The following story was published by The State Journal-Register on Sept. 5, 2024.
"University of Illinois Springfield students are back in class, and you never know who will go on to accomplish big time things once they graduate.
For instance, some of the school's most noteworthy alumni range from a Grammy winner to Pulitzer Prize recipients.
The list includes former students from Sangamon State University, which was established in 1969. SSU merged with the University of Illinois system in 1995.
The school considers "anyone who took a class to be an alum," said UIS spokesman Blake Wood. The list includes traditional undergraduates, graduate students and others who took classes."