Author Archives: Ann Aubry

Distinguished Alumni to be Recognized at Homecoming

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Two Illinois Wesleyan University graduates will be honored for their advances in entertainment, and one for his dedication to the University at the annual Alumni Awards Lunch on Saturday, Oct. 22 at 11:30 a.m. in the Shirk Center (302 Emerson St., Bloomington). The event is part of Illinois Wesleyan’s 2011 Homecoming: Lights, Camera, Action from Oct. 21-23.

Honored this year will be Chief Creative Officer (CCO) for DreamWorks Animation Bill Damaschke ’86, Vice President of Direct to Fan Creative and Technology at Atlantic Records Eric Snowden ’00, and IWU Minority Alumni Network board member Deon Hornsby ’97.

Bill Damaschke will receive the 2011 Illinois Wesleyan Distinguished Alumni Award. As CCO of DreamWorks, he is responsible for leading the creative and artistic direction of the animation studios. Joining the company in 1995, Damaschke has been integrally involved in overseeing each of the company’s animated releases during his tenure at DreamWorks Animation, from the Academy Award®-winning blockbuster “Shrek” in 2001, through the Academy Award®-nominated “How to Train Your Dragon” and the upcoming “Puss in Boots,” which will have a special screening at Illinois Wesleyan’s Hansen Student Center on Friday, Oct. 21.

Enrollment Exceeds Target

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— Enrollment at Illinois Wesleyan this fall totals 2,090, significantly above the University’s planning target of 2,050 and making this the 14th consecutive year enrollment has been above the 2,000 mark. Included in the total are 556 new students who were chosen from 3,523 applicants, the second highest number of applications in school history.

“We’re extremely pleased that we exceeded our enrollment target for the year, especially given the difficult national economy,” said President Richard F. Wilson “And, even more important than the numbers is the quality of those students. This year’s class, like those in previous years, is very strong academically with an average ACT of 28 (out of a possible 36) and a high school GPA of 3.8.“

Illinois Wesleyan enrollment includes students from 32 states and 22 foreign countries, including 166 students from McLean County. In addition, over the past seven years the University’s minority and international enrollment has doubled and now totals 20 percent of the student body. Contributing to Wesleyan’s enrollment success is a 97 percent retention rate, which places the University among the nation’s top schools for the proportion of students returning from one year to the next.

McPherson Theatre to Present The Children’s Hour

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Illinois Wesleyan School of Theatre Arts will present the 1930s drama The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman. Performances will take place Tuesday, Sept 27 until Saturday, Oct. 1 at 8 p.m. A matinee performance will be held Sunday, Oct. 2 at 2 p.m. All shows will take place in the University’s McPherson Theatre (2 Ames Plaza East, Bloomington).

First staged on Broadway in 1934, The Children’s Hour takes place at an all-girls boarding school run by two women, Karen Wright and Martha Dobie. When Mary Tilford, one of the young school attendants, runs away and does not wish to return, she convinces her grandmother that the two headmistresses are engaged in a love affair. Her secret spreads throughout the school and community, destroying the lives and reputations of Karen and Martha. Under the direction of IWU Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts Thomas Quinn, the cast and crew of The Children’s Hour work to address the fierce potential of secrets kept not only from others, but from ourselves as well.

Students Ride Against AIDS

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Biking 4,000 miles across the United States in just three months may seem like a grueling task for most – a task possibly accompanied by dangerous weather conditions, rugged back-roads, and pure exhaustion. As rigorous of a journey as this may be, there are those few strong-willed and committed souls who attempt and succeed at this challenge.

Vadim Kogan and Michael Henry, both members of Illinois Wesleyan University’s Class of 2012, attempted this endeavor. This summer they participated in “Ride Against AIDS,” a cross-country bike ride for the organization FACE AIDS. Beginning in June, Kogan and Henry started their cross-country bike ride in Half Moon Bay, Calif., and completed their trip in Boston, Mass. in August.

FACE AIDS, an organization founded at Stanford University in 2005, “is a student movement geared towards fighting HIV/AIDS and global health inequality,” said Henry. The “Ride Against AIDS,” now in its fourth year running, is meant to raise not only funds, but also awareness about the FACE AIDS organization. “We raised over $50,000,” said Kogan. “Individually the riders came up with $26,000. Along the trip we raised about $3,000 and there was an anonymous donation of around $22,000 once we got to Boston.”

Accompanied by four other riders, Kogan and Henry’s 67-day journey consisted of stops in 20 states and 53 different towns. “We had around 35 host families,” Henry said. “So there were 47 days where we had a roof to stay under.”

Henderson ’12 Affirms Career Dreams in Unexpected Places

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – How many Lenscrafter, Sunglass Hut, or Pearl Vision locations have you driven past during your lifetime? Now pretend none of these places exist, what would you do if you needed a pair of eyeglasses? For many of us such a scenario is hard to imagine.

However, Erick Henderson, a senior biology and pre-optometry major at Illinois Wesleyan University, has not only imagined such a place but traveled to one. This past summer, Henderson traded in baseball games and family cookouts for – one could say – an eye-opening experience. In June 2011, he traveled to Lamu, Kenya, where he served as the optometric technician at the Lamu Center for Preventative Health (LCPH).

Founded by IWU alum Munib Abdulrehman ’02 and Rebecca Gearhart, associate professor of anthropology, LCPH is a non-governmental organization, which provides healing services and preventative health education to residents of Lamu and the surrounding islands. Although located abroad, LCPH is also represented on Illinois Wesleyan’s campus through a student-run organization by the same name. While LCPH offers many educational programs, an eye care-related program had not been developed – this is where Henderson and Gearhart would find a common goal.

