Governor’s Engaging Aging Award
• 11/28/2022 - SIU LAW Dean Camille Davidson has a conversation with EDUP Legal - The Legal Education Podcast
• 11/23/2022 - Making the case: SIU Law students get real-life experience in Metro East Criminal Justice Clinic
• 11/10/2022 - Environmental and Civil Justice Attorney Jan Schlichtmann to present SIU Lesar Lecture
• 11/02/2022 - SIU Law Moot Court to focus on who decides treatment of a child’s gender dysphoria
• 10/18/2022 - SIU School of Law, Tougaloo College partner to increase diversity among attorneys
• 10/10/2022 - SIU School of Law to honor alumni judges, kick off 50th anniversary
• 06/30/2022 - SIU School of Law partners with Governors State University to offer a pipeline to JD degrees
• 06/29/2022 - SIU law professor Cindy Buys observes firsthand Ukrainian humanitarian effort while teaching in Poland
• 05/26/2022 - Congratulations to Cynthia Heisner winner of the SIU Staff Excellence Award
• 05/11/2022 - #SIULAW graduates Coral Serrano and Joseph Tondini didn’t just graduate last Friday, they also got married!
• 05/03/2022 - SIU School of Law Commencement Ceremony is May 6
• 03/09/2022 - Dean Davidson featured in SIU Women's History Month Video
• 02/28/2022 - Alum and US Army Major General Bill Enyart '79 weighs in on the Russian Attacks on Ukraine
• 02/25/2022 - Reimagining Law discusses with Dean Camille Davidson - How has the Legal Profession changed for Black Attorneys?
• 01/26/2022 - SIU School of Law, Stillman College pact aims to increase diversity among attorneys

#SIULAW graduates Coral Serrano and Joseph Tondini didn’t just graduate last Friday, they also got married!

May 11, 2022

"We met in 2014 at Murray State University as freshmen. One of my best friends from high school, Matthew, was randomly assigned as Joseph’s roommate.

We got along pretty much instantly and started dating in September 2014. Joseph majored in history and always knew he wanted to be a lawyer. I majored in Psychology, considering medical school or pursuing a Ph.D. in psychology. I grew up watching crime shows like Law & Order, Criminal Minds, CSI: Miami, and First 48 with my late mother, and I was also involved a youth advocacy group as a high school student which involved meeting with state legislators. This, along with my growing interest in advocacy for other underrepresented groups and endless political discussions with Joey, led me to finally consider law school. We graduated from MSU Spring 2018.  

We got engaged shortly before starting SIU School of Law in August 2019. We randomly got assigned to the same section during our 1L year, so it was nice having a built-in study partner in the beginning. 

When others learned about our relationship during school, we got a lot of questions about a wedding date, and we always just brushed it off as something to worry about after taking the bar exam (which were completely true statements at the time!).  

As we approached our last semester of law school, I jokingly said that we could just get married in our cap and gowns at the courthouse after graduating, since the most important people in our families would be together already and no venue would be more fitting for future attorneys.  

We started to realize that the idea was not as crazy as it seemed because planning a formal wedding would cause us to delay our marriage at least another year. We have been together for 7 and a half years, so any more delay for the purpose of a grand event felt unnecessary. 

Unfortunately, we were not able to be married at the courthouse as we had hoped, due to scheduling and availability issues, but we were married on Friday, May 6th in Marion, Illinois after the SIU School of Law Graduation amongst an intimate group of close friends and family. We have been calling this day our "Gradu-Wedding."  

We have both accepted positions at Land of Lincoln Illinois as staff attorneys." 

