Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The Pulitzer Center's connections with Southern Illinois University Carbondale are deep: Bill Freivogel, on our original Advisory Council, is the former director of SIUC's Department of Journalism and a long-time friend and colleague of Pulitzer Center Executive Director Jon Sawyer from their days at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. SIUC was one of the founding charter members of the Pulitzer Center Consortium when it formally launched in January 2009. SIUC began as Illinois' second teachers college in 1869 with a dozen academic departments and an inaugural class of 143. It now ranks among Illinois' most comprehensive public universities. SIUC's School of Journalism is housed in the College of Mass Communication & Media Arts. Kavita Karan is the School's interim director. WSIU Public Broadcasting operates Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television stations and National Public Radio (NPR) radio stations. The annual