September 2007

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The purpose of international travel is to become immersed in different languages and cultures, to expand horizons and discover commonalities. It also provides a way to discover new possibilities, from customs to cuisines.

“I tried a lot. Tofu ice cream? Wasabi ice cream? It was all new to me,” said Preston Prior, an Illinois Wesleyan University junior, who traveled to Tokyo this summer as part of the Technos Program. Sponsored by the Tanaka Ikueikai Educational Trust, the program encourages students from across the world to learn about Japanese culture and study at the Technos International College of Tokyo.

“I fell in love with Japan,” said Prior, whose grandfather was stationed in Japan after World War II, and grew up hearing stories about the country. “I also learned to be more accepting. We may do different things, but we are all human beings.”

Fellow junior Kari Irwin was also chosen for the program, which sends students who have never been to Japan to Tokyo and the surrounding area for two weeks. “The trip was the highlight of my existence – so far,” said the 20-year-old Irwin. “It taught me to look at my studies in a whole new way.”

The two students traveled with Nancy Sultan, Illinois Wesleyan professor of Greek and Roman Studies, and soaked up culture by visiting everything from ancient temples to modern malls and classrooms. “You can study a foreign language all you want in a textbook, but you are not going to understand the culture until you have lived the culture,” said Sultan.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – As late summer rains turn the Illinois Wesleyan campus literally green with thriving foliage, a contingent of students, faculty and staff are hatching plans to turn the campus still more green in the environmentally friendly sense.

Sixteen representatives of the University attended the biennial Greening of the Campus conference at Ball State University in early September, quite possibly the largest delegation of any of the 173 participating institutions. IWU representatives included members of the Sierra Student Coalition, students and staff from the Office of Residential Life (ORL), and a group of faculty and staff who delivered a presentation, “Integrating Sustainability Into Higher Education at Illinois Wesleyan University,” based on a 2006 campus workshop and its outgrowth in curriculum development and sustainability efforts among participants. “Sustainability,” which reaches beyond environmentalism to social justice and economic concerns, is the concept of meeting the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

While at the conference, IWU representatives agreed to join the Focus the Nation project that will culminate on Jan. 31 with symposia held at universities and other venues throughout the country, centered on collaborative discussion about “Global Warming Solutions for America.”

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— The National Science Foundation has awarded $100,000 for a national proposal co-written by Illinois Wesleyan University Provost Beth Cunningham to develop leaders in science education.

Cunningham, a physics professor who came to Illinois Wesleyan as provost and dean of faculty in 2006, is a member of Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL), a national program which works with faculty to promote undergraduate education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics – known as STEM fields. Over the decades, the number of students graduating from STEM fields has declined nationally. PKAL’s aim is to inspire faculty who are teaching undergraduates in the hopes of igniting student interest in pursuing STEM fields as careers.

“Why concentrate on undergraduate faculty? Undergraduate students are at a crossroads. It is here they decide to become professional scientists or science teachers,” said Cunningham, who wrote the grant along with PKAL Director Jeanne Narum of the Independent College Office in of Washington, D.C., and Jessica Young of Western State College of Colorado. “PKAL wants to bring the excitement and joy of science to undergraduate students, who will be inspired to look at science careers.”

The three-year grant will enable PKAL to continue organizing Summer Leadership Institutes, which mentor college faculty who are new in their career. With the NSF grant, PKAL will spend the fall choosing and training mentors for the 2008 Summer Leadership Institute.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – It seemed a simple request – ask Illinois Wesleyan University English professors what one book they would recommend people read before they die. Perhaps it would be something moving, profound – a book with which you would want to be buried so the words could remain close to you.

Even in their kind responses, there were questions. What if everyone says The Bible? Do you mean every book ever written? How do we choose JUST one book?

In the end, several brave faculty members overcame all worries and submitted their suggestions, even in the midst of preparing for their fall 2007 semester classes. Their replies, as rich and fulfilling as the books they chose, may offer insight into their personalities, perspectives and interests. Or perhaps they are simply a great introduction to the diverse and wondrous English faculty at Illinois Wesleyan.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – When Hispanic Studies Professor Carolyn Nadeau began teaching a new advanced Spanish literature course in the spring of 2005, she discovered that the influential novel she wanted to teach didn’t exist in a text geared toward undergraduate study.

She soon contacted the publishing house Cervantes & Co. and had a contract to produce such a text herself.

La vida del Buscón, her critical edition of the 17th-century Spanish novel El Buscón by Francisco de Quevedo, was released this summer. El Buscón follows the misadventures of Pablos, son of a thief and a prostitute, as he pursues a lifelong dream of rising above his lowly upbringing and becoming a gentleman. As is typical of its genre, the novel is heavy with social criticism.

“El Buscón is one of the most important of the picaresque novels, which is a genre that started in Spain,” Nadeau said. The genre differs from literature before it, she explained, “because it deals with marginal characters who are – hopefully – inferior to the reader, where most books, from Greek myths to chivalric romances, have characters who are greater than the average reader: superheroes, gods, and knights who are like these James Bond characters. Other genres dealt with the aristocracy or bucolic ideal life. Then this (genre) comes along and deals with people who are just surviving, trying to find their way and having to turn to perhaps some immoral or illegal activities just to survive. It was new for readers.”

She also finds Quevedo’s novel a good choice for students because of his beautiful writing.

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