Author Archives: Ann Aubry

Alumnus Richard Jenkins Nominated for Academy Award

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this morning that Illinois Wesleyan University graduate Richard Jenkins has been nominated for best actor for his role in the film The Visitor.

Jenkins, who graduated in 1969 from Illinois Wesleyan, has been garnering praise for his role as a widowed college professor who discovers a pair of illegal aliens living in his New York apartment.

Variety’s John Anderson declared “Jenkins has hooked us early and reels us in like fish.” Jenkins had already been nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award, a Critics Choice Award and the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for the role, as well as an Independent Spirit Award, his second after his Spirit nomination for 1996’s Flirting with Disaster. The film also earned him the Silver St. George at the Moscow International Film Festival, and the Spotlight Award from the National Board of Review.

The Visitor marks Jenkins’ first role as a leading man, though he has been seen in more than 40 films, and is known to audiences as the father in HBO’s Six Feet Under. Yet it was his portrayal of Walter Vale in The Visitor that has catapulted him to international acclaim. Director Tom McCarthy — whose first film was the critically-acclaimed The Station Agent — wrote the role of disconnected, discontented economics professor Walter Vale with the 60-year-old Jenkins in mind.

Students to Take Part in Obama Inauguration Parade

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University students Megan Francomb and Andrew Tobin will become part of history as they march in the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Parade on January 20, when President-elect Barack Obama will take the oath of office.

The two will be playing for the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps, an independent corps out of Dubuque, Iowa. The Armed Forces Inaugural Committee notified the Colts in December that their application to be part of the parade, one of a record number submitted, was accepted by the Presidential Inaugural Committee.

“I cannot wait to be there,” said Tobin, an Illinois Wesleyan junior who plays the baritone for the Colts. “This is something I will be telling my children and grandchildren about for years to come.”

Francomb, an Illinois Wesleyan first-year student who plays the cymbals for the Colts, says it will be a “surreal” experience. “This is the first time I could vote, and I will be playing in the Inaugural Parade for the man I voted for. Never did I think that could happen.” Both of Francomb’s sisters are also in the Colts, and will join her in the parade. “We all started playing together, and all of us going to Washington, D.C. together makes it all the more exciting,” she said.

Professor Honored for Excellence in Teaching

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Nancy Sultan, professor and director of Greek and Roman Studies at Illinois Wesleyan University received one of three “Excellence in Teaching” awards given by The American Philological Society (APA) for 2008. Sultan was honored with a certificate, cash prize and public recognition at the Plenary Session of the APA’s annual meeting, which took place on Jan. 10 in Philadelphia.

James Matthews, associate professor of French and humanities nominated her for the award in May 2008.

“This is a really huge and unexpected honor,” said Sultan. I am grateful to my colleague Jim Matthews for nominating me for this prestigious award.”

During the selection process, the APA considers excellence in the teaching of Classics at the undergraduate or graduate level; subject matter that is “classical” in the widest sense, i.e. Greek and Latin language, literature, culture, mythology, history and etymology; and the design and successful implementation of new courses and programs.

“I’m humbled and proud to be among those dedicated and devoted teachers who have won this award over the years,” said Sultan.

University Ranks High in Students Abroad

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University has once again drawn national attention for its Study Abroad Program.

The University moved up six spots on the latest Institute of International Education’s (IIE) Open Doors report, ranking 31st in the nation among baccalaureate institutions for the total number of students studying abroad.

IIE calculates the percentage of students studying abroad during an academic year to the number of students who are conferred degrees that same year. The most recent IIE report, which covers the 2006-2007 academic year, records 313 Illinois Wesleyan students traveling for their studies, whether for a semester, a year or May Term.

Faculty, Staff Chosen for Morocco Initiative

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Seven members of Illinois Wesleyan University have been chosen to travel to Morocco this summer as part of the IWU Faculty/Staff Seminar, also known as the Morocco Initiative. Five faculty members and two staff members will spend a week in June at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco, helping to develop cross-continental ties between the universities.