• 11/04/2021 - 30th Annual National Health Law Moot Court Competition on Nov. 5-6 will focus on fraudulent reimbursement claims
• 10/04/2021 - A SIULAW faculty discussion on recent and pending constitutional decisions before the US Supreme Court is featured in this article in the student-run news organization for SIUC, The Daily Egyptian
• 09/24/2021 - SIULAW Prof. Jennifer Brobst discusses requiring a vaccine during a public health emergency in an article about religious freedom and vaccine mandates in The Southern Illinoisan
• 09/24/2021 - SIULAW Prof. Peter Alexander publishes book on the financial life of renowned architect, Frank Lloyd Wright
• 09/13/2021 - SIULAW to hold discussion on recent and pending constitutional decisions before the US Supreme Court on Friday @ 12:15PM as part of SIUC’s Constitution Day activities this week.
• 08/06/2021 - SIULAW Prof. Cindy Buys discusses the impact of the Illinois Way Forward Act on the Pulaski County Detention Center in Ullin, Illinois with local CBS affiliate, KFVS12
• 08/03/2021 - SIULAW Veteran’s Legal Assistance Program Clinic receives grant from the Illinois Equal Justice Foundation
• 07/20/2021 - SIU law school adds holistic bar exam prep program to assist students
• 07/07/2021 - SIULAW alum, Robert Bodach ’06, named the next President of the Will County Bar Association
• 06/24/2021 - Montgomery County IL jury awards $2.8 million verdict to railroad employee represented by attorneys Ben Tobin, Zach Tobin, and SIULAW alum, Patrick Sullivan ’12 of Pratt & Tobin in Bethalto, IL.
• 06/24/2021 - SIULAW alum, Ryan Jones ‘12, discusses why he is running for DC Attorney General in this article in The Washington Informer.
• 06/08/2021 - SIULAW Prof. Jennifer Brobst, discusses the use of lethal force by a police officer with local ABC affiliate, WSIL TV3, in this story about the shooting of a robbery suspect in Mt. Vernon, IL
• 06/03/2021 - SIH/SIU Health Policy Institute - June 8 - will look at COVID-19’s impact on health policy.
• 05/20/2021 - SIULAW Prof. Cheryl Anderson speaks with local CBS affiliate, KFVS 12, about the legality of mandating vaccines in the workplace.
• 05/18/2021 - SIULAW Prof. Sheila Simon discusses the opening of new bike lanes in the City of Carbondale in this article in the Southern Illinoisan
• 05/07/2021 - SIULAW alum, Sneh Patel ‘05, is interviewed by WTOC11 in Savannah, GA, in celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
• 05/03/2021 - SIULAW Commencement for the Classes of 2020 and 2021 is Friday, May 7th.
• 05/03/2021 - SIULAW Dean Camille Davidson talks with WSIU FM’s Jennifer Fuller about Law Day 2021.
• 04/26/2021 - SIULAW Prof. Christopher Behan selected for the U.S. Department of State’s Fulbright Specialist Program. His primary geographical area of interest is Sub-Saharan Africa.
• 04/22/2021 - #SIULAW Prof. Sheila Simon is interviewed by NPR Illinois reporter, Steph Whiteside, about the significance of the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial.
• 04/14/2021 - SIULAW Prof. Cindy Buys to serve on Governor Pritzker’s Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes
• 03/12/2021 - 2021 John and Marsha Ryan Bioethicist in Residence Lecture will focus on “Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Health Care: Legal and Ethical Issues"
• 03/05/2021 - SIULAW alum, Melodi Green ‘08 talks with Peoria Public Radio about becoming the first Black woman to head the Juvenile Division of the Peoria County
• 02/05/2021 - SIULAW alum, Prof. Linda Ficht ‘97, discusses her successful effort to pass legislation to protect low-wage workers in Virginia in this press release from Christopher Newport University
• 02/02/2021 - #SIULAW Prof. Cindy Buys, discusses a federal judge’s temporary restraining order suspending President Biden’s moratorium on deportations in this interview with the Albany NY CBS affiliate, WRGB 6.
• 02/01/2021 - Noted civil rights attorney John Brittain to present Hiram H. Lesar Distinguished Lecture
• 01/29/2021 - SIULAW alum, David J. Doll ’92, discusses his retirement as the Winnebago County Public Defender in this article in the Rockford Register Star
• 01/26/2021 - SIULAW Prof. Cindy Buys breaks down President Biden’s immigration reform proposal in this interview with St. Louis NBC affiliate, KSDK
• 01/22/2021 - New position for SIULAW alum, Tim Wellnitz ’03, is featured in The Beloit Daily News.
• 01/11/2021 - SIULAW Prof. Sheila Simon is interviewed by local CBS affiliate, KFVS 12, about the events on January 6 in Washington DC

• ---

  SIULAW Prof. Peter Alexander publishes book on the financial life of renowned architect, Frank Lloyd Wright

  September 24, 2021 , PR Leap - Recent News Releases

  (PRLeap.com) Insufficient Funds: The Financial Life of Frank Lloyd Wright, a new book by Peter C. Alexander, has been released by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc.

  Dozens of books have been written about architect Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture, aesthetic, and various design achievements; however, no one has looked at his business practices… until now. In this book, Peter Alexander focuses on the financial life of this American architectural genius after more than fifteen years of research. Wright was a spendthrift who earned a considerable fortune over his lifetime, but he was a man who never had sufficient funds to meet his expenses. Most often, his lack of financial stability was because he had an insatiable need to spend money on Japanese art, pianos, cars, and other assorted luxury items.

   

  The material in the book comes from a wide variety of sources, including conversations and anecdotes that have been included in the many published works about Mr. Wright's life and legacy as well as verifiable and apocryphal stories shared by docents conducting house tours. The book is also informed by considerable original material, including archival records about Mr. Wright's financial life and interviews of two of his grandchildren, his Spring Green, Wisconsin neighbors, former apprentices, students enrolled in the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, and homeowners who worked with Wright to build their dream homes.
  
  About the Author
  Peter C. Alexander is a Visiting Professor at the Southern Illinois University School of Law, where he served as Dean from 2003 until 2009. He was also the Founding Dean of Indiana Tech Law School in Fort Wayne. In addition to his deanships, Alexander served as a faculty member at The Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University and as a Visiting Professor at several schools including the William H. Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock and at the UNT Dallas College of Law. He teaches in the areas of Bankruptcy Law, Criminal Law, Evidence, Gender & the Law, Legal Research & Writing, and Trial Practice.
  
  Early in his career, Alexander was in private practice for seven years where he focused on bankruptcy, real estate transactions, and civil and criminal litigation in federal court. He clerked for the Hon. Harold A. Baker, U.S. District Judge for the Central District of Illinois, and for the Hon. Larry L. Lesson, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge for the Central District of Illinois. Alexander is the author of two monographs on bankruptcy topics and more than two dozen law review articles. He is also the co-author of a book with his late father, entitled "It Takes a Village: The Integration of the Hillburn School System," which was published in 2015 by Page Publishing.
  
  Insufficient Funds: The Financial Life of Frank Lloyd Wright is a 252-page hardcover with a retail price of $34.95. The ISBN is 978-1-6366-1336-9. It was published by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For members of the press, to request a review copy, visit our virtual pressroom or to buy the book visit our online bookstore.

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  Jessica Stillwell
  Dorrance Publishing
  
  Dorrance Publishing