The spirit of giving is all around us this holiday season, please consider giving the gift of bright futures to current and future Illinois Wesleyan University students. Your gifts provide opportunities and experiences that will be remembered for a lifetime.
Heather Olt was recently seen gracing the red carpet at the premiere of Hulu’s “Marvel’s Runaways” at Regency Bruin Theatre in Los Angeles on November 16, 2017.
Heather has a recurring role on this new comic book adaptation, playing Frances, a member of the Church of Gibborim, a cult-like movement headed by Leslie Dean (Annie Wersching), the mother of Karolina Dean (Virginia Gardner).
Heather’s other recent roles include “American Horror Story: Cult” and “Jane The Virgin,” as well as recurring roles on “Justified” and “Baskets”.
The first FOUR episodes of “Marvel’s Runaways” are available now on HULU!
After Black Friday and Cyber Monday is #GivingTuesday, a global initiative to celebrate generosity and give back during the holiday season. Join the movement and help make bright futures possible for current Titans with a gift at www.iwu.edu/give today!
Adam Kramer, band director at Fort Worth Independent School District’s Southwest High School and Wedgwood Middle School, has been selected as the 2017-18 Bayard H. Friedman Chair for Teaching Excellence in Performing Arts.
Mr. Kramer was chosen following a rigorous three-part evaluation process based on a written application and narrative; a recording of classroom instruction; and an interview session with a distinguished panel of judges.
In 1999 Performing Arts Fort Worth established the Bayard H. Friedman Chair for Teaching Excellence in Performing Arts, which annually recognizes and rewards an exemplary Fort Worth Independent School District teacher. The Chair carries the title for one year and receives a $5,000 honorarium.
Mr. Kramer has been teaching for 21 years, eight years in Fort Worth ISD. Under his direction, many of Mr. Kramer’s students have been named to All-District, All-Region, and All-State Concert and Jazz Bands. Michael Dawson, Head Band Director at Wedgwood Middle School, states, “Mr. Kramer is a respected faculty member at Wedgwood Middle and Southwest High Schools. He has great rapport with teachers and administrators….and is also highly respected by students and parents.”
The Chairs for Teaching Excellence program is modeled after the university-level Chair program and is designed to recognize and reward exemplary teachers. This program is unique because of its role in a public secondary school setting and for its rigorous selection process.
Congratulations, Adam!
Junaid Ahmed ’96 is a Senior Broadcast Journalist at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), one of the world’s leading provider of news. Despite being a London based journalist, Junaid’s work for the BBC has taken him around the world to cover stories, ranging from the earthquake in Nepal to the elections in Israel, to the horse meat scandal in Belgium. His most recent trip was to the Scottish capital Edinburgh where his show, the Weekend, covered the 70th anniversary of the Edinburgh Festival and the political mood in Scotland ahead of Britain’s departure from the European Union. As a Back to College Class speaker during Homecoming 2017 – Titans Around the World, Junaid spoke about these stories, his initial journey to Bloomington, and how his education at Illinois Wesleyan shapes his work. His presentation, entitled “Reporting World News Thtrough Storytelling”, may be viewed below.
Congratulations, Junaid!
As IWU celebrates Titans Around the World at Homecoming this weekend, we will also honor our alumni who served worldwide as veterans and first-responders, including Captain Ryan A. Beaupre ’95. We will remember Ryan and all veterans and first-responders who have given their lives in the service of others and our country. Presenting the colors will be American Legion Color Guard Post 635 Normal and Post 56 from Bloomington. The ceremony will take place this Saturday, October 14th at 12:45 p.m., prior to the Homecoming Football game at Tucci Stadium and will include the National Anthem sung by Wayne Messmer ’72. Classmates and friends can view the ceremony on streaming video live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/iwu/.
Junaid Ahmed ’96, a journalist and producer of Newshour, a one hour news and current affairs program on BBC World Service, will be speaking this weekend at IWU’s Homecoming as part of an International Career Panel on Friday, 10/13 from 4 to 5 p.m.
During this panel, alumni will discuss how their IWU education prepared them to work abroad. Other panelists include Jill Jackson ’04 (PricewaterhouseCoopers), Anton Samrai ’07 (PepsiCo), Sijia Song ’13 (Ernst & Young), and Coco Bassey ’10 (Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Millennielle & Product Marketing Manager, Wolters Kluwer).
Faizal Chaudhury ’96, Vice President of Internal Audit at SallieMae, has joined the University of Delaware’s Alfred Learner College of Business & Economics as an Adjunct Professor. He teaches graduate and undergraduate graduate level classes on Internal Auditing.
Faizal says “This opportunity is allowing me to promote my profession (Internal Auditing) to the current generation of college students.”
You can register now here
A few noteworthy events:
You can see the full schedule of Homecoming 2017 events here
Dr. Matthew D. Harder ’96 was recently named Dean of the College of Arts and Communication at West Liberty University. The College of Arts and Communication includes the Visual Art, Music, Theater, Broadcasting, Journalism, and Communications programs. Congratulations, Matthew!