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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The West Bloomington Revitalization Partnership (WBRP) will receive the American Planning Association Award for their strategic plan in improving the neighborhood of West Bloomington. The award will be presented at the city council meeting Monday, Oct. 26.

> Read the plan (pdf)

The honor acknowledges the hard work of multiple community organizations, members of the Illinois Wesleyan University faculty and staff, as well as 13 IWU Action Research students who are working to improve the West Bloomington neighborhood.

Illinois Wesleyan has worked with the WBRP since it’s inception in the spring of 2008, and placed two summer interns with the association, senior sociology major Aaron Massey and senior political science major Mike Kotz. The Action Research Seminar class in the fall of 2008 also contributed to the program, focusing their research on the youth on the Westside. Currently, junior sociology major Bianca Spratt and junior business administration major Brittini Gray are working for the organization.

The WBRP developed after community members identified West Bloomington as a concern and in need of intervention. After surveying a portion of the neighborhood and obtaining feedback, the partnership created an improvement plan with six key components; Greening, Youth, Safety, Economic Development, Housing and Education. Each topic has a list of short and long-term goals that will be implemented in the coming months and years.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University’s Assistant Provost and Chief Technology Officer Trey Short has been named to the Advisory Board of the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE).

NITLE is a community-based, non-profit initiative dedicated to helping undergraduate-centered colleges, universities and educational organizations use technology effectively to strengthen undergraduate education.

Short’s two-year appointment will consist of providing strategic advice for the organization. Goals for this year include deepening NITLE’s engagement with specific sectors of the liberal arts community and developing strategic partnerships with other organizations as appropriate.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The school year is in full swing and students are aiming to make the best of their campus resources. At Illinois Wesleyan University one of these assets is The Ames Library, which offers a prime selection of well-known resources as well as some “hidden gems.”

The intellectual hub of the campus, The Ames Library is a five-story, 103,000 square feet building which houses approximately 335,000 items with access to 75 on-line databases, 1,100 journals in print and 33,000 journals online. The library also has seating for 500 readers and houses over 100 computer workstations as well as 16 study rooms. Yet some of the best gems are the people behind the desks.

According to University Librarian and Professor Karen Schmidt, one of the library’s best services is that it offers personal research assistance to all students.

“Library faculty provide in-depth research assistance for students and can be the untapped resource that moves a student to excellence and earning an ‘A’ on that challenging research assignment” said Schmidt. She encourages, “look for the AskAmes logo on the Web site or stop by the Information Desk to find out how to access this free and valuable resource.”

The library also offers informational sessions for classes, such as Gateways, to introduce students to the many services provided. Academic Outreach Librarian and Associate Professor Lynda Duke leads many of these sessions. They include introductions to library resources and services, as well as an introduction to the research process.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Irving Epstein, professor of Educational Studies and former acting director of International Studies, has accepted the position of Associate Dean of Faculty at Illinois Wesleyan. Epstein assumed the position as of August 1, 2009.

As Associate Dean of the Faculty, Epstein manages areas relating to faculty development. His duties include developing orientation programs, professional development workshops, and administering faculty travel and internal grant programs.

Epstein has held several other administrative positions since joining the staff of Illinois Wesleyan in 1996, having served as Department Chair of Educational Studies and as Director of General Education. He has held membership on the Curriculum Council and (CUPP) at the University, and has served as head of the campus chapter of the American Association of University Professors.

Epstein has also been active in the Scholars at Risk Network, an international network of colleges and universities that provide temporary academic positions to professors, lecturers, researchers and other intellectuals who face threats in their home country because of their ideas and place in society. He has worked with Illinois Wesleyan administration to host two such scholars over the past five years.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University alumnus Danny Burke has been pioneering making fresh food available to low-income residents.

Burke, who graduated in the spring of 2009, developed a plan for benefits from SNAP, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps), to be used at the farmer’s market in downtown Bloomington. Now the Downtown Bloomington Farmer’s Market is one of just nine farmer’s markets in the state of Illinois approved to accept Link cards, which are the cards used to redeem SNAP benefits in Illinois.

“Healthy food is so connected to community development,” said Burke, who earned a double major in environmental studies and Spanish. “If you secure food and nutrition, you help develop a healthier society.”

As a member of the Illinois Wesleyan’s track team, Burke ran through many neighborhoods in Bloomington, and began to suspect several of them were what anthropologists call a “food desert” – pockets in developed countries where no fresh food is available. “Some areas do not have access to grocery stores, only corner stores and gas stations that carry mainly processed food,” he said. Burke decided to focus his senior seminar paper on providing options to alleviate possible food deserts in Bloomington.

Through his advisor Environmental Studies Director and Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and International Studies Abigail Jahiel, Burke discovered the idea of allowing low-income residents to use SNAP benefits at area farmer’s markets. With the help of Jahiel and Deborah Halperin from the University’s Action Research Center, Burke connected with several local organizations, including the West Bloomington Revitalization Partnership, the Heartland Local Food Network, Harvest of Hope, and Downtown Bloomington Association, which operates the farmers’ market. “Danny saw a need and studied and worked to answer that need,” said Marsha Veninga, co-chair of Heartland Local Food Network, who took on Burke as an intern. “He has gone way above and beyond any class project.”

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