Author Archives: Ann Aubry

Illinois Wesleyan Students to Study Abroad at Oxford

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – During the 2009-2010 academic school year, two Illinois Wesleyan University students will study abroad in England at Oxford University. Chao Ren of Dongying, Shandong, China, a sophomore international student and history major, will study at Pembroke College as part of the Visiting Students Programme. Brandon Dorn of Glen Ellyn, Ill., a sophomore English literature major and economics minor, will study at St. Catherine’s College.

While at Pembroke, Ren will take history lecture and tutorial courses. He discovered the Pembroke Visiting Students Programme from former participant Sneh Rajbhandari, class of 2009. “It is a great opportunity for a history major to explore and experience the oldest university in the English-speaking world,” he said. “I hope that through an intensive immersion in history I will be able to better understand where and how our world came to be.”

Founded in 1624, Pembroke College admits less than 100 undergraduate students each year from schools throughout Great Britain and a small number of students from other countries for a total enrollment of approximately 400 students. Pembroke is one of 36 colleges that, along with seven private halls, make up Oxford University. Pembroke has a relationship with 12 U.S. colleges and universities: Barnard, Brown, Bryn Mawr, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, George Washington, Georgetown, Haverford, Illinois Wesleyan, Tufts and the University of Pennsylvania. Illinois Wesleyan students have studied at Pembroke College since 1997.

Dorn will study at Oxford through Butler University’s Institute for Study Abroad. He chose Oxford University and St. Catherine’s College in particular because of his interest to live in a different environment. Dorn said that he hopes this experience will make him more comfortable as a citizen of the world.

New Student Organization Up ’til Dawn

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University has more than 165 registered student organizations (RSO’s), including government organizations, sport teams, Greek societies and philanthropic groups. This past year students on campus added another addition to the extensive list of RSO’s, Up ’til Dawn.

Up ’til Dawn is an organization dedicated to raising money for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, an internationally recognized research hospital that provides free care to children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. Approximately 150 Illinois Wesleyan students participated in a letter-writing campaign, organized by Up ‘till Dawn, which raised over $19,000. All of the money will go towards the operation of the daily research and treatment of the hospital, which cost more than $1 million per day to maintain.

The St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital was founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas, and is based in Memphis, Tenn. The hospital is financially supported by ALSAC (The American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities), the fundraising organization for the hospital.

“It’s important that a group like this exists so that we are given the opportunity to help children with catastrophic diseases improve their chance of survival. Since the first Up ‘til Dawn started at the University of Memphis ten years ago, college students across the nation have helped raise millions of dollars,” said Blake Bradley, director of fraternity and sorority life, and the faculty advisor of Up ‘til Dawn. “Plus, the leadership skills students on the executive board develop are valuable ways to learn and build their skill set for their careers after college.”

Sustainable Living & Wellness Expo Promotes ‘Free For All’

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – A “free for all” and a statewide panel will highlight the fourth annual Illinois Sustainable Living & Wellness Expo from April 16-18 at Illinois Wesleyan University.

“People often say to me, ‘I know I should be living better, but I’m not sure how to do it,’” said Missy Smock, director of the Wellness Center at Illinois Wesleyan, which is co-sponsoring the Expo with the Ecology Action Center in Bloomington. “The expo does more than show people the problems, it offers them solutions to improve their quality of life.”

This year’s expo, with the theme “Clean Water: The Ripple Effect,” will kick off Thursday night at 7 p.m. in the Young Main Lounge (104 E. University St., Bloomington) with a panel discussing the relationship between food and drinking water. “It’s an irony that the food we eat affects the water we drink, and the water affects the choices we have for food,” said Michael Brown, executive director of the Ecology Action Center. The panel titled “Clean Water, Healthy Food: Your Choices Matter” will include members of the USDA-Natural Resource Conservation Center, the McLean County Soil and Water Conservation District, the Illinois State Water Survey, as well as professors from Illinois Wesleyan and Illinois State University.

Roy Bailey Wins University Staff Honor

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Roy Bailey, senior desktop specialist at Illinois Wesleyan University, has been named 2009 winner of the University’s Max. L. Starkey Service Award at the 18th annual Recognition Celebration at Bloomington’s Double Tree Hotel on Wednesday, April 1.

The Starkey Award, established in 2001, is presented to a member of the administrative, technical, support, security or physical plant staffs nominated by his or her peers for extraordinary service to the University. The award is named in honor of the late Max Starkey, a 1957 Illinois Wesleyan graduate who was University comptroller from 1957 to 1996.

A 1984 graduate of the American College of Technology, he earned a degree in computer electronics. Before joining the staff of Illinois Wesleyan’s Information Technology Department in 1998, Bailey was a former service manager for Thorn Services International and for STL Office Solutions, both in Bloomington. He was a certified Novell administrator for The Pantagraph, and helped custom build their computer system. Bailey also worked for Watts Copy Systems in Springfield, Ill., and for Tandy Electronics in Downers Grove, Ill.

Fine Arts Faculty: Capturing the Creative Muse

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Art can come in countless forms – a melodic symphony that leaves an audience in hushed awe; an image that invokes the power, pain or beauty of a moment in time; the graceful sweep of a dancer moving across a stage to the ebb and flow of the music.

Here at Illinois Wesleyan University, our fine arts professors are more than instructors. They are active participants in their art. Three of our professors were posed the question, “How do you create art?” The answers from Associate Professor of Dance and Movement Jean Kerr, Professor of Composition and Theory David Vayo and Professor of Art and Design Sherri McElroy were dynamic and perhaps strikingly similar, reflective of a line from poet John Keats, “That which is creative must create itself.”

