Author Archives: Ann Aubry

Terkla Named Winner of Kemp Teaching Award

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University Professor of English Dan Terkla has been named the 2011 winner of the Kemp Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence on Wednesday, April 14, at the annual Honors Convocation in Westbrook Auditorium of Presser Hall. The award, the University’s highest teaching honor, is bestowed annually to a faculty member.

Provost Beth Cunningham said of this year’s winner that when he was hired in 1995, Illinois Wesleyan English Department members were betting Terkla would be “an active scholar, the finest teacher and a valued colleague. There is no doubt they won that bet,” she said.

Cunningham added many students have commented on Terkla for his knowledge, his meaningful classroom discussions, and the quality of his instruction. “He teaches for life,” Cunningham said, recounting one student’s assessment of Terkla that he “does not just pass on knowledge, but instills passion.”

Documentary Features Alumna’s Struggle to Shed Light on Cancer’s Connection to Environment

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – As Illinois Wesleyan University alumna Sandra Steingraber stood over a box filled with the latest edition of her book Living Downstream in her home in Trumansburg, N.Y., she announced her goal for the book, which is an unorthodox one for authors. “I want this book to become antiquated really fast,” she said.

Living Downstream, originally published in 1997, chronicles Steingraber’s personal journey – both as a biologist and as a cancer survivor – to explore toxins in the environment as a cause of cancer. “I’m hoping all the problems in this book will be eliminated,” Steingraber said. “I’m hoping there will be no need for a third edition.”

The 2010 edition of the book is being released this month, along with a new documentary film of the same name. “Sandra’s book struck me because it was so visually written,” said Chanda Chevannes, the film’s producer and director. “She has a unique writing style. Through it I could see everything, from the Illinois landscape to the insides of our bodies. I thought, ‘This is the most cinematic book I have ever read.’”

The film is currently in limited screenings, and is set to be shown at the Performing Arts Center at Illinois Central College campus in East Peoria at 7 p.m. on April 17. She hopes to tour with the movie through Central Illinois this October. “I like the fact that this movie will be able to reach communities in an entirely new way,” said Steingraber. “It is an accessible vehicle for this message.”

Student Takes Seat on County Board

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University senior Scott Black was recently appointed to the McLean County Board, placing him in the rare position of being a college student and an elected official.

“I’ve always been passionate for serving the community and working with local issues,” said the political science major and history minor from Mt. Prospect, Ill. “After being approached by several community leaders asking me to consider running, I came to the conclusion that the County Board would be a perfect way for me to incorporate my passions.”

Black takes over the last year of the term held by Illinois Wesleyan Professor of Political Science Tari Renner, who resigned his seat after he moved from the county’s District 8. Black decided to apply for the open position that covers about 15,000 people on the northwest side of Bloomington. Unopposed for the seat, he was appointed in March.

With his appointment, Black will serve on the county Property Committee and Transportation Committee. He said he looks at the chance to serve as an incredible opportunity. “By working together, we can raise the standard of living for all the people in the community,” he said. “Government has the ability to bring people together and solve the problems that folks face on a daily basis.”

Alumna Selected for Synergy: Illinois Library Leadership Initiative

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Monmouth College Public Services Librarian Lauren Jensen, Illinois Wesleyan class of 2005, is one of 30 Illinois librarians selected to participate in Synergy: The Illinois Library Leadership Initiative, a year-long program designed to develop future leaders in the library profession and in the Illinois community.

Jensen will attend Synergy seminars and work with other library community members April 20 to April 22 in Utica, August 3 to August 5 in Grafton and October 26 to October 28 in Lisle. The Illinois State Library and the Illinois Library Association sponsor the seminars.

The group of 30 librarians will attend three sessions with other developing leaders, experienced Illinois library leaders and nationally recognized speakers. The goal of the program is for each individual to develop leadership skills that can be applied in local, state and global arenas.

“I am thrilled that Lauren has been selected to participate in this unique endeavor,” said Illinois State Library Director Anne Craig. “Synergy participants will be exposed to new strategies and new ways of thinking about the future of the library profession. We must be proactive and seek out new library leaders and keep our libraries growing and vibrant in the coming years. I am confident that Lauren and our other Synergy participants will help us chart a course for the future that encourages citizens to enter the library profession and become library leaders, while maintaining our libraries as cornerstones of our communities.”

Faculty Member Honored by Marketing Management Association

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University’s Associate Professor of Business Administration Fred Hoyt has been named the 2010 Fellow of the Marketing Management Association (MMA).

