Author Archives: Ann Aubry

State Farm Joins Illinois Wesleyan to Provide Unique Internship

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – State Farm Insurance Companies and Illinois Wesleyan University have joined together to create an internship that puts students in the community.

This summer, ten Illinois Wesleyan students are working as interns at State Farm Insurance Companies in Bloomington, which sponsors the program. The internship pays for students to split their time, working three days a week at a State Farm office, and two days a week at a local not-for-profit organization.

“It’s an amazing chance when not-for-profits and for-profits work together to serve the community,” said Deborah Halperin, coordinator for Illinois Wesleyan’s Action Research Center, which pairs the students with local organizations after judging their skill level and eagerness to learn.

The decision to start the program, now in its first year, stemmed from State Farm’s conviction that students are the future of communities, according to Kathy Havens-Payne, director of education leadership at State Farm. “At State Farm, we have long believed that for communities to thrive, young people must be empowered as leaders and decision-makers who are challenged to address real issues and problems,” said Havens-Payne, who added that students “aren’t just tomorrows leaders. They are helping lead us now by impacting today’s issues.”

First Director of Mellon Center Retires

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Adlai H. Rust Professor of Insurance and Finance and Director of Institutional Research and Planning Mona Gardner will retire at the end of July after a distinguished 19-year career as a faculty member and administrator at Illinois Wesleyan University. For her outstanding contributions and achievements over the years, Gardner has been given the title of Professor Emerita by the IWU Board of Trustees.

“She has touched the lives of students, faculty, staff and four presidents,” said Illinois Wesleyan President Richard F. Wilson. “Mona is an exemplary teacher, researcher, scholar and colleague. She has been an indispensable member of the campus administration. She is a mentor to many people, and alumni cite her as an outstanding instructor.”

Gardner has been a pioneer on campus since she became the first May Term Director in 1994. She was appointed the first Director of the Mellon Center for Faculty and Curriculum Development when it was established in 1995, and was named the first associate dean of faculty the following year. In 2002, Gardner became the first to hold her current title as the Director of Institutional Research and Planning. She was named the Adlai H. Rust Professor of Insurance and Finance in 1989. In 1993, Gardner received IWU’s DuPont Award for Teaching Excellence based on her contributions to teaching, scholarship and service.

Throughout her tenure at Illinois Wesleyan, Gardner has been a leader on campus. She has served as the chair of the Business Administration Department and the director of the Division of Business and Economics. Gardner oversaw the self-study for the University’s accreditation. As a chair member of the personnel council, she spearheaded changes for promotion and tenure at the University. As an administrative liaison and ad hoc member of the Curriculum Council and Faculty Development Committee, Gardner helped implement the General Education Program and Post-Tenure Review Program, as well as a host of other development programs at the University.

Local Resident Donates $1M to Illinois Wesleyan and University High School

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – John L. Wroan III, a retired Bloomington contractor and businessman, has donated $1 million worth of stock to Illinois Wesleyan University and University High School, both in Bloomington-Normal.

A graduate of IWU and U-High, Wroan allocated $500,000 worth of stock to Illinois Wesleyan for an endowment to support student scholarships. He is also donating $500,000 worth of stock to U-High to support the remodeling of its Vocational Arts area into an Engineering/Technology Center – the very building Wroan’s company built in 1964.

“The importance of supporting education cannot be stated enough,” said Wroan. “These gifts are a challenge to everyone who can lend a hand in strengthening education in our community. I consider these gifts to be a ‘pay back’ for all the support Bloomington-Normal has give to me over the years.”

A native of Deer Creek, Ill., Wroan transferred to U-High his junior year, where he played football and basketball and ran track. After graduating from U-High in 1945 and spending one and one-half years in the service, he attended Iowa State University for one year and then transferred to Illinois Wesleyan, where he played basketball under famed coach Jack Horenberger. “I have a soft spot for U-High and Illinois Wesleyan,” said Wroan, who graduated from IWU in 1951 with a degree in business administration.

Biology Students Join Professor Studying Deep-Sea Creatures in the Bahamas

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – In a snapshot from the Bahamas, Will Jaeckle stands in the traditional proud fisherman’s pose, arm held high to display his prized catch.

However, hanging from his raised hand is not a magnificent adult sport fish, but a tiny pipette containing three swordfish in their larval stage. For the associate professor of biology from Illinois Wesleyan University, the swordfish weren’t a fisherman’s triumph, but a byproduct of the nets and collection bottles that were cast deep into the ocean from the deck of the R/V F.G. Walton Smith during a recent research voyage. The intended targets included larvae of bottom-dwelling invertebrates, which spend their lives in the water column, and cyanobacteria (microscopic photosynthetic bacteria) upon which the larvae may feed.

