IWU graduates from 1977 and 1978 gathered in the Adirondack Mountains on Lake George this August, 2014, to celebrate 40 years of friendship (and KKG sisterhood). (from left): Lucy Carmody Simkins ’77, Cory Mooney McCoy, Barbara Short Brown ’77, Sarah Plumb Beck ’77, Jeri Bidle Collins ’77, Barbara Bruder Rogotzke ’78, and Susan Casurella Michels ’77.
Ross Fraser ’78 sent me this interesting fact.
“I am a 1978 graduate of IWU and just realized that my first day of class at IWU was 40 years ago this coming Friday, Sept. 12th. Registration that year was Sept. 9th.”
Ross was a theater major. They were a small, close-knit group, and Ross is still in touch with many of my classmates. My brother-in-law, Roger Keller, graduated from IWU in 1966, his daughter Heidi Keller, in 1999. Ross has another niece, Hillary Davis, that graduated in 2013!
Thanks for the great information, Ross.
Judge Elizabeth Robb ’78
Eleventh Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Elizabeth Robb announced Wednesday that she will retire Dec. 31. The Eleventh Judicial Circuit is based in Bloomington, IL.
“I am so very grateful to have had the opportunity to achieve a goal that I have had since I was a junior in high school,” Robb said in a statement on her plans to leave her position after 22 years as a judge. Elizabeth was appointed to the bench in 1993, Robb was the first woman to serve as associate judge, circuit judge and chief judge of the circuit. The Eleventh Judicial Circuit serves McLean, Logan, Woodford, Livingston, and Ford counties. She has also worked in private practice, spending five years as an assistant public defender representing juvenile court clients.
Robb was elected circuit judge in 2000 and retained twice by voters. She has been chief judge for 10 years.
Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Rita Garman called Robb “an excellent chief judge and administrator, a leader among the chief judges in Illinois.” Robb “has been on the forefront with innovative programs that have moved the courts forward,” said Garman.
Chief Judge Robb has worked to foster the spirit of cooperation during her tenure. “The concept of collaboration, bringing people around the table to share ideas, the needs of the court system, ways to make things better — that whole spirit of we can do it together,” Elizabeth said of her approach.
The council has been credited with saving over $1 million in tax dollars through changes that have made the criminal justice system more efficient. Sheriff Mike Emery, one of the founding members of the council, said Judge Robb “implemented many positive changes that have increased efficiency and effectiveness in our justice system. She has certainly guided us in a direction that has made us a model county.”
Robb also helped implement the state Supreme Court pilot program for cameras in the courtroom. Media have extended their coverage of proceedings with cameras, video and sound equipment in McLean County courtrooms for more than a year.
A 1978 graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University, Robb said she plans to remain active in the community and may enjoy new opportunities not available during her judicial service. Robb earned her law degree from Loyola University in Chicago in 1981. She taught business law at Illinois State University and IWU.
Outside McLean County, Elizabeth has served on the Illinois Judicial Conference. She will leave her current post as chairwoman of the Illinois Conference of Chief Judges in December. Robb is an active member of the of the Illinois Judges Association and the McLean County Bar Association.
Brian Koopmans ’79 tells us that on June 8 he completed The Echo Half Marathon. This race was his first half marathon in over 35 years. He completed the half marathon in a time of 1 hour 55 minutes and 20 seconds.
A half marathon is a road running event of about 13.1 miles or about 21 kilometers.
Congratulations Brian.
Larry Neumann, Jr. ’81 was nominated for a Jeff Award for actor in a principal role for “In God’s Hat,” a production with Profiles Theatre. In addition, First Folio Theatre, with Alison C. Vesely-Rice ’79 as artistic director and co-founder, is up for multiple awards.
The Jeff Awards is committed to celebrating the vitality of Chicago area theatre by recognizing excellence through its recommendations, awards, and honors. The Jeff Awards fosters the artistic growth of area theatres and theatre artists and promotes educational opportunities, audience appreciation, and civic pride in the achievements of the theatre community. The Jeff Awards evaluates over 250 theatrical productions and holds two awards ceremonies annually. Originally chartered to recognize only Equity productions, the Jeff Awards established the Non-Equity Wing in 1973 to celebrate outstanding achievement in non-union theatre.