The MMA is a global association dedicated to developing more effective marketing educators and scholars. Founded in 1977, the MMA explores ways in which marketing advances can be implemented effectively in the classroom, in research and in business. The MMA Fellow is recognized for scholarly contributions to the marketing discipline.

Hoyt, who joined the Illinois Wesleyan faculty in 1987, has written more than 50 articles in a variety of areas including marketing services, marketing history and marketing education. He serves as the faculty advisor to the Illinois Wesleyan chapters of the American Marketing Association Club and the marketing honorary society Alpha Mu Alpha.

Writing Center Assists Students with Assignments

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Spring semester is in full swing at Illinois Wesleyan University and many students are busy researching and writing papers for finals. While students may feel overwhelmed with their studies and writing requirements, the University provides assistance. If students would like their papers read by trained eyes or even need help starting their research, they can visit the on-campus Writing Center, available for consultation on papers and projects of any topic.

Joel Haefner, director of the Writing Center, says the main goal is “to help students see how they can help themselves” not just on a particular paper, however, with their writing in general. Many Gateway professors (small, discussion-oriented classes designed to develop students’ proficiency in writing) have taken advantage of these services, either bringing their classes into the center or requiring that students visit the center for a certain number of papers.

Junior Selected for Internship at National Opinion Research Center

March 31, 2010

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan junior Jennifer Biess has recently been selected as one of four undergraduate students to partake in the Summer Internship Program at the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago.

Biess, who is a double major in sociology and political science and a native of Villa Park, Ill., will participate in the nine-week internship beginning in June. Created for students with an interest in social science research, the program consists of 10 interns – four at the undergraduate level, four at the graduate level and two students from a university in South Korea with which NORC partners. Each intern is given an existing NORC project and is assigned to work on the earlier steps of a research project, such as questionnaire design, interviewer training and testing questionnaires. In addition to this individual assignment, the interns will work collectively on a project. The group is allowed to select their own topic and will complete the research project from beginning to end. Senior staff members at NORC will hold seminars once a week for the interns, discussing a topic of the staff member’s choice related to research methods.

Sociology classes at Illinois Wesleyan – such as Social Statistics and Methods of Social Research – use data collected by NORC. “For one of our students to be involved in this NORC project is great. She can connect what we discussed in the classroom to what really happens out there,” said Professor of Sociology Teodora Amoloza.

Neurosurgeon Ann Stroink ’76 to Address Commencement

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Noted Bloomington neurosurgeon and Illinois Wesleyan University alumna Ann Stroink will deliver the address “Cerebral Plasticity: Lifelong Learning” for the University’s Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 2 at 1 p.m. on the Eckley Quadrangle. Stroink will be one of two recipients of an honorary doctor of humane letters degree during the Commencement ceremony, along with Robert Quinn, executive director of the Scholars at Risk Network (SAR).

Ann Stroink, a 1976 graduate of Illinois Wesleyan, is a board-certified neurosurgeon and senior partner of Central Illinois Neuro Health Sciences, a large neurosurgical practice in central Illinois she established in 1985. A biology major at Illinois Wesleyan, Stroink was the first woman to train in general neurosurgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and was a fellow in pediatric neurosurgery at the Hospital for Sick Children at the University of Toronto.

Professor’s Book Explores Health Care Debate

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Even with the passage of the recent bill, the debate over health care in America continues. Illinois Wesleyan University Associate Professor of Political Science Greg Shaw tackles the debate in his new book, The Healthcare Debate (Greenwood Press, 2010), which is due to be published in April as part of the Greenwood Press’ Historical Guides to Controversial Issues in America series.

Shaw’s book examines how recent events play into the picture of the debate over health care in America, from government and insurance involvement, and the evolution of Medicare and Medicaid, to the rise and fall of the Clinton healthcare plan, and the recent struggles toward a health-care system.

“Health care is intimate for people. As opposed to how we build interstate highways or national parks, how people get their health care is something about which they care passionately, but do not fully understand,” said Shaw. “This will remain a dominant issue for the current generation, and well into the foreseeable future.”

Chemistry Major to Present Research to Congress

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Scott Krabbe, a senior chemistry major from Kirkland, Ill., will present his work to members of Congress at the Posters on the Hill event in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research.

Posters on the Hill is an annual event created to give students the opportunity to share their research with members of Congress, other policy makers, and representatives of federal funding agencies to show the importance of funding for undergraduate research programs. Approximately 60 students are selected to participate each year with more than 400 applying.

Krabbe has been conducting research in the Laboratory for Environmentally Friendly Organic Synthesis under Illinois Wesleyan Professor of Chemistry Ram Mohan since the spring of his sophomore year.

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