Author Archives: Ann Aubry

IWU Ranked Highly in Collegiate Scouting Service

Illinois Wesleyan University has been ranked No. 27 nationally in Division III Collegiate Power Rankings done by the National Collegiate Scouting Association (NCSA).

In addition, IWU is ranked No. 44 in the overall rankings that includes schools from all three NCAA divisions.

The NCSA is a resource that matches high school athletes with collegiate athletic programs, ranking schools based on strength of academics, athletics and graduation rates.

“Over the years Illinois Wesleyan has been extremely successful at combining excellence in academics with nationally ranked athletics,” said Illinois Wesleyan President Dick Wilson. “Examples of this success include our 111 conference championships, three national titles and the fact that we are among the top 10 of all colleges and universities nationally with 111 student-athletes named Academic All-Americans.”

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Sophomore Wins Chemistry Scholar Award

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University student Ronald Fowle Grider of East Peoria, Ill., is the recipient of an American Chemical Society (ACS) Scholar Program award.

The program awards minority students who want to enter the field of chemistry or other chemistry-related fields, such as environmental science, toxicology and chemical technology.

A sophomore chemistry major, Grider has been researching the synthesis of macrocyclic compounds. According to Chemistry Department Chair Rebecca Roesner, Grider also participated in a National Science Foundation-sponsored the Research Experiences for Undergraduates program at Southern Illinois University last summer, studying aspects of mass spectroscopy.

Grider is violinist in the Illinois Wesleyan Civic Orchestra and a volunteer at the Advocate BroMenn Medical Center.

The last Illinois Wesleyan student to receive the ACS award was alumna Laura Pinelo of Orange Park, Fla., who was honored in 2006.

Alumnus Honored for New Book of Poetry

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University alumnus Richard Spilman is the recipient of the Sacramento Poetry Center Award for his book In the Night Speaking (SPC Press, 2009).

The book is Spilman’s fourth publication to receive accolades. His collection of short stories, Hot Fudge, was a New York Times Notable Book in 1990. His chapbook Suspension won the New American Press Award in 2006. His most recent book, a collection of short fiction titled The Estate Sale, won the George Garrett Prize in December of 2009 and will be published by the Texas Review Press in 2010.

Spilman shared his memories of Illinois Wesleyan with Professor of English and Chair of the English Department James Plath on his blog.

Born and raised in Normal, Ill., Spilman graduated from Illinois Wesleyan in 1968. He earned a master’s degree from San Francisco State University and a doctorate from State University of New York at Binghamton. He now teaches creative writing at Wichita State University in Kansas.

Contemporary Flameworking and Photography on Display at Art Galleries

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The works of glass maestro Emilio Santini, among others, and the photography of Sarah Stonefoot will be displayed from Tuesday, Jan. 12 through Thursday, Feb. 4 in Illinois Wesleyan University’s Merwin and Wakeley Galleries, located in the Joyce Eichhorn Ames School of Art Building (6 Ames Plaza West, Bloomington).

All exhibits are free and open to the public.

The opening reception for both exhibitions will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 12 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. Santini’s works will be featured in the Merwin Gallery, as well as the artwork of: Micah Evans, Kari Russell-Pool, Robert Mickelsen, Kaori Koike, Dorie Gurthie, Milissa Montini, Jay Musler, Nathan Purcell, Christopher McElroy, Caitlin Hyde, Paul J. Stankard, Mike Shelbo, Marshall Hyde, Elizabeth Ryland Mears, Matt Eskuche and Shane Fero. Stonefoot’s photography exhibition, Suspension, will be featured in the Wakeley Gallery.

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Alumnus Named Outstanding Theatre Educator

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University alumnus George Younts has received the 2009 Outstanding Theatre Educator Award from the South Carolina Theatre Association (SCTA).

A 1989 Illinois Wesleyan graduate with a degree in Theatre Arts, Younts was nominated by state theater professionals and endorsed by the association’s board. The award is given to theater educators at their respective educational levels who have done the most for theater students in South Carolina.

According to an article in The Post and Courier (Charleston, S.C.), Younts directs the Charleston County School of the Arts’ improvisational troupe and serves as technical director for the school’s theater. The School of Arts theater department produces more than 50 student performances each year.