“There is a moment in the creative process when you have to give up all control,” said Professor Kerr. “You have to trust that what flows out of you is coming from somewhere that is smarter than you.” Kerr has been creating dance and fight choreography for the stage for more than 20 years. “I do believe in a rhythm in the universe, in life, in physics. I do believe that this thing we call our existence is a miraculous dance, and if I am quiet and open, I can tap into that.”

Students Take Spanish-Speaking Skills Into the Community

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – It seems a simple idea – assist a family in need. Yet that idea becomes more complex when language is a barrier.

Illinois Wesleyan University students have been working to break down that barrier by heading into the community and using their growing knowledge of the Spanish language to help not-for-profit organizations. The students are part of Spanish for Social Justice, which examines social justice issues, from housing and health care to education and employment.

“Students have a lot of opportunities to practice Spanish, but in their fieldwork they are learning so much more than just language,” said Chair and Professor of Hispanic Studies at Illinois Wesleyan Carolyn Nadeau. “Students have let faculty know they want a chance to work in the community, and this class gives them an opportunity to do that while experiencing an Hispanic culture.”

A discussion of projects with community partners will take place at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 8 at Beckman Auditorium in The Ames Library (1 Ames East, Bloomington). The presentations will be followed by the distribution of the first community-wide assessment of Hispanic families by one of the partner not-for-profit organizations, the Hispanic Families Work Group. Copies are free and available to the public, which is invited to the event.

“This is a great way to show the power of what students can do when we all combine our strengths with community partners,” said Deborah Halperin, vice chair of the Hispanic Families Work Group and coordinator of the Action Research Center (ARC) on campus. Halperin used her ARC connections to help Nadeau create projects with area not-for-profit organizations. “Projects such as the students working with Habitat for Humanity are a great example of bringing together students, community organizations and the University in a very meaningful way,” said Halperin.

Student Video Promotes Computer Security Awareness

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Junior Emily Akins, sophomore Jeremy Henle and senior Lucas Loury are the winners of The Ames Library/Internet Technology (IT) computer security awareness video contest.

Akins, an orchestral instruments major and English-writing minor, Henle, a biology major, and Loury, a history major and Greek and Roman studies minor, created their 30-second video based on the song “Internet Relationships” by MC Lars.

They plan to enter the video in a national contest sponsored by Educause, a not-for-profit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology.

Recent Graduate Joins Council at Mayo Clinic

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Alissa Sherman, a 2008 nursing graduate, was invited to join a council at the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., which will be working toward encouraging nurses to use practices that have been proven effective, known as “evidence-based practice.”

“Evidence-based practice is a way of thinking,” said Marianne E. Olson, a registered nurse with a doctorate in nursing research, who is a member of the Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Division at Mayo Clinic. “It is a commitment by all members of health care to incorporate the latest medical practices.”

Mayo Clinic has 10,000 nurses in its facilities reaching across five states, yet when it came time to create a council that would be dedicated to ensuring an efficient manner of sharing best-practices ideas, Olson thought of Sherman, who had only joined the clinic a year ago. “We tell all of our new nurses that your number one role is to keep asking us the question why – why are you doing what you are doing?” said Olson. “Alissa embodies that. She is exactly the type of nurse we are seeking at Mayo.”

University Celebrates 25 Years of Evelyn Chapel, Jordan Organ

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Evelyn Chapel (1301 N. Park St., Bloomington) with a series of commemorative events on Saturday, March 28. The celebration, which requires reservations, is free and open to the public.

Alumni organ recitals will begin at 3 p.m. A reception will be held at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner and a celebratory concert by Marilyn Keiser, 1963 Illinois Wesleyan alumna and retired Indiana University music professor, at 7:30 p.m. After Keiser’s performance, the central Illinois chapter of American Guild Organist will host a reception in the chapel.

Named after Evelyn Sheean, benefactor and friend of the University, the Evelyn Chapel was built in 1984 and houses several campus religious activities, as well as the office of University Chaplain Hope Luckie. In 1985, the chapel received an Interior Architecture Award from the Chicago Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Students Take Philanthropic Spring Break

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – At 3:30 a.m. on March 14, 30 students and three members of the faculty and staff will embark on a week-long trip to provide disaster relief to a local community. These students are part of Illinois Wesleyan University’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB), an organization created through the Student Volunteer Center to give students the opportunity for a non-traditional spring break vacation.

This year, through both ASB and the IWU/ISU chapter of Habitat for Humanity, over 90 students, accompanied by select members of faculty and staff, will volunteer their time and efforts. The members of ASB will travel to Galveston, and Crossville, Tenn., and the members of Habitat for Humanity will travel to Henderson, Texas.

In Galveston, ASB students will assist with the process of disaster relief, as the town is still recovering from Hurricane Ike. However, the 15 volunteers assigned to Crossville will focus on environmental cleanup, as well as restoring a local nature trail.

IWU Habitat for Humanity volunteers in Henderson will be pair with other Habitat for Humanity volunteers from all over the country as part of the alternative break program, Collegiate Challenge. This program supports making connections with their peers, while providing safe housing for those in need. The students spend eight to nine hours a day building houses and then will have the evenings off to relax and explore the surrounding areas of Henderson.

“The opportunity provides students the chance to take their classroom experiences and apply them to the real world in an enriching and meaningful way. The ultimate goal is that upon returning from ASB programs students will continue a life dedicated, at least in a small way, to service. It is amazing the positive impact that one week of service can have on an individual’s life,” said Kevin Clark, director of the Student Volunteer Center.

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