We are pleased to announce Adriane Powell as the Director of Alumni Relations at Illinois Wesleyan University. Adriane has been an adopted Titan since 2010, and has lived in the Bloomington-Normal community for over 30 years. She loves to meet IWU alumni where they live, work, and play. Adriane has experience working with a diverse group of IWU alumni and is looking forward to continuing to connect with Titans all over the world!
Greetings, Titans!
For all of you who attended Homecoming, I hope you had a wonderful time visiting campus, reuniting with fellow classmates, and making memories to last a lifetime. If you took photos while you were here, please send them to classnews@iwu.edu with names and captions. We will post them to your Online Class Newsletter. Check here to see if you or your friends were featured in the campus Homecoming Album.
We were thrilled to offer outstanding Back to College classes taught by our talented alumni and esteemed faculty. If you weren’t able to attend the Back to College classes, you’re in luck! Click here to view the classes available.
Alumni award winners, Kyle Pfortmiller ’92, Sean Parsons ’01 and Kris Condon ‘84 gave heartfelt tributes to faculty mentors and their alma mater at the Oct. 18 Homecoming luncheon where they were honored. Those speeches can be viewed here.
Please take a few minutes and give us your feedback so that we can make Homecoming even better. We hope to see you next year. Mark your calendars for October 9-11, 2015!
Go Titans!
Adriane Powell
Office of Alumni Relations
Illinois Wesleyan University
As a part of Homecoming 2014: Off the Charts, Illinois Wesleyan University will recognize the Alumni Award winners Oct. 18 at a luncheon at the Shirk Center.
Sean Parsons ’01 will be presented with the Robert M. Montgomery Outstanding Young Alumnus Award!
Named for a 1968 alumnus and former alumni director, the Robert M. Montgomery Outstanding Young Alumnus Award honors young alumni for outstanding professional achievement and/or civic leadership. Parsons, who studied musical composition at Illinois Wesleyan and later earned master’s degree in jazz studies, is a jazz pianist, composer, arranger and educator. He received a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Illinois.
As a jazz pianist, Parsons has performed at national and international music festivals and recently released his debut recording as a pianist and composer, Introduction. Now an assistant professor at Ohio University, Parsons previously served as a faculty member at Marshall University and as an adjunct professor of music at Illinois Wesleyan. He also served as jazz combo director for the 2011 South Dakota All-State Jazz Ensemble.
All honorees will be featured as “Back to College Classes” speakers during Homecoming weekend. Parsons will present “1959 in Jazz…It Was a Very Good Year” at 9:30 a.m. on Oct. 18. All classes will be held in Beckman Auditorium at The Ames Library.
Congratulations, Sean!
Thank you for reading and contributing to your class newsletter. I hope you enjoy receiving news about your classmates. Be sure to let us know when you have news to share!
Homecoming is October 17-19. Class years ending in 4 and 9 are reunion years. Our theme this year is Off the Charts. We are focusing on the 150th Anniversary of the School of Music, with many music themed events. Join us on Friday night for the Green Carpet Gala Concert & Reception at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts. On Saturday morning, the Titan Pep Band Alumni Reunion will take place on the Quad while you enjoy the free Pancake/Sausage Breakfast. Saturday night, join us in the Young Main Lounge for Club Tommy. Check the brochure or www.titanpride.org for more details. Please register soon!
I look forward to seeing you at Homecoming or another alumni event very soon.
Adriane Powell
Bloomington-Normal was ranked among the 50 best college towns in America!
Gretchen has some news to share!
“This was quite a summer, which began with me getting
married to Jerome Jagla in June, and honeymooning in Costa Rica for two
weeks, In July, I finished hiking the entire Appalachian Trail. I work as
a second grade dual language teacher, and had been hiking the trail in
large sections during the summer vacations. “
Congratulations to Gretchen and Jerome on their June 21, 2014 wedding!!
More than 5,000 alumni showed their support by making a gift to IWU in fiscal year 2014!
And for the second year straight, Illinois Wesleyan alumni have grown our alumni giving percentage. We are now at 23%!
THANK YOU for doing your part to keep IWU strong.
IWU’s fiscal year ends TODAY – July 31 – Thank you if you’ve already made your annual gift!
Now help us find the 47 additional alumni donors we need to reach our participation goal by today. Organizations view alumni participation as the metric that measures alumni satisfaction. It affects IWU’s ranking, bond rating, and ability to earn grants, so make your gift today at iwu.edu/give to keep IWU strong! Every donor counts!
Erik and Amanda would like to share that they welcomed their daughter, Anja Elyse, to the family on June 27, 2013.
About a year later, Erik received his Master in Project Management and has been promoted to Senior Director of Supply Chain at Treehouse Foods.
Congratulations, Erik and Amanda!!