Michael Cooper ’77 has written a new play, The Sunflower Apostle, inspired by Oscar Wilde’s first visit to America in 1882 when he was twenty-seven years old, prior to literary fame. On December 24, 1881, Mr. Wilde sailed from Liverpool, England to New York City to embark on an American lecture tour addressing audiences with his lecture entitled, “The Decorative Arts”. That spring, Mr. Wilde arrived in Bloomington, Illinois to speak at the local Durley Hall for one evening only. A progressive women’s club in town sponsored his visit and rallied a curious sold-out crowd to see him.

Michael says that “During the pandemic, I decided to write a play based upon a story I heard while attending IWU. My research proved quite worthy, and I wrote THE SUNFLOWER APOSTLE, based upon Oscar Wilde’s one-time visit to Bloomington, IL. The Alchemy Theatre produced the premiere reading of this new play on October 29, 2021, with plans now to produce a full production in their 2023 Season, after which I will submit for publication or future performances at other theatres.”

Jay Payleitner ’79 is publishing a new book titled Don’t Take the Bait to Escalate: Conflict Is Inevitable. Being a Jerk Is Optional. The book is being released on March 15, 2022 and preorder is open now! You can view Jay’s website here to read more about him and his other writings.

Randall Ricklefs ’73 is a senior engineer at Hexagon US Federal, contributing to the Global Geodetic Observing System, a collaborative effort of the global geodesy community to the observation and monitoring of the Earth system. Randy is also a research associate at the University of Texas at Austin.

Nurse and CEO of one of the largest medical providers in Pima County, Nancy Johnson ’78 was honored as the 2021 Greater Tucson Leadership Woman of the Year. Read about it here (page 171).

Dr. Greg Poland ’77, who studies the immunogenetics of vaccine response at the Mayo Clinic, provided expert perspective on the future of COVID-19. Read the article here.

Kankakee County Circuit Judge Thomas W. Cunnington has been selected to serve the 21st Judicial Circuit, which includes Kankakee and Iroquois counties, as its next chief judge starting Jan. 1, 2022.

Tom Richards ’78 is the author of Dolphin Song, a sweeping tale that follows the journey of an Irish-American family caught up in a storm of tragedy. The book is an extension of a screenplay Tom wrote with collaborator Liam O’Neill, who died in May 2020 of COVID-19. Liam had encouraged Tom to adapt the screenplay as a book to help secure production finance, which Tom eventually completed, even after his friend’s death. A story of romance, Irish legend and magic, Dolphin Song is available on Amazon. 

Read more or purchase Dolphin Song at https://www.tomrichards.ie/

Tom would also like to thank Dr John Ficca, a teacher and director. Tom says he was “The man who encouraged me through hard work to learn to write.”

Carlina Tapia-Ruano ’77 was selected to be on the screening committee for the appointment of a Federal District Court Judge in one of the Illinois districts. Read the full press release here.

Jerrilyn McGregory ’75 has a new book out titled One Grand Noise: Boxing Day in the Anglicized Caribbean World, which undertakes the first comprehensive study of how Boxing Day is celebrated across the Caribbean. You can check it out here!

Steve O’Neal ’75 recently retired as a full professor from Southwestern Oklahoma State University after a 31 year career in the Department of Biological Sciences. Steve taught courses in general biology, botany, environmental biology and aquatic ecology. His research centered on the ecology of algae in both freshwater and marine ecosystems. He published thirteen research papers in seven scholarly journals. At SWOSU, he mentored numerous undergraduate research students who presented their research at a wide range of scientific meetings. Steve plans to continue to pursue some of his research interests and maintain his long association with the Blue Thumb volunteer program in Oklahoma that monitors water quality in streams.