According to Gearhart, LCPH was established to stand apart from other health organizations by focusing on educating the local community versus simply treating illnesses. LCPH initiatives have included: nutrition programs geared towards young children, CPR classes, and diabetes prevention and awareness. “Our goal is to disseminate information so that Lamu residents can rely on their gained knowledge to take care of themselves and their families,” said Gearhart. “We are constantly working with volunteers, the Red Cross, and sailing doctors to provide this community with tools to live healthy lives. The goal of LCPH is not to cure, but to heal.”

Homecoming: Lights, Camera, Action Oct. 21-23

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – It will be a year to honor those who work behind the scenes and take the stage at Illinois Wesleyan University’s 2011 Homecoming: Lights, Camera, Action from Oct. 21-23. Events below are free and open to the public.

The new DreamWorks Animation movie Puss in Boots will have a special screening at Illinois Wesleyan University before it hits movie theaters, thanks to alumnus Bill Damaschke ’85, chief creative officer of the animation company responsible for the enormously successful Shrek and Kung Fu Panda films. Damaschke, who will also be honored at this year’s Homecoming as the distinguished alumnus, will host a screening of the movie at 8:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, at Hansen Student Center (300 E. Beecher St., Bloomington).

Guest Scholar to Speak on Music and Culture in Contemporary Taiwan

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.—Illinois Wesleyan University will welcome Department of Education (DoE) Guest Scholar and Professor Tracy Kwei-Liang Ho to campus for a 10-day program beginning Tuesday, Sept. 6 and ending Friday, Sept. 16.

During the event, Ho, from the Department of Music at Taipei Municipal University of Education in Taiwan, Republic of China (R.O.C.), is scheduled to speak at a School of Music convocation on Sept. 8 from 4-5 p.m. in Westbrook Auditorium of Presser Hall (1210 Park St., Bloomington). Ho will also deliver a public presentation on Sept. 13 from 7-8 p.m. in Stevenson Hall (203 Beecher St., Bloomington), room 103 with adjunct professor Kelly Huo’s class. Ho will speak on Music and Culture in Contemporary Taiwan.

The event is supported by a Title V DoE grant, which was awarded to IWU as a result of the concerted efforts of Teodora Amoloza, professor of sociology, Thomas Lutze, professor of history and Sonja Fritzsche, associate professor of German and Eastern European Studies.

A United States citizen since 2002, Ho received a doctor of music education degree from Teachers College, Columbia University in New York, a master of music from Brooklyn College, The City University of New York and a bachelor of music degree from National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei, Taiwan.

Celebrate Your Roots with an IWU Family Weekend

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University welcomes families to celebrate their “roots” during the Tree-themed Family Weekend, which will take place Friday, Sept. 16 through Sunday, Sept. 18.

Online registration will be open until Friday, September 10. The cost per guest is $18. To register, visit http://www.iwu.edu/studentaffairs/programs/Family_Weekend/registration.shtml.

Check-in for Family Weekend will be held on Friday, Sept. 16 from 4-8 p.m. and Saturday, Sept. 17 from 8-10 a.m. in the Hansen Student Center (300 Beecher St., Bloomington).

Among many activities, the weekend will feature Midwest Dueling Pianos, a musical comedy act known for entertaining audiences of all ages. Audience members will participate in the performance by providing song titles, from which the piano players create spontaneous and interactive musical comedy. The pianists may also invite some of the audience members onstage to perform in a song, dance, or skit.

University to Mark 10th Anniversary of 9/11

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – On Sunday, Sept. 11, Illinois Wesleyan University will hold a Service of Remembrance, marking the 10th anniversary of 9/11, honoring the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives that day.

The service, which is open to the public, will take place in Evelyn Chapel (1301 N. Park St., Bloomington). At 7:46 a.m., the chapel bell will toll, marking the time the first lives were lost. At 8:03 a.m., a candle lighting and time for personal reflection will begin. The service of remembrance will begin at 8:37 a.m. and conclude at 9:03 a.m. The times coincide with the planes striking each of the World Trade Center towers, the Pentagon and the crash near Shanksville, Pa.

Members of the University Choir, as well as IWU’s female a cappella group, Touch of Class, will lead the community in song. Instrumental and organ works will also be included. There will be readings and prayers for peace and reconciliation.

“My hope is that this service provides the campus and community an opportunity to remember the thousands of women, men and children who lost their lives on 9/11,” said the Rev. Elyse Nelson Winger. “I also hope it will be an opportunity to renew commitment to ways of peace and compassion in a world where fear and terror too often hold sway.”

Scholar Says Cosmopolitan View Enriches Lives

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Urging students and others in the audience to view a subtitled film each month as one way to better understand global cultural identities, Ghanaian-British-American philosopher Kwame Anthony Appiah delivered the featured address at the annual President’s Convocation at Illinois Wesleyan’s Westbrook Auditorium Aug. 31.

Named by Foreign Policy magazine as one of the top 100 global thinkers in 2010, Appiah is the Laurance S. Rockefeller University Professor of Philosophy and the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University. His speech highlighted the University’s Summer Reading Program, which gives incoming students, faculty and staff an opportunity to participate in a shared intellectual experience through discussions. This year, the new students explored issues related to diversity with the 2011 Summer Reading Program selection, Interpreter of Maladies (1999), Jhumpa Lahiri’s Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of story stories.

In his speech, Appiah related his central theme of cosmopolitanism — the philosophy that all of humanity belongs to a single moral community — to Lahiri’s book, to the teachings of ancient Greek philosopher Diogenes and to his own multicultural heritage.

IWU News Blog

Headlines From Illinois Wesleyan University