Todd Zoellick has donated funds to allow the Action Research Center to offer the Zoellick Fellowship in Social Entrepreneurship to IWU students.

Karin McDowell ’00 (left) and Assistant Professor of Sociology, Meghan Burke sporting new titan cycling wear available at the IWU Bookstore.

Matthew Dearing’s support of the state capital’s burgeoning arts scene — including serving on boards of both the Springfield Ballet Company and the Springfield Theatre Center — was among his achievements cited by the Springfield Business Journal in naming Dearing to its 2012 “Forty under 40” list of top young community leaders in central Illinois.  In 2011  Matthew Dearing and his wife Michelle launched an independent theater company, Dynamic Patterns Theatre.

Matthew T. Dearing works for Denney Jewelers in Springfield, IL.  He focuses on business operations, sales, and designing and manufacturing custom jewelry using CAD/CAM technology. The store launched its own in-house fine jewelry collection, called “infinity by Denny,” which features pieces designed by Dearing and crafted on site in Springfield. To further perfect his skills, Dearing is studying to become a fellow of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain. He chose the two-year gemology program for its heavy focus on science.