Author Archives: Ann Aubry

Soprano Dawn Upshaw Named a MacArthur Fellow

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Soprano Dawn Upshaw, a four-time Grammy-award winner and a 1982 graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University has been named today (Sept. 25), by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, one of 24 MacArthur Fellows for 2007. Upshaw, along with the other Fellows, will receive a $500,000 in “no strings attached” funding over the next five years for support of their current activities or to take their work in new directions.

Since its inception in 1981, the Foundation has named 756 Fellows, including this year’s honorees, who range from 18 to 82 years of age.

“The MacArthur Foundation supports highly creative individuals and institutions with the ability and the promise to make a difference in shaping and improving our future,” said MacArthur President Jonathan Fanton. “These new MacArthur Fellows, extraordinary men and women of all ages and in many fields, honor and inspire us with their talent, their courage, and their deep commitment. With the gift of time and unfettered opportunity to create and explore, we are confident that the Fellows will follow their hearts and their minds wherever they lead, making new discoveries and making a difference in the world.”

The Fellows, selected for their creativity, originality and potential to make important contributions in the future, include a forensic anthropologist, spider silk biologist, short story writer, inventor, biomedical scientist, nanotechnologist, public health physician, choreographer, as well as Upshaw.

Alumnus and Voice Behind Broadway Honored

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— Jack Waddell’s low baritone voice quickly commands any room he enters, whether in his vocal studio in New York, where he coaches Broadway stars to perfect their song, or in Tommy’s Grill on Illinois Wesleyan University’s campus, where he reminisces about his days as a Titan.

“When I look around, it seems like yesterday,” said Waddell, walking across the University’s Eckley Quad. “Ah, Presser Hall. I lived in Presser!” he said of his days as a music voice major practicing for hours in the hall where music classes and performances thrive.

The 1963 Illinois Wesleyan graduate returned home this week to Bloomington to be inducted into his high school’s Hall of Fame. His 50-year career has spanned the stages of Munich, New York, Amsterdam and around the world, but it started in Bloomington and with Illinois Wesleyan.

Waddell sang for the Bloomington High School choir, and joined a local community choir established by Illinois Wesleyan Professor of Voice Henry Charles. “He was amazing,” said Waddell, tapping a finger at a photo of Charles in the 1963 Illinois Wesleyan yearbook. “He volunteered his time and came down to the Twin City Community Center to start a choir for young, black men. Most of the other boys there would have rather played ball or hung out, but I listened and I sang,” he said with a deep laugh.

Three Named ‘20 Under 40’ Connected to IWU

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— One Illinois Wesleyan staff member and two alumni have been named to the Pantagraph’s 20 Under 40, recognizing accomplished and dedicated individuals in the community under 40 years of age.

“It’s really an honor,” said Deborah Halperin, coordinator of the Action Research Center at Illinois Wesleyan University. Halperin, Brian Beam, vice president and art director of Business Builders, and plastic surgeon Chad Tattini appeared in a special section of the Pantagraph on Sept. 19, and will be celebrated with others chosen as 20 Under 40 at the Community Leaders Breakfast on Nov. 8 at the Doubletree Hotel in Bloomington.

An active volunteer, Halperin was the general coordinator for building of a playground for Washington Elementary School in Bloomington, which raised more than $100,000 and took the work of more than 1,000 volunteers.

Halperin’s dedication to community service, however, reaches past the playground. As president of the board for the Day Care Center of McLean County, she helps to ensure quality childcare for underprivileged youth. She also serves on the board of directors of the Founders’ Grove Neighborhood, where she helps with community assessment efforts.

Giving back is a natural to Halperin, whose position at Illinois Wesleyan helps boost local not-for-profit organizations. At IWU’s Action Research Center, she connects students to internships and research projects at local agencies. “It’s great to be able to match students who are filled with energy and promise to groups who need them,” said Halperin, who has worked with social organizations for more than 15 years. “I understand not-for-profits. I can come in and ask about logic models and strategic plans, and it helps get the best fit for the organizations and the students.”

