When it comes to choosing a university to work at, some new faculty members say that collegiality is more important than salary.

Jill Bowers an Eastern Alumni, Family and Consumer Sciences instructor and Charleston Native said that Eastern feels like “home” and takes pride that Eastern has student oriented programs.

“Salary has little to do with my career path,” she said. “I chose to go into family services, and this is not a field that people go into in search of monetary gain.”

Eastern’s campus is very student oriented there are many ways that faculty and administrators strive to create opportunities for students such as study abroad. For one faculty member collegiality outweighs salary.

“Everybody’s salary is important to them,” said James Painter Chair, School of Family and Consumer Sciences. “I wouldn’t come here if it wasn’t for that [collegiality].”

Since coming to Eastern from University of Illinois, Painter has done consumer based research on obesity. Choosing Eastern seemed to be a simple task for him because of Eastern’s desire to teach. For Bowers, it was already a home that only made her passion for education stronger.

“I feel that a strong emphasis is placed on quality teaching and education, as well as there are ample opportunities for students to learn outside of the classroom,” she said.

During Bowers’ new faculty orientation, earlier this year, Dean Diane Hoadley gave a few pointers on the ability to balance work and family life.

She feels that when you are working for/with people who emphasize the importance of family, there is something to be said, Bowers said.

“While some may disagree with me, I feel that EIU is a student-focused university and that faculty are valued,” Bowers said.

Although our world may seem that it is powered by money, Eastern is a school that has concern for its students and faculty.

“They saw potential in me when I did not see it in myself, and I feel that in many ways this changed my life. It is my hope that I can ‘pay it forward’ to students who were like me,” Bowers said.

Painter moved from University of Illinois to Eastern to continue his research.

“Eastern is a nice school that wants to teach,” Painter said.

Over there [University of Illinois] it is very tense and I wanted to take my research and work with FCS over here, Painter said.

While traveling around the country and having some television appearances – the most recent being an appearance on CBS’s “The Early Show” – Painter’s most used speech is Why Do We Eat More Than We Think. Painter’s research is consumer based and without the need for a lab it is easier for him to perform his research because he just looks at student/faculty behavior.

The collegiality of Eastern is one of the reasons that Painter decided to come here and continue his research in hopes of helping to stop the growing obesity rate.