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Hart Career Center Helps Students Plan Their Futures

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan’s Hart Career Center provides four main areas of support to assist students in planning for their futures. The Center, located in the Minor Myers, jr. Welcome Center (1211 Park St., Bloomington), offers aid in the areas of career guidance, internship planning, graduate and professional school preparation and job search assistance.

Career Guidance

For those who are still unsure of the path they would like to take, the Hart Career Center offers online and in-office assessments to guide students in the right direction. Throughout the academic school year, seminars and programs are held that focus on different careers to highlight options within a given field.

The Center also houses its own library filled with career information resources. The library is open for students to browse reference materials and learn more about career options available to them. According to Warren Kistner, director of the Hart Career Center, the Center provides students with the opportunity to schedule individual meetings with a staff member to discuss possible directions they might take in their future careers.

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20th Anniversary of Gospel Festival Prompts Look Back at King Speeches on Campus

For two decades, voices have been lifted in song as a tribute to the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Gospel Festival on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University on January 18.

Founded by the late Corine Sims and her husband, the Rev. James E. Sims, the festival found a home at Illinois Wesleyan, and attracts gospel choirs from all over the state. The University was seen as a fitting place for the festival, as it was the place that King graced twice.

“[In the early 1990s then-Illinois Wesleyan] President Minor Myers, jr. said Wesleyan would be the perfect place to host the event, because of Dr. Martin Luther King , Jr. spoke at the University,” said Barbara Sims Malone, daughter of James and Corine. “He saw the festival as a special opportunity to invite the community to Illinois Wesleyan.”

King came to speak at Illinois Wesleyan at two important junctures during his short but illustrious life. The first in 1961, when standing on the cusp of international recognition, and the second in 1966, when his reputation as a proponent of non-violent protest for the Civil Right Movement was known throughout the world. King’s visits to Illinois Wesleyan reveal the evolution of the Civil Rights Movement and his place within it.

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School of Nursing Alumna Named 2009 Healthcare Executive of the Year

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University alumna Barbara Nathan was named the 2009 Healthcare Executive of the Year by the American Academy of Medical Administrators (AAMA). Nathan received the award during the 2009 AAMA Annual Conference in Las Vegas on November 19.

The award is the Academy’s highest and honors a candidate whose work has provided an environment for delivering the maximum level of quality care with dignity and human concern. According to AAMA, whose mission is to advance excellence in healthcare leadership, Nathan exemplifies this commitment to care.

Nathan graduated from Illinois Wesleyan in 1980, and spent 15 years in nursing and hospital administration with BroMenn Healthcare in Normal. In 1996, she became the executive director of the Community Cancer Center and its Foundation. She facilitated the creation of the center, which covers the continuum of cancer care from community education on prevention and early detection, to treatment and survivor services. Over 13 years, Nathan raised more than $9,000,000, and significantly improved care processes, multidisciplinary treatment and increased the level of technology available to patients.

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Hartweg to Retire

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Donna Hartweg, former director of the Illinois Wesleyan University School of Nursing and Caroline F. Rupert Professor of Nursing, will retire in December after 31 years at the University.

“This has been the most wonderful job in the world,” said Hartweg. “I have been able to stand up in front of high school students and talk about what a fantastic place Illinois Wesleyan is. Then I watched those students select IWU, mature and walk across that Commencement stage four years later, and know they are better prepared for the world.”

A graduate of the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Hartweg began teaching at Illinois Wesleyan in 1978. Earning master’s degrees from the University of Illinois at Chicago and Illinois State University, she was appointed acting director of the Illinois Wesleyan’s School of Nursing in 1990. She earned her doctorate from Wayne State University in Michigan in 1991, the same year she was named director of the IWU School of Nursing.

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Alumnus Wins Concerto Competition

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University alum Michael Lawton, a graduate of the class of 2008, was recently declared one of two winners in the University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra’s Concerto Competition.

Last year, Lawton, currently a graduate student at the University of Kentucky (UK), was encouraged by his clarinet professor to memorize a concerto piece over the summer.

Lawton chose to perform “Premiere Rhapsodie” by composer Claude Debussy. Initially, Lawton said the piece did not captivate him, but as he began to practice and listen to recordings, he found he truly enjoyed it. “At times it is ethereal while at other times it requires great technical facility, moving seamlessly from one palette of color to the next. It’s really quite beautiful,” said Lawton.

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