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1991 Class News

Dr. Stephanie Whyte ’91 to Deliver Founders’ Day Convocation and Martin Luther King Jr. Teach-In Keynote

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Dr. Stephanie A. Whyte, a 1991 Illinois Wesleyan University graduate, will present the 2021 combined Founders’ Day Convocation and Martin Luther King Jr. Teach-In keynote address titled “COVID-19: The great disruptor.”

Due to event restrictions caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Founders’ Day Convocation –– including prelude music, an invocation, remarks by President S. Georgia Nugent, Dr. Whyte’s address, a Alma Wesleyana performed by Elena Gjata ’23, and postlude music by organist Kevin Chunko –– will be pre-recorded and made available for the public to stream on-demand beginning on Founders’ Day –– Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021.

In addition to Dr. Whyte’s prerecorded address, she will also lead a live, virtual talk during Professor of Political Science Greg Shaw’s American Healthcare Policy class on Wednesday morning. In the evening, Dr. Whyte will deliver a live, virtual presentation on the topic of the intersection of Blackness and U.S. healthcare.

Dr. Whyte is a Senior Clinical Solutions Medical Director for Aetna Medicaid, overseeing the medical director team serving Florida, Kentucky and Louisiana covering over 560,000 lives.  While at Aetna, she has participated in the Health Care Equity Committee and National Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee as well as serving as the Interim Chief Medical Officer for the Aetna Better Health of Illinois plan.

Prior to joining Aetna in 2015, Dr. Whyte was the first ever Chief Health Officer for Chicago Public Schools (CPS) –– the third largest school district in the nation. She established a new office to focus on student health and wellness policy and programming, with an emphasis on removing barriers to learning. During her tenure, CPS became the first large urban school district to put undesignated epinephrine auto-injectors in each school for emergency use, and as a result, saved 70 lives. Before CPS, Dr. Whyte served as the Medical Director of Mobile Care Chicago, where she spent over a decade caring for children with asthma in Chicago’s most underserved neighborhoods.

Dr. Whyte is a board-certified pediatrician. She received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Illinois Wesleyan University, an M.D. from the Chicago Medical School (now Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science) and completed her pediatric residency at Louisiana State University Medical Center in New Orleans. Dr. Whyte also holds an MBA in Public and Nonprofit Management from Saint Xavier University; is a certified health care insurance executive; and board certified in Health Care and Quality Management. Dr. Whyte has been honored with the “Distinguished Alumnus Award” from both the Chicago Medical School (2013) and Illinois Wesleyan University (2015). Dr. Whyte is a published author, lecturer, media spokesperson, and has served on various local, regional and national advisory boards.

Dr. Whyte’s Founders’ Day Convocation and Martin Luther King Jr. Teach-In keynote address complements Illinois Wesleyan’s annual theme, “Health, Healing, and Humanity.” The Martin Luther King Jr. Teach-In, held annually at Illinois Wesleyan, coincides with this year’s Founders’ Day, which honors the 30 civic and religious leaders who came together in 1850 –– 171 years ago –– to establish “an Institution of learning of Collegiate grade.”

Formerly held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the MLK Teach-In was moved to later in January, beginning in 2020, to include students who do not have classes during the national holiday. Meanwhile, faculty and staff will participate in a day of celebration during the national holiday, with a professional development objective to listen, reflect, cultivate deeper levels of awareness, learn, and practice what it means to hold space individually and collectively to begin the essential expansion required for anti-racism action and racial justice.

By John Twork

Dr. Srinivas Cheenu Kappadath ’19

Dr. Srinivas Cheenu Kappadath ’19 has been elected a Fellow of the Association, in the category of Fellow honors members who have distinguished themselves by their contributions in research, education, or leadership in the medical physics community. The award was presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine in San Antonio, TX on July 15, 2019. Congratulations!

Engage with IWU Virtually

Looking for ways to keep busy during the quarantine? Why not virtually engage with IWU and fellow Titans? There are still plenty of opportunities available where you can reach out and make a difference:

  • Performances from IWU alumni, students and faculty
    Contact us at iwualum@iwu.edu if you have a virtual performance to share. Follow the School of Theatre Arts Facebook page for posts about performances by students and alumni.
  • Back to College Classes
    Check out videos of previous classes featuring alumni.
  • Take part in Titan Talks: Webinar Series
    We are excited to launch this series featuring alumni, faculty and staff.
  • Start a Titan Group
    Have you been wanting to start a book club? Let us know at iwualum@iwu.edu and we can help connect you to other interested alumni.
  • IWU Social Media
    Follow Illinois Wesleyan University Alumni Association social media for the latest updates and announcements – FacebookTwitterLinkedIn.
  • Virtual Titan Connections
    We miss connecting with Titans in person, but we would love to see photos or videos from your virtual connections. Show your Titan pride and tag IWU Alumni Association (@IWU_AlumniAssoc) on Twitter and (@illinoiswesleyanalumni) on Facebook. You can also post in your Regional Alumni Chapter’s Facebook group, reunion group, or affinity group.
  • Titan Challenges
    Challenge your fellow Titans to a virtual 5K or fitness challenge. Be sure to wear your favorite Titan gear and share a photo on social media or you can send it to iwualum@iwu.edu.

Titans Supporting Titans

Ways to Support Fellow Titans
    1. To share a word of support for your classmates at this time, submit a post to your class newsletter by emailing your editor or if your class does not have an editor, send your post to classnews@iwu.edu.
    2. You can provide support to the Titan Student Emergency Fund. This fund will provide relief to students with needs such as housing, travel, moving and storage, transportation and vehicle repair, and technology needs related to remote learning.
    3. If you have expertise or a career opportunity that you can share with students, please connect with a Hart Career Center staff member for a phone or video appointment through a Handshake account here. You can also post job and internship opportunities on the site. View FAQs here.
    4. University Archives & Special Collections wants to hear your experiences and reflections to keep a historical record of the impact of the pandemic on the Illinois Wesleyan community, you can learn more here.
    5. Assist the IWU Admissions team in student recruitment efforts. Our alumni are the best and most qualified to meet with prospective students to share your IWU experience. Sign up here: Titan Alumni Ambassadors.
    6. You can see more ideas here.

TAG Day 2020

Thank-A-Giver Day (TAG Day) is Monday, February 10. This day provides the IWU campus community with the opportunity to thank donors who support Illinois Wesleyan. IWU celebrates each year in mid-February because it marks the symbolic point during the academic year – about 70% of the way through – when we rely on support from alumni and friends, our endowment, and external grants.  

If you would like to be celebrated as a donor today, you can make a gift at iwu.edu/give

IWU Reunion: Todd Strong ’91, Moaz Rab ’91, Omar Sadeque ’91, Hussain T. Hasan ’91 and Hanif Tayab Hasan ‘91

An IWU reunion was celebrated by Todd Strong ’91, Moaz Rab ’91, Malik Zia, and brothers Hussain T. Hasan ’91 and Hanif Tayab Hasan ‘91.  The long awaited reunion happened in Pakistan, between February 6th – 14th, 2019.  The photo on the right also includes Omar Sadeque ’91 who joined us in Dubai on top of Burj Khalif, the tallest building in the world, on the way to Pakistan.

Victoria “Vikki” (Walczak) Meloy ’91

Vikki graduated from East Tennessee State University in May of 2017 with a master’s degree in nursing education. She just completed her first year as a clinical lecturer with the University of Tennessee College of Nursing. At graduation on May 10, 2019 she was awarded the Excellence in Clinical Teaching Award which was selected by the graduating class.

Congratulations Vikki!