Today is All In for Wesleyan at IWU. Dr. Randy Reed ’73 has offered to give $500 for each class year with 30 donors today, and an additional $500 for each class with 60 donors. Seriously – every dollar counts! Help your class meet this Challenge. Click this link to donate https://www.iwu.edu/all-in You can also see how your class is doing in the challenge.
You can see All In on campus by clicking here.
Debby DeBernardi ’76 left a nursing career to become an ordained minister and professor of religion.
Frankie R. Faison ’71 (left) poses with IWU’s Washington, D.C. Alumni Chapter President, Scott Huch ’86, following the matinee performance of Between Riverside and Crazy at Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C., on February 13, 2016. In Studio’s production of this 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Stephen Adly Guirgis, Faison stars in the lead role of Walter “Pops” Washington. Faison is a Tony and Drama Desk Award-nominated Broadway actor also known for his work on film and TV, notably as Commissioner Ervin Burrell on the acclaimed HBO series The Wire. Faison can currently be seen in the hit Cinemax series Banshee as Sugar Bates.
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded a $350,000 grant to Illinois Wesleyan University to develop a comprehensive, three-year program of new curricular approaches and pedagogical reform. The primary aim of the initiative, entitled Engaging Tomorrow’s Students, is to increase student engagement and enhance learning outcomes.
Provost and Dean of the Faculty Jonathan Green noted Illinois Wesleyan’s student population has significantly diversified in recent years with regard to racial and ethnic minorities, first-generation college students and students who are eligible for Pell Grants. “In addition to a greater breadth of ethnic, geographic, racial and socio-economic backgrounds, our students display a much more varied range of preparation and learning experiences from those enrolled when our current curriculum was created,” said Green. He also noted that faculty and administrators have indicated they could be better prepared to meet the intercultural needs of today’s students.
To strengthen pedagogy and increase interdisciplinary offerings, the grant will allow Illinois Wesleyan to establish four major initiatives. These include: team-taught interdisciplinary courses that experiment with varied ways of teaching; curricular and pedagogical symposia; campus teaching mentors; and workshops on the humanities and intercultural communication.
Funds from the grant will be used for guest speakers; grants for faculty members to develop specific projects within their courses; stipends for workshops, training and mentors; and the salary for a visiting assistant professor of humanities.
Associate Dean for Curricular and Faculty Development Lynda Duke will serve as project director and coordinate implementation of the grant. Green said the university’s Andrew W. Mellon Center for Curricular and Faculty Development will be the home for the work of the Engaging Tomorrow’s Students project. The Mellon Center has also been home to the work of several previous grants from the Mellon Foundation: a $300,000 grant for Re-Centering the Humanities in 2013; a $250,000 grant to support writing and information literacy in 2012; and a $175,000 grant in 2008 to develop a writing curriculum in the sophomore year.
“This is a propitious time in the University’s history as we fulfill our mission’s commitment to being a diverse community, but we do not have the resources required to retool most effectively,” said Green. “This grant makes it possible for us to adapt to a new generation of students, strengthen our teaching, and reform our curriculum to the best advantage of our students and the institution. The project will help us provide the educational support all students deserve.”
Mark Calvin Yontz ’72 and Sandra Ward Yontz ’72 welcomed the birth of their grandchild Calvin Christopher Duke on September 8, 2015. Calvin joined parents Chelsea ’05 and Jamie Duke and big sisters Grace and Caroline.
George McGee is the 2015 recipient of the John Walker Manning Mentor and Teaching Award at Georgetown College in Kentucky where he is Professor of Theatre and Film. The Award is presented annually to a faculty member who has demonstrated leadership in mentoring and counseling students in their academic course work and who has shown excellence in teaching. Students make nominations and have a significant voice in selecting the Manning Award winner each year. McGee, who holds an MFA from Florida Atlanta University, has been a member of the faculty at Georgetown College since 1984.
Family and friends helped celebrate the marriage of Cheryl Larea Portwood-Peden & Noah Emery on October 17, 2015 in Homewood, IL. Cheryl also welcomed the birth of her first grandchild, Milan Amari Rogers on July 8, 2015.
Jim And Deb ’78 Bowers were named Philanthropists of the Year at the Tocqueville Society Reception.
The Tocqueville Society was founded in 1984. The United Way Tocqueville Society is an opportunity for passionate individuals to become more deeply involved in United Way’s mission. The Tocqueville Society recognizes local philanthropic leaders and volunteer champions in the United States, France, and Romania who have devoted time, talent, and funds to create long-lasting changes by tackling our communities’ most serious issues.
Tony-award nominated actor Frankie Faison ’71 speaks extensively about his experience as an actor, his creative process, his start in the church, and his love of theatre in the Youtube series “Stay Regular.”
A link to the video can be found here.