April 10, 2013 was the annual Honors Convocation in Westbrook Auditorium in Presser Hall at Illinois Wesleyan.  The convocation recognizes the accomplishments of both students and faculty.  Rebecca Roesner, Associate Professor of Chemistry, was named the winner of the 2014 Kemp Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence.  This is the university’s highest honor for excellence in teaching.  The 2013 winner of the award was Narendra Jaggi, professor of physics.  He was presented with the award at the convocation by Nick Kemp of the Kemp Foundation.  Professor Jaggi was the keynote speaker at the convocation, giving an address entitled “Refracting Honor Through a Personal Prism.”  You can view Professor Jaggi’s speech here.

Nick Kemp, Professor Narendra Jaggi, and University President Richard Wilson smile as Professor Jaggi is presented with the Kemp Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence.

Each month, the Hart Career Center at IWU, which helps students with job, graduate school, and internship searches, releases a Career Connections newsletter with advice for after graduation.  The April 2013 issue features three international students, AmmarMalik, Yelei Kong, and Sijia Song, all from the class of 2013.  These students, along with other members of the graduating class, share their advice for current students and reflect on their time at IWU.

This issue, as well as past issues, of Career Connections, can be read in PDF format here.

Tung Nguyen ’15

On December 1, 2012, the 73rd annual William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition was held.  The competition, which is always held on the first Saturday in December, is known for its difficulty.  This year, 4,277 undergraduate students participated in the competition, which includes students from the United States and Canada. Illinois Wesleyan student Tung Nguyen (’15) participated in the Putnam Competition and placed 49th, earning a score of 50 out of 120 possible points, and an Honorable Mention. Congratulations to Tung!

Zung Do (’15) really enjoys taking photographs of food she makes.  She first began her food photography because it combines two of her interests.  She enjoys cooking and baking, especially as a birthday treat for friends.  She also likes cooking with other Vietnamese students as a way to bond and feel connected to home.  Since Zung also likes  taking photos, she naturally combined her two hobbies, and ended up with some awesome photos.

Red Velvet Cakeballs

Choux à la Crème

Red Velvet Black Bottom Cupcakes

Students write names in their mother language

To celebrate International Mother Language Day, IWU international students invite people on campus to have their name written in another language. International Mother Language Day is a joint project between UNESCO and the US State Department. It was first celebrated on February 21, 2000 to honor the day in 1952 when students were killed by police while demonstrating for recognition of their mother language in what is now Bangladesh. Linguistic and cultural diversity are the celebration’s goals. Read more Here.

Purple Blossoms Outside of Buck

Spring has arrived at IWU! The sun is warming the ground and the trees are blossoming! Students are sporting shorts and sandals as they absorb the sun’s warmth while traveling from class to class–some classes are even meeting outside! The sun has arrived just in time to usher us into commencement and then May term.

Trees surround the bell In front of McPherson Theatre

The 25th Annual Juried Student Art Exhibition at the Nerwin and Wakely Galleries highlighted works of several international students. Katya Kobrina ’12 from Prauge, Czech Republic created a piece called Three Visions of Home together with Joe O’Brien. It has received the ‘Hart Career Center Award’, and will be featured artwork at the Hart Career Center here on campus.

'Baptism by Fire' by Katya Kobrina '12

A piece entitled 1, 10, 100 by Shanshan Zhao ’12 from Chengdu, China, has been given the President’s Award, and will be displayed in the home of President Richard Wilson and Mrs. Pat Wilson for the coming year.

1, 10, 100 by Shanshan Zhao '12

Illinois Secretary of State will arrive at Illinois Wesleyan University to deliver the key-note address at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellowship Dinner on January 22. He will be accompanied by the Jesse White Tumblers, a tumbling team White founded in 1959 and has supported over 13,000 participants. They perform over 1500 times a year at events ranging from NBA games to the Presidential Inauguration.

The Jesse White Tumblers

Photo Credit: jessewhitetumblingteam.com

This juvenile delinquency prevention program trains participants’ bodies and minds — they are required to stay in school, maintain a C average, and stay out of gangs and drugs. Jesse White and his team support and encourage the participants with tough love, acting as mentors, friends, coaches, and confidants. For more information, click here