Robert S. and Nell Eckley
At the heart of IWU’s 82-acre campus is the park-like Eckley Quadrangle, named for IWU’s 15th president Robert S. Eckley (1968-1986) and his wife Nell. They were instrumental in developing and implementing a landscaping plan for the Quad after Dutch elm disease destroyed almost all of the trees in the 1970s.
1970 campus aerial view prior to Quad redesign
1974 Aerial view of campus following redesign
Minor Myers, jr.. 1989
The Minor Myers, jr. Welcome Center, honoring Illinois Wesleyan’s 17th president (1989-2003), houses the Admissions Office and the Hart Career Center. Myers tenure saw the creation of the Shirk Center, the Center for Natural Sciences and The Ames Library.
Craig Hart, 2003
Craig C. Hart, former president of IWU’s Board of Trustees, is the Career Center’s namesake. The Welcome Center received Silver certification as a leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green Building – the first building in Bloomington to be certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.
President and Mrs. Bertholf (no date on photo)
Bertholf Commons, aka “Saga,” in the Memorial Student Center honors President and professor of Biology Lloyd Bertholf (1959-1968) and his wife Martha. During his presidency IWU established the practice of offering a “short term” in our academic year. What we now know as May Term started out as travel course offerings in a January short term. IWU added ten new buildings during this time, including three dormitories.
For more on President Bertholf, see the blog post containing his biographical description and his 1984 book, A Personal Memoir of the Bertholf Years at Illinois Wesleyan: 1958-1968
President Lloyd Bertholf
Here’s a serendipitous find: While looking through the 1916-1918 Faculty Meeting Minutes I came across the entry below that indicates this year could be the centennial of academic advising at IWU! (I haven’t read every meeting’s minutes back to 1850…any volunteers?)
October 29, 1917 Faculty Meeting Minutes (click to enlarge)
About midway down on the page number 61 it says,
“The committee on Advisers made a report and the faculty passed the following points. 1. That advisers be appointed for students in the Freshman year to serve until the student has elected his major. These advisers are to be appointed by a committee of which the President is a member.”
(click to enlarge)
The minutes go on to state, “2. The duty of the adviser is to k [sic]
(a) To know as much about the student as possible, such as his previous training[?], special talents or inclinations etc.
(b) To help him select his major.
(c) To receive reports of the work of the student in his charge.
“The following action was taken.
No student shall be permitted to change a study without the consent of the adviser.”
The recording Secretary that day was Pearl Cliffe Somerville, Professor of English Literature.
Here are the Advising Center’s services today
Advising services today
Visit them at http://www.iwu.edu/advising and wish them a Happy Birthday!
Happy May Day!
The Society of American Archivists promotes May 1 as a day for all cultural heritage institutions to take time to consider how well their collections are protected.This year there’s a twist: a call for support of the SSA-SAA Emergency Disaster Assistance Grant Fund. The Society of Southwest Archivists and the Society of American Archivists created the fund to address the stabilization and recovery needs of archival repositories affected by Hurricane Katrina.
To learn more about this collaboration, including how to receive funding, visit the SAA page that describes the program. If you are able to assist our colleagues by donating to the fund, please click here.
Below are some tips from the Library of Congress on how you can help save the digital objects that mean the most in your life:
Visit http://digitalpreservation.gov/personalarchiving/ for more details!
Digital objects are not durable–threats to them include but are not limited to losing account access (third party providers can disappear at any time) and losing the ability to read file formats and media due to obsolescence.
Digital files can’t be placed on a virtual shelf and forgotten. All digital preservation strategies include specific ways to record as much information about the original file as possible.
Digital objects proliferate so take time to organize versions and apply standard names to your files. It is often difficult for archivists to arrange digital files other than by creation date, but creators have the first-hand knowledge required to identify and arrange versions of their works.
STEPS YOU CAN TAKE:
Image from http://energyblog.nationalgeographic.com
If worries about the future life of your past weigh heavily on your mind, read on!
An 1818 poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley recently inspired me to think of a way to communicate the services available through archives. The poem contains the lines
“‘My name is Ozymandias*, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!'”
The irony is that Shelley was reflecting on the ruins of a great civilization. The lines beg the question: What will remain of the work we do?
The programs and services of the University’s archives include research assistance with IWU’s collections. We advise on what among the works we produce are important to retain and how these works, whether physical or digital, can be preserved. We also have an Oral History program that allows us to go beyond just the products of our daily lives and helps preserve the context they were created in.
The way people view their experiences at IWU add dimensions to our historical records that statuary never will. Meg Miner, your archivist, stands ready to help preserve your legacy today!
*Ozymandias was an Anglicized version of the Greek’s name for Pharaoh Ramesses II.
Visit Tate Archives & Special Collections on the Ames Library’s 4th floor or online at https://www.iwu.edu/library/archives
Help kick off the Society of American Archivists’ archives awareness month by stopping by the Mini Museum Tent on the Quad during Homecoming! On Saturday, October 1st from 8-11:30 AM, I’ll be out in the tent with a condensed view of IWU’s 166 year history.
So stop by for a glimpse of what’s in your University’s Archives: artifacts, photos, yearbooks, event programs, Argus issues and more!
Jensen is a native of Homewood, IL; he earned his Ph.D. and master’s degrees in economics from the University of Michigan and and his undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Miami. He most recently served as provost of Hamline University in Saint Paul, MN.
Earlier in his career, Jensen was a faculty member at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. Jensen also served as a Visiting Scholar in Economics at the University of Indonesia and worked for four years with the College Board to develop and implement its Financial Aid Strategy Tool (FAST), which enabled participating institutions to individually tailor financial aid offers to admitted students.
Wilson holds a bachelor’s degree in education and an honorary doctorate from Alderson-Broaddus University in West Virginia. He earned master and doctoral degrees in higher education from the University of Michigan.
Wilson served as the president of IWU from 2004-2015. During his tenure, he oversaw two strategic planning efforts, the first completed in 2006 and the second completed in 2014. He is a member of both Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi national honor societies.
Myers was born in Copley, Ohio and graduated from Carleton College in 1968. He earned masters and doctorate degrees in political philosophy, philosophy, and politics from Princeton University. The author of eight books and a musical play, Myers was an avid scholar, encouraging students to pursue their passions at Illinois Wesleyan and beyond.
Before arriving at IWU, Myers was Provost, Dean of Faculty, and Professor of Political Science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges for five years.
