Jerrilyn McGregory ’71 recently had a book, “One Grand Noise: Boxing Day in the Anglicized Caribbean World”, published about the first comprehensive study of how Boxing Day is celebrated across The Caribbean. You find the book here. The book was also the winner of the Chicago Prize in Folklore in 2022. You can read more about the award here.
Roscoe (Ross) Fraser ’78 a larger-than-life presence in the Chicago communications, non-profit and theater arenas for more than four decades, passed away on Jan. 1. He liked to say he found his people when he arrived at Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) in 1974 as a theater major. Ross had a memorable role in Truman Capote’s Among the Paths to Eden and directed his senior show, the Steven Tesich play The Carpenters. But at IWU, he is best remembered as a genuine force of nature on the social scene. Ross seemed to know everyone and everyone knew Ross. The dramatic training helped Ross later in life, but all the skills for getting on in this world were forged at Illinois Wesleyan. You can read the full obituary here.
The Pantagraph Holiday Spectacular brought another year of cheer to Bloomington-Normal during performances on Dec. 3-4. The production was written by Nancy Steele Brokaw ’71, directed by former faculty member Lori Adams, and featured performances by Marketing Director Andy Kreiss ’86 and Assistant Professor of Music Bob Mangialardi. Read the full Pantagraph article here.
Richard McCoy ’74 and his wife Laurie McCoy were recently featured in a My Journal Courier article about their experience in Jacksonville theater. They have been involved for over four decades, and could be considered the “first family” of local theater. Read the full article here.
Tim Brown ’78 will be awarded an honorary doctorate from Indiana State University. Read the full article from Yahoo here.
Jack Sikma ’77 has been featured in a recently-published Basketnews article detailing much of Jack’s influence and legacy in basketball. Read it here.
Community Players Theatre is celebrating 100 years on stage. Bruce Parrish ’74, president of the board for Community Players Theatre, recalls how participating in theatre at IWU helped pave the way for his involvement with the local group. You can read more here.
Tom Patterson ’75 wrote an article that was published by the Journal of Louisiana Historical Association (Louisiana History, Summer 2022, Vol. LXIII, No. 3, page 321). The article, called “Mastering the Senate Maze: Mr. Long Goes to Washington,” describes the first four months in office of Senator Huey P. Long, Jr.. Tom is also writing a book about Senator Long, expected to be published in 2024.
Jack Sikma ’77 will be the keynote speaker at the annual meeting of The Hundred Club of Kankakee County where he will talk about how basketball has impacted his life. Read the full Daily Journal article here.