Profiles Theatre, founded in 1988, was formed as an actor-driven theatre ensemble dedicated to creating provocative and emotionally truthful productions. Passionate about shaping an original vision for new works, they focused on performing World, American and Midwest premieres as well as rarely performed plays.
First Folio Theatre is in its 17th season of bringing high-quality performances of Shakespeare and other classics to the Chicagoland suburbs. The theater has grown from an annual summer show to a year-round operation with three separate and distinct stages. As a professional, not-for-profit organization, First Folio relies upon the support and donations of friends and businesses to continue its efforts and build upon its success.
Congratulations to Larry and Alison!
The website “Best College Reviews” has chosen Bloomington-Normal to its 50 Best College Towns. Bloomington-Normal was placed 38th, between Athens, GA and Oxford, MS. The things considered in the choices were:
The towns at the top of the list have all of the above, while towns featuring only a handful of the criteria are ranked lower. The website recognized that everyone values different things in their college towns, but in an effort to establish diversity of views in the ranking of college towns, they decided on the above criteria as a valuable way to highlight the towns that truly are a great part of our college experience, before, during, and after school.
If you want to learn more about the other cities on the list, go to http://www.bestcollegereviews.org/50-best-college-towns-america/.
More than 5,000 alumni showed their support by making a gift to IWU in fiscal year 2014!
And for the second year straight, Illinois Wesleyan alumni have grown our alumni giving percentage. We are now at 23%!
THANK YOU for doing your part to keep IWU strong.
I have the sad duty to share the news that Gary Guichard ’79 passed away on February 11, 2014. Gary was a resident of Denver, Colorado.
This is all the information I have. If any of you have information of Gary’s passing, send the information to me at bob@jazzbob7.com.
IWU’s fiscal year ends TODAY – July 31 – Thank you if you’ve already made your annual gift!
Now help us find the 47 additional alumni donors we need to reach our participation goal by today. Organizations view alumni participation as the metric that measures alumni satisfaction. It affects IWU’s ranking, bond rating, and ability to earn grants, so make your gift today at iwu.edu/give to keep IWU strong! Every donor counts!
Kathy Steadman ’78 has been featured in The Pantagraph!
NORMAL — A husband and wife described as avid cyclists and tireless behind-the-scenes workers are Normal’s 2014 Citizens of the Year. Dan and Kathy (Knapp ’78) Steadman were named on Thursday evening during the annual mayoral reception. Dan and Kathy are only the fifth couple to receive the award since it was first given in 1957.
Dan Steadman is president of the Friends of Constitution Trail, and both Dan and Kathy are on the organization’s newsletter and special events committees.
The Steadmans have been foster parents to 13 children, two who who they adopted. The Steadmans also have two sons of their own.
During the reception, a presentation was given in their honor. The presentation included pictures of Dan and Kathy with their children and other family members. One popular photos was of them on their tandem bicycle. The reception was held at the Carol Reitan Conference Center in the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center in uptown Normal.
The announcement of the honor was a surprise to Kathy and Ted. Many members of their family that present kept the secret of the honor that caught the Steadmans by surprise. Dan Steadman held up the written remarks he thought he was there to deliver — an update on Constitution Trail. It was actually part of a ruse to ensure the couple would attend the reception, which included not only elected officials and community leaders but also people who serve on various town committees.
“I’ve been practicing all week,” he said, referring to the speech that he never got to make.
“It’s just such a nice honor,” Kathy Steadman said.
“Dan and Kathy do so much and they don’t want any recognition for it,” Mayor Chris Koos said after the announcement. “They give money for projects and they give time for projects. I’ve been watching it over the years.”
He said, “After a storm, you’ll find Dan single-handedly trying to clear the trail of fallen trees.”
Dan Steadman, a dentist, has served on the McLean County Board of Health, including time as president. He performs volunteer dental work in schools and the community. He also is a volunteer bike mechanic for the WalkIn-BikeOut bike giveaway program that is part of West Bloomington Revitalization Project.
Kathy served as a volunteer for CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates), the Pratt Foundation, Beyond the Books and the Glenn Elementary School library.
Both have been Cub Scout leaders and active members of the parent teacher organization.