Alumni

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Rear Admiral (RADM) Denise Canton, a 1974 alumna of Illinois Wesleyan University, has been selected as the 2009 Distinguished Alumna for Nursing Excellence. This honor is awarded annually to one alumnus or alumna who has demonstrated outstanding excellence in the fields of nursing practice, education and research. Rear Admiral Canton will be honored at the annual School of Nursing Homecoming Brunch and Award Program on Oct. 10. Both events will take place in the Center for Natural Science Learning and Research (201 Beecher St., Bloomington).

The brunch will begin at 9:00 a.m. in the Commons Area, with the award program following at 10:00 a.m. in room C102. At the award program, RADM Canton will give a presentation entitled, “Bridging the Gap: The Role of the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service.”

The event is free and open to the public. People wishing to attend should register by calling the School of Nursing office at (309) 556-3051, or by logging onto titanpride.org.

After graduating from Illinois Wesleyan with a bachelor of science in nursing degree, RADM Canton earned a master’s of nursing and a doctorate in nursing science degree from The Catholic University of America. Additionally, she earned a juris doctor from Georgetown University Law Center where she was selected as a Public Interest Law Scholar.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University annually honors three alumni as part of its Homecoming festivities. This year Lawrence Herbolsheimer, class of 1972 will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award; Chet and Helen Sheldon, class of 1943 and 1940 respectively, will receive the Loyalty Award; and Arman Dabiri, class of 1994, will receive the Robert M. Montgomery Outstanding Alumnus Award. The awards will be presented Saturday Oct. 10, at 11:30 a.m. at the Alumni Awards Lunch in the Shirk Center (302 Emerson St., Bloomington).

The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes Illinois Wesleyan graduates who have achieved professional distinction, demonstrated civic leadership or contributed to society in a remarkable way. Lawrence Herbolsheimer graduated with an economics degree from Illinois Wesleyan, where he was Vice President of Student Senate, Treasurer of IFC and a member of Phi Gamma Delta (a social fraternity) and Alpha Kappa Psi (a professional business fraternity). Herbolsheimer went on to earn his MBA from Harvard in 1980. From 1983 through 1985, Herbolsheimer served on the staff of President Ronald Reagan. From 1985 through 1991, he worked as the Deputy Assistant Administrator of NASA’s Office of Commercial Programs.

In 1991, Herbolsheimer made a move back into the business world, working as CEO of United Pacific Holdings, Ltd., a holding company for investments in manufacturing companies of China and other East Asian nations. Since then, he has aided in the creation of other businesses in which he continues to play a significant ownership role or participates on the Board of Directors. He was also a director of a management company of third-party direct investment funds with assets in excess of $350 million.

Currently, Herbolsheimer is the Co-Chairman of Comway Capital Group, a Shanghai holding company of 14 Chinese companies. He is also a Managing Director of The McLean Group of Virginia, a middle market investment-banking firm. Herbolsheimer lives in McLean, Virginia with his wife, Pia, and their two children.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Post-graduation plans vary for every Illinois Wesleyan student; some will enter the workforce right away, while others will continue on to grad school, but for recent graduate Christy Ivie, these plans include a two-year commitment to the Teach for America Corps.

Ivie, originally from Galesburg, Ill., graduated from Illinois Wesleyan in 2009 with a bachelor of arts degree in sociology. She will spend the next two years teaching first grade in Greenwood, Miss. as a part of the Teach for America Corps.

“My sophomore year of college I took a sociology of education course with Dr. Evans-Winters, and it opened my eyes to the inequalities that exist in the United States education system,” said Ivie, who comes from a family of elementary school teachers, both her mother and her grandmother teach lower level grades. “I remember a quote that one of my professors, Dr. Teddy Amaloza, had on a mug in her office: Teach for justice, not for privilege. The more I thought about it, the more I became excited to spend some years in the classroom. When I began looking for options for after graduation, Teach for America just seemed like the right fit.”

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – During the 1970s, the Bradys were a household name in America and are now said to be indelibly a part of American pop culture. While the iconic family is best known for The Brady Bunch, few associate them with The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, a Donny and Marie-like show that aired soon after the Bradys did their last taping and said goodbye to their split-level ranch.

“Up until now, The Brady Bunch Variety Hour was Hollywood’s best kept secret. People pretended like [it] never existed. But we brought this skeleton out of the closet and were shocked to find it was wearing sequins,” said Ted Nichelson, Illinois Wesleyan alumnus and co-author of the new book Love to Love You Bradys, The Bizarre Story of the Brady Bunch Variety Hour. The book was written with the help of former Brady star Susan Olsen, who played the youngest daughter Cindy on the show.

After working towards his doctorate degree at Ball State University, Nichelson met Olsen through mutual friends. The two stayed in touch and a friendship was formed. Both wanting to collaborate on a project, Nichelson approached Olsen with the idea of writing a book about The Brady Variety Hour. Despite the popularity of the Brady franchise, Nichelson realized that very little information was available about the show. He became curious and wanted to learn more. Olsen agreed the project was a great idea, and it evolved from there.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – With a deafening cry, hundreds of volunteers charged to destroy a worn down home in Philo, Ill., Thursday morning. Helping lead the charge was Illinois Wesleyan University alumnus Ed Brady. His act was one with charitable intentions. The owners of the demolished house have been chosen to receive a new home by the ABC television show Extreme Makeover Home Edition, and Brady’s construction company, Brady Homes, has been selected as the local building sponsor to donate his company’s labor and resources.

The television show chooses deserving families to receive a new home. Under the leadership of a local construction crew, the old home is razed and a new one built in about a week. For the home in Philo, shifts of construction workers and volunteers will be running from 6 a.m. to midnight in order to construct the house in seven days, a task that usually takes four months. Filming of the episode has been ongoing for the past week, and will continue until the completed home is revealed to the family next week. The episode is scheduled to air this fall.

Chosen for the show was the family of Nathan Montgomery, a former engineer who gave up a lucrative career to start the pantry Salt & Light that provides food, clothing and ministry to around 250 families in and near Philo, located southeast of Champaign. “This entire project is about the family, about communities coming together to provide food and shelter,” said Brady from the demolition site. “The Brady family is honored and happy to give back to this family who has given so much of themselves for others.”

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