Tariq Khan’s Homecoming Back to College Class, “All About Oscar – Everything You Wanted to Know About the Academy Awards.”

On July 17, over 2,500 alumni and friends made gifts to IWU totaling over $450,000. Unless otherwise specified by donors, all the money raised went to student scholarships and financial aid.  The “All in for Wesleyan” challenge began when Illinois Wesleyan Trustee John Horton ’82 and his wife, Joann, offered a gift of $100,000 if alumni and friends could raise $50,000 in one day.  When that challenge was met, several more challenges followed — and each was fulfilled.  Howard ’60 and Sharon ’60 Fricke offered a $10,000 gift if 600 donors participated.  Ed ’62 and Lin Phelps then offered $25,000 for 1,000 total donors.  Korey ’00 and Heidi Coon offered a $15,000 challenge for 1,200 donors.  Dr. Mike Sombeck ’83 offered $25,000 if we could reach 1,500.  Finally, at the end of the day, Dr. Randy ’73 & Jodie Reed offered $25,000 and Ed ’62 & Lin Phelps added $10,000 more to match every new gift, dollar for dollar…up to a total of $35,000 in gifts before midnight.

It was an exciting day to be a Titan.  The challenge became about so much more than numbers and dollars and donors.  It provided our alumni and friends with a chance to share their pride and explain how much IWU means to them.  If you weren’t following these conversations on social media, you can click here to read them now.  THANK YOU to all of our loyal alumni and friends who made July 17 an incredible day for our school and our students.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— April Olt, who received her bachelor of fine arts degree in theatre performance, with emphasis on directing from Illinois Wesleyan University, will direct the musical “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas,” for the Senior Repertory of Ohio (SRO) Theatre Company in Columbus, Ohio.

“The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” will be presented on Friday, May 31 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, June 1 at 8 p.m.; Sunday, June 2 at 2 p.m.; Friday, June 7 at 10:30 a.m. and 8 p.m.; Saturday, June 8 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, June 9 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20 for adults, $17 for seniors, $15 for SRO members, $10 for students and $15 for adults and seniors for the 10:30 a.m. performance on Friday, June 7. Discounted group tickets (10+) are available.

Olt, a Central Ohio Theatre Roundtable award-winner for excellence in directing, has been directing and teaching theatre for more than 15 years. As a dramaturg and director, she has worked on many productions and has taught and designed courses for all levels of educational institutions and theatre companies. Olt, IWU Class of 1993, received a master of fine arts degree in directing dramaturgy from Roosevelt University in Chicago.

The musical, a 1978 Drama Desk Award winner for Outstanding Lyrics and for Outstanding Music and a 1979 Tony Award nominee for Best Musical, is based on a Texas brothel, the legendary Chicken Ranch, visited frequently by politicians and others. It’s business as usual until a crusading TV reporter, Marvin Zindler, decides to aim his moral indignation at the ranch.

SRO is a semi-professional theatre company committed to artistic excellence. The company offers main-stage productions and touring shows as well as outreach and educational programs.

For additional information, visit www.srotheatre.org.

A new restaurant at the Tribune Tower called Howells & Hood just opened on Chicago’s busy and famed Magnificent Mile. It’s the latest venture from Chicago-based Bottleneck Management, owned and operated by three former Illinois Wesleyan students, Titan football players and fraternity brothers: Chris Bisaillon ’93, Jason Akemann ’96 and Nate Hilding ’96.  Howells & Hood takes its name from the the Tribune Tower’s history – paying homage to the building’s original architects, John Howells and Raymond Hood.  The restaurant officially opened on March 14th, 2013.

Howells & Hood’s Executive Chef Scott Walton and Bottleneck’s Corporate Executive Chef Paul Katz have collaborated on a menu that offers globally-inspired cuisine with locally-sourced product, capitalizing on Walton’s reputation as one of Chicago’s foremost authorities on fresh and sustainable cuisine.

This marks the sixth location for Bottleneck Management, following other bars and restaurants that they’ve opened throughout the city including Trace, The Boundary Tavern, Sweetwater Tavern and Grille, South Branch Tavern and Grille, and, most recently, Old Town Pour House.  For more information about Howells & Hood, visit their website at HowellsAndHood.com.

Prof. Fred Hoyt joins Prof. Elisabeta Pana and students in a Business Administration travel course focused on the 27-member European Union. They will visit the EU headquarters in Brussels, London (which is in the European Union but does not use the Euro), Euro-saviors Berlin and Paris, troubled Athens, and potential member Turkey’s Istanbul, among others.

The group had a meal facilitated by an IWU alum, George Kambouroglou ’93, who works as a software supervisor at the EU.  We’ve been in touch with George as soon as we learned he was in Brussels, and he bent over backward to make sure we had as much information as he could find, and joined us for dinner last night at Café Leon to reminisce about his days as an Acacia/physics major at IWU.