Save the Date!
The Illinois Wesleyan University Collegiate Choir
will perform in Bloomington for the final concert in their spring break tour.
The Collegiate Choir, conducted by Dr. J. Scott Ferguson,
will perform in cities throughout the Midwest plus Denver.
See the full tour schedule here.
On Tuesday, March 22 at 8:00 p.m. Wesley United Methodist Church, 502 E. Front St. Bloomington, IL, the Collegiate Choir will perform for locals.
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.”
Recently John Dozier ’78 and his wife Cheri spent their anniversary clearing out his mother’s house in preparation of an estate sale. In his former bedroom, they located the Just Married poster made by his groomsmen; Tim Potts ’79, Karl Cremieux ’79, William Petty ’78, and Chris Kosifas ’78 34 years earlier. John has attended each Homecoming since graduation and stays in contact with many of his IWU friends.
PS: John did take Cheri out to dinner that evening.
Mike Sutter ’76 was named one of 15 hospital, health system chief innovation officers to know.
Michael Sutter, Chief Innovation Officer, Carle Foundation Hospital (Urbana, Ill.). Mike has been chief innovation officer since May 2014. He previously served as the health system’s executive director of IT and as clinical director of Carle’s Epic EHR. While at this position he was involved in the initiation of the first electronic record for the system’s physician practice.
Mike also is a certified nurse anesthetist. Before working at Carle, Mike was involved with health technology projects with the U.S. Army.
Here is a link to an article with more detailed information:
Congratulations, Mike.
Kevin Dunn ’77 in Veep
Theatre alumnus Kevin Dunn ‘77 was among the cast accepting the Outstanding Comedy Series award for Veep. Kevin plays Ben Cafferty, the depressive and cynical White House Chief of Staff, on the satiric HBO comedy.
More information can be found in the IWU Magazine.
Congratulations, Kevin!
I received a note from Claudia Brogan ‘77 about how much she enjoyed Homecoming. Below is some of what she sent.
“I had such a great time at IWU’s Homecoming this past weekend.
“During the alumni luncheon on Saturday, there was a great honoring and send-off of President Wilson. That was one of my favorite parts of the Homecoming festivities. It was a great time for people to celebrate his successes and to wish him well. Here’s a photo of one of my fellow Alumni Board members, the new President of the Alumni Board Ms. Elly Jones ’91 with President Wilson.
“I am now sending photo of the fall colors and decorations on campus: they did such a beautiful job!”
Elizabeth (Stith) Lowery ’08 was married to Evan Lowery ’08 in Naperville, Illinois on July 11, 2015. Many IWU alumni were in attendance and a special appearance was made by Tommy Titan!
Attendees included (from the left): Randy Krepel ’08, Lindsey (Miller) Marks ’08 and Christopher Marks ’08, Vanessa Dremonas ’08, Amanda LaMonica-Weier ’08, Sara (Longtin) Davis ’08 and Donovan Davis ’07, Herb Stith ’76, Jack Herrmann ’74, Kerry Sindewald ’08, Kimberly (Stabosz) Zimmerman ’09, Ronni Tansey ’10, Todd French ’93, Laura Bales ’08, Rich Patenaude ’08, Lindsay (Perala-Dewey) Schlemmer ’09, and Sarah Campbell ’07
