THANK YOU to all of our fiscal year 2015 donors! Illinois Wesleyan University‘s alumni participation rate has increased for the third year in a row thanks to the generosity of donors like you! Your support helps to ensure IWU is stronger and more affordable for current and future generations of Titans. You’ve done well, and you’ve done good! Go Titans!

Music teacher Gina McKeown ’92 is starting the Greater Newburyport Children’s Choir, a new community choir for students in grades 4 to 8.

You can view the entire article here.

Kyle Pfortmiller ’92 will be performing at the Berkshire Opera Festival.

For more information about the Festival click here.

Check out the new Tommymometer to see where we stand by clicking here.

If you have already made a gift this year, thank you! If you have not yet made your gift, there is still time for you to make a difference this year.

By making your gift before July 31, you will not only add to the Tommymometer for alumni donors, but you will help to keep current Illinois Wesleyan students enrolled and our alma mater strong. The percentage of alumni donors is important to IWU because outside organizations view it as a metric to measure alumni satisfaction. It affects Illinois Wesleyan’s rankings, bond rating, and ability to earn grants.

Thank you for doing your part to fill the Tommymometer before July 31 and keep Illinois Wesleyan moving forward!

After 17 years as a public school teacher and coach, Bob Cofield ’92 was recently named as the Manager of the High School Partnerships Center at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove, IL. His primary responsibilities are to manage the relationship between the college and the local high schools that partner with them for Dual Credit purposes. He also will oversee the college’s High School Summer Program which provides opportunities for advanced learning and credit recovery. He lives in Aurora, IL.

I recently started working for another IWU alum, Janel Patterson who graduated in 1992 with a degree in International Business. After an unsettling encounter with an online predator experienced by her oldest daughter, Janel took matters into her own hand. Janel has worked diligently over the past five years to build Frienedy into the first private group networking application that is family-friendly and suitable for users of all ages. Janel has worked hard at making sure Frienedy is COPPA (Children’s online privacy protection act) compliant which sets Frienedy apart from various other social media sites. Frienedy is gaining great traction in St. Louis, where Janel currently resides, and throughout the country. Janel reached out to Business Professor Fred Hoyt and that is how the two of us became connected and began working together. In the first few weeks, Janel has already served as such a fabulous role model and exemplified true characteristics of a Titan.

On April 9, Titans of all generations pulled together and showed their pride on the third annual All In For Wesleyan. More than 1,800 gifts of all sizes from 49 states and 17 countries totaled over $500,000 in support of Illinois Wesleyan University and our students. Our collective philanthropy served as an inspiration to the next generation as All In For Wesleyan firmly established itself as an Illinois Wesleyan tradition, both on campus and off. The class of 1992 had 26 donors on April 9th and donations totaling $3,830.00.

Thank you 1992 Alumni for being “all in” all the time, and for continuing to make Illinois Wesleyan one of your giving priorities. If you have already made your gift this year, thank you! If you have not made your gift this year, I hope that you will join me as a donor and put us one more gift closer to our participation goal. You can make your gift by visiting iwu.edu/give. It is your support that keeps Illinois Wesleyan strong, and develops the next generation of leaders.

Your partner in support,

Van Miller ‘04

Director of Annual Giving

Aaron Reynolds ’92, who is a New York Times best-selling author, visited Johnson Elementary School’s library in Warrenville, Illinois on Friday, May 8, 2015. He read the students his popularly acclaimed book, “Creepy Carrots!” Library Director Christy Heins ’03 invited the author to her school after reading an article about him in the Illinois Wesleyan alumni magazine. “Creepy Carrots!” was titled the third place winner for the Monarch Award, an award given every year to authors whose books are voted as most liked by elementary students in Illinois. Heins stated that the students were excited about Reynolds’s visit and became inspired to read many more books.

Aaron Reynolds ’92 reading his book “Creepy Carrots!” to the students of Johnson Elementary in Warrenville, Ill. Photo by Bev Horne (cropped)

Update: Aaron Reynolds is still visiting schools and talking with young readers. A link can be found here.