April 2007

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – It is tradition for many graduating college seniors to go on vacations with friends before entering the “real world.” Adam Bohr, Illinois Wesleyan University senior and 2003 graduate of Aurora Central Catholic High School, found a way to combine both a fun activity and a way to give back to the community while taking advantage of one last summer vacation. The accounting major will bike approximately 3,700 miles cross-country as part of the Bike & Build program before starting work in real estate tax at Ernst and Young in September.

Bike & Build aims to raise funds for affordable housing projects while introducing young adults to the cause and engaging them in a unique and interesting way. The group has contributed more than $750,000 to housing groups to fund projects planned and executed by young adults. In the process, its participants have collectively biked thousands of miles and educated countless communities across the country about the affordable housing crisis in America. Bike & Build’s grant program also supports projects involving young people all throughout the nation, including many Habitat for Humanity endeavors.

The nine-week bike trip will begin on May 17 in Virginia Beach and end on July 25 in Cannon Beach, Ore. Along with nearly 30 other bikers and three group leaders, most in their 20s, Bohr will bike through Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho before ending his trip in Oregon. The group will bike during the day, starting out with easier rides and working up to 100-mile days through flat terrain, stopping at nine different sites to help with building efforts. Local churches and community centers will provide the group with dinner and a place to sleep throughout their journey.

“I’ve always wanted to do a program like this, but have held myself back,” Bohr said, expressing excitement about his upcoming trip. “There’s something so great about being outside, going on an adventure, and being able to help others in the process.”

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Erin Anderson, a senior chemistry major at Illinois Wesleyan University, was awarded the annual Undergraduate Award for Excellence in Chemistry by Iota Sigma Pi, the National Honor Society for Women in Chemistry. The award is presented annually to only one student in the nation.

The Freeburg, Ill., native and 2003 graduate of Freeburg High School will receive a certificate and $500. According to Ram Mohan, IWU associate professor of chemistry, “The Iota Sigma Pi award, designed with the objective of promoting interest in chemistry among women students, recognizes first and foremost excellence in chemistry. It is indeed a testimony to Erin’s outstanding academic achievements, especially in research, that she was selected as this year’s winner.”

Anderson has worked as a research assistant in synthetic organic chemistry for Mohan since 2004, and presented the results of her work at the annual American Chemical Society meetings in 2005 and 2007. She has also authored and co-authored two articles published in leading international organic chemistry journals.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University’s a cappella group Suspended will travel to Asahikawa, Japan in June as a part of the 45th anniversary of the Bloomington-Normal/Asahikawa Sister City relationship.

Traveling to Japan will be the group members, as well as retired IWU associate professor of music Todd Tucker and several Twin City officials and residents. Suspended and Tucker will perform at a large gathering and possibly a few smaller venues.

“We’re really looking forward to the opportunity to share American culture through music,” said Suspended member and manager Matt LoPresti, a senior finance and political science double major from Glenview, Ill. “Illinois Wesleyan really focuses on intercultural relationships and studying abroad. This puts into play all that we’ve been taught for four years.”

Suspended, who arranges much of their own music, will also release their upcoming CD, Until Further Notice, on April 27.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Robert Kearney’s final exam gets taken to court – literally.

As the final examination for the Illinois Wesleyan professor’s business law class, students take a real case and argue it in front of a real judge. “We take cases that are ripped from the headlines, just like ‘Law & Order,’” joked Kearney, associate professor and chair of business administration who has been teaching at Illinois Wesleyan since 2002. “It’s much more interesting to do a companion case to something real and truly complex.”

This year, the class will argue the case of the Chicago “cable murders,” in which a cable installer was accused of raping and murdering two women while installing their Comcast cable systems. The students will deal with the suit against Comcast and a subsidiary contract company that employed the installer. The trial will be 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 25 at the McLean County Law & Justice Center (115 E. Washington St., Bloomington).

Though this is the first time the class has tackled murder cases, the trials for the last four years have similar qualities. “I always pick cases that are business-related, involve deep pockets and have complex litigation,” said Kearney, whose past topics included a suit against the airlines for negligence in 9/11, and the Midway plane crash that killed a 6-year-old.

The business law class is unique and intense for students, said Kearney. The entire class is dedicated to one case with the 20 seniors planning and executing every part of litigation. “In law school, you take a class on how to file a complaint. You take another class on how to present yourself in front of a jury,” said Kearney. “In this class, the students spend four months doing everything an actual, practicing lawyer does. There is nothing like it in any law school I know, not to mention an undergraduate class.”

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Sammie Robinson, assistant professor of business administration at Illinois Wesleyan University, has been invited to speak at the McLean County Chamber of Commerce’s 2007 Administrative Professionals Luncheon on April 24 at the Doubletree Hotel and Conference Center (10 Brickyard Dr., Bloomington).

The Bloomington Chamber of Commerce hosts the event annually with State Farm Insurance Company and Connoisseur Media. This year, Robinson will address many influential administrative professionals on the theme “Shaping The Future.”

“The future is beyond our control, it is not promised,” Robinson said of the theme. “At best, we can make attempts to shape our future.” In her talk, she plans to address three major ways that people can mold their destinies. She will suggest that audience members seek truth by identifying personal touchstones of belief and self through honest recognition of personal worth. For Robinson, though, the most important way that people can shape the future is through finding what she calls their event. “We need to find that thing we do really well and make that our life’s work,” Robinson said. “My event happens in the classroom. My event happens when I connect with people.”

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