The faculty and staff chosen are: Academic Outreach Librarian and Associate Professor Lynda Duke, Environmental Studies Chair and Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Abigail Jahiel, Hispanic Studies Chair and Professor Carolyn Nadeau, Associate Professor of Economics Ilaria Osella-Durbal, Associate Professor of Economics Diego Mendez-Carbajo, University of Communications Staff Writer Rachel Hatch and Staff Counselor Robyn Walter. Those chosen will spend the spring semester preparing for the journey to Morocco through research and readings.

Gospel Festival Celebrates 19th Year

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University will host the 19th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. National Holiday Gospel Festival Celebration on Monday, Jan. 19, from 3 to 8p.m. in the Westbrook Auditorium of Presser Hall (1210 Park St., Bloomington). This event, free and open to the public, honors the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Founded by the United Community Gospel Singers of Bloomington and Normal, a not-for-profit organization, and cosponsored by Illinois Wesleyan, the Gospel Festival was launched in 1991 by the late Corine G. Sims, who served as the executive director of the United Community Gospel Singers as a way to continue King’s legacy. The festival will feature several local choirs including, in order of performance: The United Community Gospel Singers of Bloomington-Normal, Ill.; The Gayles Memorial Mass Choir from Aurora; The Fantastic Jones Family from Springfield; JAM (Jesus and Me) from Bloomington; and Malcolm Williams and the Voices of Great Faith, from Chicago.

Environmental Activist Jerome Ringo to Speak at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellowship Dinner

The 19th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellowship Dinner will feature guest speaker Jerome Ringo, an environmental pioneer and the president of the Apollo Alliance. Ringo will give the keynote speech, “The Color of Green: Dr. King’s Vision for the Future.”

Illinois Wesleyan University, with co-sponsor the United Community Gospel Singers of Bloomington-Normal, will host the dinner in the Young Main Lounge of the Memorial Center (104 University St., Bloomington) on Sunday, Jan. 25 at 5 p.m.

Tickets for the fellowship dinner are $13 for adults, and $6.50 for IWU students and children under 12. They can be purchased through the Illinois Wesleyan University Bookstore in the Hansen Student Center (300 Beecher St., Bloomington).

Folse Continues Fellowship Legacy

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University’s Associate Professor of Nursing Victoria Folse has been awarded a State of Illinois Nurse Educator Fellowship from the Illinois Center for Nursing (ICN). The purpose of the Nurse Educator Fellowship Program is to ensure the retention of well-qualified nursing faculty at institutions of higher learning that award degrees in nursing. Folse will receive $10,000 to be used for faculty development.

Earning her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Illinois Wesleyan in 1986, Folse received her master’s degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1989, and her doctorate from Saint Louis University in 2002. She came to Illinois Wesleyan in 2002, after teaching at Bradley University and coordinating programs for OSF Saint Francis Medical Center, both in Peoria.

A member of the Academy for Eating Disorders, the International Orem Society, and the Midwest Nursing Research Society, Folse has been honored as a Leadership for Academic Nursing Program 2008 Fellow from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. She is also a member of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi and the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.

Diaz Receives NEA Fellowship

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University’s Assistant Professor of English Joanne Diaz has been awarded a $25,000 fellowship from the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA) for her poetry.

Diaz is one of only 42 writers across the nation receiving the NEA Literature Fellowships for 2009. The NEA calls the fellowships “the most direct investment in American creativity.” NEA Chairman Dana Gioia said, “These grants are an investment in our nation’s culture, and I’m proud to say that the return on that investment benefits Americans from coast to coast.”

Joining the Illinois Wesleyan English Department in 2008, Diaz teaches courses in creative writing and literature.

Boyd Accepts Associate Provost Position

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Frank Boyd, the associate dean of faculty at Illinois Wesleyan University, has accepted the position of associate provost for academic planning and standards. Boyd will assume the post in August of 2009, replacing Roger Schnaitter, who returns to the classroom as a member of the psychology faculty.

Boyd joined the political science faculty at Illinois Wesleyan in 1995, and later served as the department chair. Prior to coming to the University, he taught at Olgethorpe University in Atlanta, Ga., and Georgia State University. Boyd earned his bachelor’s degree in Latin American studies from the University of Alabama in 1989, and his doctorate in political science from Emory University in Atlanta in 1996.

A popular teacher on campus, Boyd was named Illinois Wesleyan Professor of the Year by the Student Senate in 1997 and again in 1999.

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