Emeritus Associate Professor of Economics Robert (Bob) Leekley passed away on Tuesday, Jan.1. Prof. Leekley started teaching at Illinois Wesleyan in 1974, and from his first year to his 44th, his commitment to IWU and our students remained unchanged. His positive impact on generations of students and colleagues will not be forgotten. Read an obituary. A service will be held in the IWU Evelyn Chapel from 11-12 on Wednesday, January 9th.
Megan Hebert ’06 and Kevin Hebert welcomed a baby girl, Emma Helen Hebert, on September 27, 2018. Congrats to the Hebert family!
Back to College Class: Walking through Walls: What the Electron Taught Me About Success from IWU Video on Vimeo.
Debo Olaosebikan, 2018 Robert M. Montgomery Outstanding Young Alumnus award winner, gave a Back to College Class at Homecoming 2018 titled “Walking Through Walls: What the Electron Taught Me About Success.” In this class, Debo shared his story of growing up in Nigeria, studying physics and mathematics at IWU and building technology companies in Silicon Valley. Through the lens of counter intuitive physics concepts and formative experiences at IWU, Debo discussed the importance of running towards barriers and other broadly applicable lessons for making progress on things we deeply care about.
On August 16, 2018, Matt Cassady accepted a new position with the Minnesota Historical Society as the Program Specialist for their brand-new Interpretive Programs Team. Matt’s new responsibilities include leading institution-wide initiatives and projects around historic interpretation, educational program development, staff training, and communications for the Society’s 26 historic sites and museums. Working with the other members of the team, Matt will also develop strategies to create and foster partnerships with community groups and leaders, organizations, businesses, educational organizations to further the mission of the Minnesota Historical Society.
Map of the different sites and museums that are a part of the MNHS network
Jessica and Scott Rzepka welcomed Charles Scott on August 1, 2018. Congratulations!
Join IWU at this year’s Homecoming to recognize Debo Olaosibekan on his achievement. The awards ceremony is Friday, October 5th; Debo will also be announced as the winner at the October 6 football game during halftime. Register to attend at https://www.iwu.edu/homecoming.
To learn more about Debo’s achievements, check out our recent class newsletter post.
Susanna Ludwig and her husband Tim welcomed Tiny Titan, Adelaide, on June 25. Susanna works as an art director at Imagination, a content marketing agency in Fulton Market. Congratulations to the Ludwig-Rourke family!
The 2018 Robert M. Montgomery Outstanding Young Alumnus will be presented to Debo Olaosebikan ’06 Alumni Award at Homecoming on October 5th at the Alumni Awards Ceremony at 6 p.m. in the Memorial Center’s, Young Main Lounge in recognition of outstanding professional achievement and civic leadership. Olaosebikan is the chief technology officer and co-founder of Gigster, a smart software development service utilized by top businesses including Staples, Airbus and MasterCard. Olaosebikan came to Illinois Wesleyan from Nigeria as a Presidential Scholar at 16 years old and was named the IWU Anderson Scholar for 2005-06. Olaosebikan pursued graduate-level physics at Cornell University, where he represented Cornell in a collaboration with MIT, Stanford and Caltech to build the world’s first electrically activated silicon laser, a project supported by $6 million in grants. Olaosebikan has demonstrated his dedication to promoting education through a variety of scholarships and educational opportunities for students in Nigeria, including CATCH AFRICA, a scholarship competition for secondary school students. A link to the full article may be found here.Illinois Wesleyan is very sorry to inform you that Professor Elizabeth (Susie) Balser, faculty member in Biology for more than 20 years, passed away last month following an extended illness. Susie was recognized as an expert on the anatomy of echinoderms. Her passion for invertebrate animals inspired the creation of three new courses at IWU. Both as an instructor and as a research mentor, Susie challenged students to carefully study the natural world and make their own discoveries.