Wasabi Ice Cream and Other Lessons in Culture

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The purpose of international travel is to become immersed in different languages and cultures, to expand horizons and discover commonalities. It also provides a way to discover new possibilities, from customs to cuisines.

“I tried a lot. Tofu ice cream? Wasabi ice cream? It was all new to me,” said Preston Prior, an Illinois Wesleyan University junior, who traveled to Tokyo this summer as part of the Technos Program. Sponsored by the Tanaka Ikueikai Educational Trust, the program encourages students from across the world to learn about Japanese culture and study at the Technos International College of Tokyo.

“I fell in love with Japan,” said Prior, whose grandfather was stationed in Japan after World War II, and grew up hearing stories about the country. “I also learned to be more accepting. We may do different things, but we are all human beings.”

Fellow junior Kari Irwin was also chosen for the program, which sends students who have never been to Japan to Tokyo and the surrounding area for two weeks. “The trip was the highlight of my existence – so far,” said the 20-year-old Irwin. “It taught me to look at my studies in a whole new way.”

The two students traveled with Nancy Sultan, Illinois Wesleyan professor of Greek and Roman Studies, and soaked up culture by visiting everything from ancient temples to modern malls and classrooms. “You can study a foreign language all you want in a textbook, but you are not going to understand the culture until you have lived the culture,” said Sultan.

Illinois Wesleyan Is All About Being ‘Green’

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – As late summer rains turn the Illinois Wesleyan campus literally green with thriving foliage, a contingent of students, faculty and staff are hatching plans to turn the campus still more green in the environmentally friendly sense.

Sixteen representatives of the University attended the biennial Greening of the Campus conference at Ball State University in early September, quite possibly the largest delegation of any of the 173 participating institutions. IWU representatives included members of the Sierra Student Coalition, students and staff from the Office of Residential Life (ORL), and a group of faculty and staff who delivered a presentation, “Integrating Sustainability Into Higher Education at Illinois Wesleyan University,” based on a 2006 campus workshop and its outgrowth in curriculum development and sustainability efforts among participants. “Sustainability,” which reaches beyond environmentalism to social justice and economic concerns, is the concept of meeting the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

While at the conference, IWU representatives agreed to join the Focus the Nation project that will culminate on Jan. 31 with symposia held at universities and other venues throughout the country, centered on collaborative discussion about “Global Warming Solutions for America.”

Program Awarded $100,000 NSF Grant

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— The National Science Foundation has awarded $100,000 for a national proposal co-written by Illinois Wesleyan University Provost Beth Cunningham to develop leaders in science education.

Cunningham, a physics professor who came to Illinois Wesleyan as provost and dean of faculty in 2006, is a member of Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL), a national program which works with faculty to promote undergraduate education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics – known as STEM fields. Over the decades, the number of students graduating from STEM fields has declined nationally. PKAL’s aim is to inspire faculty who are teaching undergraduates in the hopes of igniting student interest in pursuing STEM fields as careers.

“Why concentrate on undergraduate faculty? Undergraduate students are at a crossroads. It is here they decide to become professional scientists or science teachers,” said Cunningham, who wrote the grant along with PKAL Director Jeanne Narum of the Independent College Office in of Washington, D.C., and Jessica Young of Western State College of Colorado. “PKAL wants to bring the excitement and joy of science to undergraduate students, who will be inspired to look at science careers.”

The three-year grant will enable PKAL to continue organizing Summer Leadership Institutes, which mentor college faculty who are new in their career. With the NSF grant, PKAL will spend the fall choosing and training mentors for the 2008 Summer Leadership Institute.

Five Books to Read Before You Die

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – It seemed a simple request – ask Illinois Wesleyan University English professors what one book they would recommend people read before they die. Perhaps it would be something moving, profound – a book with which you would want to be buried so the words could remain close to you.

Even in their kind responses, there were questions. What if everyone says The Bible? Do you mean every book ever written? How do we choose JUST one book?

