Dear Friends,

Big news!  Next Tuesday, June 11, I will represent Kankakee Community College as one of only two community colleges in the country invited to the United States Supreme Court Summer Institute for Teachers, sponsored by Street Law, Inc.  Street Law is a not-for-profit organization that promotes civics education initiatives for high school educators.  Out of the 30 seats available for this year’s institute, two were made available to community college faculty for the first time ever—and little old KCC is filling one of those seats!  I could not be happier to represent our wonderful students, our talented alumni, and the Kankakee legal community at this institute.  And what a timely event, with the cases and issues facing this Court during the current term.  There is much teaching and learning to be accomplished, and I am eager to spend 7 days in Washington learning about the Court’s inner workings and better ways to make our students more civically literate.  The ideas are swimming in my head as I type!  As many of you know, I began my career working for the state judiciary, and those professional lessons from valued mentors have stayed with me to this day. . . .  I really hope to pay this forward to the latest generation of students!

To that end, I invite you to follow my journey on Facebook, which my students have dubbed “Miss C’s Excellent Adventure.”  (Seriously, none of them are old enough to even know this movie.)  I plan to post every day and will include questions and topics to get my students’ thoughts moving.  Hope you’ll get a minute to check in as well:

www.facebook.com/kccparalegal

Take care!  Hope to hear from you!  –Kris

Looks like Larry is moving to Indiana. Congratulations on becoming Depauw’s vice president for academic affairs!

http://www.insideindianabusiness.com/newsitem.asp?ID=58896

Dr. Sandra Steingraber, biologist and author of the book Living Downstream, testified on Tuesday, May 21, 2013 before a packed Illinois House legislative committee in Springfield, IL against the fracking legislation, Senate Bill 1715.  She testified that the long-term effects of modern fracking on human health and the environment aren’t understood yet.   Steingraber said opponents of fracking would fight the bill with “Churchillian resolve” every step of the way, even engaging in civil disobedience if necessary.

DreamWorks Animation Chief Creative Officer, Bill Damaschke and CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg and will deliver the opening address at Redefining Animation, the 25th annual conference for the Society of Animation Studies, which this year will be hosted by the USC School of Cinematic Arts’ John C. Hench Division of Animation & Digital Arts June 23-27.  SAS is an international organization aimed at studying animation history and theory; it holds an annual conference where members present their recent research.

Bloomington-based builder Ed Brady has been elected as a vice chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

Brady is president of Brady Homes, a company founded in 1964 by his father, William Brady Sr. One of the largest home building firms in central Illinois, Brady Homes has developed 20 residential communities throughout the state, building more than 1,800 single-family homes, 2,000 apartment units and more than 100,000 square feet of light commercial property.

Scott E. Huch ’86 recently completed a four-year stint on the Board of Directors of the Alzheimer’s Association—National Capital Area Chapter in Washington, D.C., including nearly three years as the Chapter’s Vice-Chair of Operations.  Huch chaired the CEO Search Committee during a 5-month period in 2011 that brought the first new President & CEO to the Chapter in 15 years by conducting a nationwide search that attracted nearly 150 applicants.  In addition, he served for three years as the Chapter’s representative to the National Delegate Assembly, which formally links the national Alzheimer’s Association, headquartered in Chicago, with its network of roughly 70 chapters around the country.

The Alzheimer’s Association raises and spends nearly $200,000,000 annually to fund research into Alzheimer’s Disease, public policy advocacy, and patient and caregiver support.  The National Capital Area Chapter, with a $12,000,000 annual budget, is among the five largest Chapters in the network and delivers the association’s programs and services to people impacted by Alzheimer’s Disease in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

“I was honored to be asked to do this, but it was more about serving people than being honored.  It was hard work, but I was glad I could help.  When I was a child, people only said the word ‘cancer’ in a whisper.  Once people started talking about it, we started to see real advances.  I hope we can do the same thing with Alzheimer’s.  The most important thing people can do to help is get involved as a donor or volunteer, and educate themselves about brain health.”