November 2009

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Emily Vock, a senior political science and history double major from Wheaton, Ill., has been named Illinois Wesleyan University’s recipient of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois Student Laureate Award. Each year, the academy honors seniors from each of Illinois’ higher learning institutions who have excelled in academics or extra-curricular programs.

The Lincoln Academy of Illinois honored the student laureates for their contributions to Illinois society with a ceremony held on Nov. 7 at the Old State Capitol in Springfield and a luncheon in the Governor’s Mansion, where they received a certificate and a medallion.

A committee chose Vock from a pool of Illinois Wesleyan seniors in late October. Said Vock, “I feel so honored to have been named the Lincoln Laureate. I am surrounded by incredible students who simultaneously excel in the classroom and work to improve our campus and community through extracurricular activities and involvement. To have even been considered for such an award among our amazing student body is a very humbling experience.”

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After graduating from Illinois Wesleyan University, alumni depart on many different paths, some settle into comfortable corner offices, while others are pushing pennies to make it through graduate school. Still others, like 2005 alumnus Doug Pietrzak, take the path less traveled.

Currently, Pietrzak is biking through the winding mountains of Nicaragua with three other volunteers as a part of an eight-month, 5,000-mile bike trip through Latin America for the Reach the World education program. The not-for-profit organization funds environmentally friendly global journeys to help educate students in under-resourced schools in the cities of New York and Chicago. Their goal is to expand the power of learning beyond the classroom, and bring other cultures to life within the classroom.

For this trip, there are 12 Chicago schools, or about 2,500 students following the adventures of Pietrzak and his three fellow travelers. The students from these select schools experience the trip through pictures, blogs and articles written by the travelers. In class, the students respond to questions posted on the Web site and ask questions about the various cultures.

Pietrzak volunteered to join the organization after teaching for three years in under-resourced schools in Chicago. The alumnus, who bikes to work year round, jumped at the opportunity when he discovered it on the couchsurfing Web site. “I saw the post entitled biking/teaching/traveling and thought, ‘I have never seen a job more perfect for me.’”

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – It is a brisk morning on the Illinois Wesleyan University campus. Two professors, Saloua Zerhouni and Driss Maghraoui, prepare for classes in an office on the first floor of the Center for Liberal Arts Building on Beecher Street.

“Is it usually this cold this time of year?” asks Zerhouni, the Fulbright Visiting Professor this fall at Illinois Wesleyan. Zerhouni’s husband, Maghraoui, smiles.

The weather today is colder than the mild temperature you could find this time of the year in Morocco, where Zerhouni and Maghraoui teach. She is an assistant professor of political science at the public Mohammed V University, Souissi, in Rabat; and he is an assistant professor of history at the private Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane. They are teaching this semester at Illinois Wesleyan with the help of a grant from the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program. Though they have both worked in the United States before, this time is different.

The couple, who have been married since 2000, brought more than their academic expertise to Bloomington. They brought their family – Adam, age 7; Ayoub, age 4; and 11-month-old Nouha – in the hopes of creating a greater cultural understanding.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Exhibits by artists Jennifer Crescuillo and Burlesque of North America will be on display at Illinois Wesleyan University’s Merwin and Wakeley Galleries beginning Tuesday, Nov. 10 with an artist’s lecture to take place from 4 to 5 p.m. and an opening reception for both shows from 5 to 6 p.m. in the galleries (6 Ames Plaza, Bloomington).

All exhibits and events are free and open to the public. Regular gallery hours are Monday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m., Tuesday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. The galleries will be closed Nov. 24 through Nov. 29 for Thanksgiving Break, as well as closed Dec. 1.

The Merwin Gallery will feature Burlesque of North America, a graphic design and screenprinting studio based in Minneapolis, Minn. The studio is formed by a group that once worked on the no longer existent graffiti magazine, Life Sucks Die. Burlesque, lead by creative directors Wes Winship and Mike Davis, has since created album artwork, logos, T-shirt graphics, and concert posters for such groups as The Arcade Fire, Phish, and MGMT. Their Merwin Gallery display will focus on the rock show posters and art prints which have been published, designed and screenprinted at the studio.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Mortar Board has announced that Illinois Wesleyan University has been selected to host the 228th chartered chapter of Mortar Board, a prominent national honor society for college seniors.

The group will officially become a chartered chapter at a special installation ceremony held on Sunday, Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. in the Davidson Room of the Memorial Center (104 E. University St., Bloomington). Twenty-two collegiate members and will be inducted into the society.

Mortar Board is a prestigious national honor society that recognizes college seniors for outstanding achievement in scholarship, leadership and service. Since its founding in 1918, the organization has grown from four founding chapters to what will soon be 228 chartered collegiate chapters with nearly a quarter of a million initiated members across the nation. The chapter will be named “Egas,” in honor of IWU’s inactive senior women’s honor society, established at the University in 1937. All of the chapter’s 220 former members will also be invited to become full members of Mortar Board at this time.

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