In the end, several brave faculty members overcame all worries and submitted their suggestions, even in the midst of preparing for their fall 2007 semester classes. Their replies, as rich and fulfilling as the books they chose, may offer insight into their personalities, perspectives and interests. Or perhaps they are simply a great introduction to the diverse and wondrous English faculty at Illinois Wesleyan.

Professor Publishes Critical Edition of Picaresque Novel

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – When Hispanic Studies Professor Carolyn Nadeau began teaching a new advanced Spanish literature course in the spring of 2005, she discovered that the influential novel she wanted to teach didn’t exist in a text geared toward undergraduate study.

She soon contacted the publishing house Cervantes & Co. and had a contract to produce such a text herself.

La vida del Buscón, her critical edition of the 17th-century Spanish novel El Buscón by Francisco de Quevedo, was released this summer. El Buscón follows the misadventures of Pablos, son of a thief and a prostitute, as he pursues a lifelong dream of rising above his lowly upbringing and becoming a gentleman. As is typical of its genre, the novel is heavy with social criticism.

“El Buscón is one of the most important of the picaresque novels, which is a genre that started in Spain,” Nadeau said. The genre differs from literature before it, she explained, “because it deals with marginal characters who are – hopefully – inferior to the reader, where most books, from Greek myths to chivalric romances, have characters who are greater than the average reader: superheroes, gods, and knights who are like these James Bond characters. Other genres dealt with the aristocracy or bucolic ideal life. Then this (genre) comes along and deals with people who are just surviving, trying to find their way and having to turn to perhaps some immoral or illegal activities just to survive. It was new for readers.”

She also finds Quevedo’s novel a good choice for students because of his beautiful writing.

Gospel Festival Organizer Corine G. Sims Dies

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Corine Garrett Sims, founder of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Holiday Gospel Festival, co-sponsored by Illinois Wesleyan University, died Friday, August 3, 2007 at the age of 78.

Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, August 10 at Kibler-Smith Memorial Home, Bloomington. Memorial home going service will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, August 11 at Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church, Bloomington. The Rev. Frank McSwain will officiate. Interment will be in Evergreen Memorial Cemetery, Bloomington. Memorials may be made to the family.

“I was saddened to learn of the passing of our friend, Corine Sims,” said Illinois Wesleyan University President Richard F. Wilson. “Her enthusiasm and drive made the MLK Gospel Festival possible and helped to keep the legacy of Dr. King alive on the Illinois Wesleyan campus and in the Bloomington-Normal community. We will miss her enduring dedication and commitment.”

Sims was known for her dynamic personality and tireless efforts to improve her local community. She organized the Gospel Festival in 1991, saying she saw a need to honor King on a spiritual level. As executive director of the United Community Gospel Singers of Bloomington-Normal, she envisioned a day of gospel music. Sims approached former Illinois Wesleyan University President Minor Myers jr. to request Illinois Wesleyan as a venue for the event. The University is a fitting site for the Festival: King spoke at the campus twice, in 1961 and in 1966.

Now in its 18th year, the Gospel Festival that Sims created is celebrated each year around King’s birthday. The Festival honors King with hours of gospel music from choirs from Chicago to Springfield, Ill.

Professor Honored for Frequently Cited Article

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University Associate Professor of Chemistry Ram Mohan will be honored during the American Chemical Society (ACS) national conference in August for an article he co-authored.

The article, “Bismuth compounds in organic synthesis. Bismuth nitrate catalyzed chemoselective synthesis of acylals from aromatic aldehydes,” originally published in a 2004 issue of the international journal Tetrahedron, has been named one of the “Top-50 most cited articles” for the journal from 2004-2007. Authors of the 50 papers will be honored at a dinner during the ACS conference in Boston.

Tetrahedron publishes five monthly journals covering different aspects of science, which are among the most accessed journals worldwide. According to James Milne publisher of the “Organic & Inorganic Chemistry” version of Tetrahedron, more than one million articles are downloaded each month.

IWU News Blog

Headlines From Illinois Wesleyan University