Meet the School of Dental Medicine Sports Historian Christopher Flamer

Meet the School of Dental Medicine Sports Historian Christopher Flamer

When Jack Weber, DMD, addressed his Class of '26 cohort as student speaker at commencement this spring, he shared gratitude for one of his strongest supporters, and pointed to the crowd.

The newly conferred Southern Illinois University School of Dental Medicine (SIU SDM) graduate acknowledged Chris Flamer, a Building Service Worker known to students not only for keeping their learning spaces ready, but also for being their favorite sports historian, steady encourager and source of support.

"The janitorial staff is why I was there until close more than probably anyone else," said Weber, a SIUE '22 alumnus and SIU SDM '26 graduate, during his commencement address. "Chris is our sports historian. He knows more sports than anybody."

The students cheered like the ceremony briefly transformed into a primetime ballgame.

Flamer, an Edwardsville native, has worked for the SDM for more than 15 years and did not expect the recognition. He has attended only a few ceremonies over the years, usually after students personally ask him. This year, that invitation came with a surprise public tribute.

"I was shocked," said Flamer. "I didn't know Jack and his classmates were going to do that. I didn't even really want to come. That's your time for your parents and for you all, but they said, 'No- we want you to come!'"

At SDM, Flamer's work takes him throughout the clinic and teaching areas. The Sisyphean cleaning, sanitization, restocking, and maintenance is a cherished need where spaces for oral surgery, radiology and students spend some of their most demanding hours. He often meets them early in their dental education, when they are learning the rhythms of the profession and the dauntless hours ahead of them.

This is when he puts on his sports historian hat in addition to his custodial service.

"The students go through a lot. They have a tremendous workload. Days are rough, and the staff and I want to try to keep them smiling."

Flamer talks with students about sports, hometowns, music, school and life. Students know he follows Metro East athletes, Chicago teams, college sports and local legends with the precision of an archivist. He can talk Bears and Packers, Cubs and Cardinals, SIUE Athletics and high school rivalries, often using those conversations to build trust and lighten the intensity of the day.

"My teams are the Chicago teams," Flamer said. "The students that have come down from Chicago, they treat me like royalty. But I'm still friends with the Cardinal fans and the Packer fans."

His knowledge has earned him several unofficial titles.

"I've been called the singing custodian, a sports historian and the dancing custodian. Whenever they play music- hip-hop, R&B, rock, I'm out there enjoying it. It's the little things, you know."

The support is often lighthearted. Other times, it is deeply personal. Flamer said students occasionally come to him before a major test or after a difficult day, asking for encouragement and even prayer.

"They'll come to me and say, 'I've got this test coming up. I need some help.' We just have a positive moment, refocus and go from there. I tell them, they wouldn't have you in this school if you weren't smart and didn't have the ability.'"

That instinct to encourage others is rooted in Flamer's own life of service. He served eight years in the U.S. Army.

"I know about the importance of family, your co-workers, your classmates, your fellow soldiers, uplifting each other. That's why I'm passionate about these students."

Flamer describes himself as "Cougar all the way through," a legacy that began with his father, John H. Flamer Jr., who worked with former SIUE President John S. Rendleman after coming to Edwardsville from Carbondale. His father served the University in several roles, including as an assistant, compliance officer, and track and cross-country coach.

He grew up immersed in SIUE history, remembering campus traditions, old gathering places -"It's Tower Lake not Cougar Lake," he corrects. The University's had a sense of possibility that shape the way he sees the institution and SIU SDM today.

"It's not just working here. It's about being a part of the SIU family, and I was born into that."

That family feeling is especially strong for him on the Alton campus. Flamer said the School of Dental Medicine's close-knit environment allows staff, faculty and students to know one another in a personal way.

"I like it because it's personal," said Flamer. "It's smaller than the SIUE campus, and we get to know the students. We really get to interact with them. We see them."

He also makes sure students know that creating messes and learning through difficult moments are part of the process. To Flamer, those messes are signs that students are learning. His role is not only to help keep the building ready for the next day, but to create an environment where students feel supported enough to keep going.

"If they make a mess, I say, 'Don't worry about that. This is what this building's for,'" said Flamer. "You're working on people's mouths; you're going to make messes."

According to Flamer, the best part of his job is the people he meets.

"The students, faculty, staff and even the patients that come in become part of your family because you're so used to seeing them."

That family often lasts beyond graduation. Flamer said he regularly runs into former students in grocery stores, restaurants and community spaces. He remembers their names, their stories and, sometimes, the sports teams they loved to debate with him. Some students send photos when they see him out in the community. Others have paid for his meals without telling him first.

"I love these students," Flamer said. "They're around the same age as my kids, and I think that makes it easy for me to relate to them."

In return, a generation of dental students have embraced him as part of their SDM experience. They see him not only as someone who cares for their learning spaces, but as someone who cares for them, Cardinals or Cubs allegiances aside.

"You've got to keep everybody positive. There's enough negativity in this world already."

PHOTO: Chris Flamer, SIU SDM Building Service Worker and students from the SDM Class of '26. Photo by Howard Ash.