Jaeckle, along with Illinois Wesleyan biology majors Oluwakemi Onajin ’09 and newly graduated Sarah Lewis ’07, were joined by counterparts from the University of Oregon on the first leg of a four-year project funded by the National Science Foundation. The opportunity proved illuminating for both students.

Jaeckle’s group is studying the invertebrate larvae from deep-sea species to learn how these developmental stages get the necessary sustenance to complete their developmental cycle. The cyanobacteria that are hypothesized as a potential food source are the research interest of grant collaborator Michelle Wood, a biologist from the University of Oregon. Specimens were captured at controlled depths starting 1,000 meters below the surface and then sorted and identified while being viewed through microscopes during 16-hour work days.

Knowledge about the development of deep-sea creatures is limited, Jaeckle said. “We’re just trying to understand how these developmental stages of deep-water organisms make their living. We are somewhat ignorant of what processes occur at depths that we can only see by towing cameras or using submarines. Even then we’re only getting a narrow snapshot.”

Travel Courses More Than Visiting Landmarks

The idea of spending a month abroad may bring to mind images of bus tours and cameras snapping away at majestic castles. But for students who travel with May Term courses at Illinois Wesleyan, there is more to discover than famous sites and guidebooks. They find themselves immersed in the differing cultures, peoples and ideas.

May Term is a month-long opportunity for IWU students to study a single subject intensively. The concept is designed for total immersion in order to erase the barrier between in-class and out-of-class learning. Illinois Wesleyan professors take students on a wide range of locales across the globe, such as sociology professor Teodora Amoloza, who journeyed to Hawaii with students to explore the cultural impact of immigration on a state has no majority group. Students of Scott Sheridan, associate professor of French, traveled to Italy to take in not only the art and artistry of Renaissance Italy, but the present-day lives of residents of the country.

This May Term, Professor of English Jim Plath took students to Ireland to study Irish poetry and art, which meant meeting with Irish artists. After visiting the tourist-friendly areas of Galway and Killarney, students stayed with Irish families in the remote village of Allihies. Near the village is the Allihies Language and Arts Center, where some of the country’s most noted Irish artists and poets came to speak to the students. “There are two things to do in Allihies—talk to the locals or commune with nature,” said Plath. “It’s kind of a hippie area where you find farmers and artists, a rugged and beautiful part of the country.”

Some of the students stayed with families who had no heat in their bedrooms or had to walk for 30 minutes to get to town, and cross a small river. “They all had their stories and adventures, and that’s what writers seek out,” said Plath, who believes the rural nature of the village drew students to the local culture and people. “When you rub shoulders with the locals and combine that with the dramatic beauty of the landscape—the wind, the rain, the mist—the students received an inspiration and an education that goes well beyond books,” he said.

Brian Hatcher Named McFee Professor

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.—Illinois Wesleyan University President Richard F. Wilson announced that Professor Brian A. Hatcher of the Religion Department has been named the McFee Professor of Religion. This is the second endowed appointment announced at Illinois Wesleyan in the past week.

“The purpose of endowed professorships is to honor outstanding faculty who elevate the University with their teaching and scholarship,” said Wilson. “Receiving the McFee Professorship is a reflection of Dr. Hatcher’s excellent dedication and commitment to teaching and his ongoing scholarly work and to Illinois Wesleyan.”

The McFee Endowed Professorship of Religion was established in 1984 from the estate of Daisy McFee in order to honor her mother and father, Emma and Pulaski, and her brother, Alvin. It is one of 11 active named chairs and professorships at the University. The land, now known as the Illinois Wesleyan University McFee Farm, is located in McLean County, northwest of Bloomington.

A professor with Illinois Wesleyan since 1992, Hatcher graduated from Carleton College in Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1980. Earning his master’s degrees in divinity from Yale University in 1984 and in religion from Harvard University in 1986, Hatcher received his doctorate in the comparative study of religion from Harvard in 1992.

“I am honored and keenly aware I could not have risen to this appointment alone,” said Hatcher, a native of Minnetonka, Minn. “There are colleagues, teachers, family members and, of course, the institution of Illinois Wesleyan who must be considered as well.” Hatcher teaches various courses on religion at Illinois Wesleyan, and his scholarship focuses on the transformation of Hindu thought and culture in colonial and post-colonial India. An author of three books and more than a dozen articles and book chapters, his works are discussed worldwide.

Illinois Wesleyan Professor Receives National Grant

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— Illinois Wesleyan University Professor of Russian Studies and recent appointee of the Isaac Funk Professorship Marina Balina has received a research fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to continue her pioneering work with Soviet and post-Soviet children’s literature.

The $20,000 fellowship is jointly sponsored by the NEH, the American Councils for International Education and the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research. The NEH, an independent grant-making agency of the United States government, is dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation and public programs in the humanities.

Balina has earned an international reputation for her work with Soviet literature, yet she is one of the first to study children’s literature. “Soviet children’s literature has been dismissed as propaganda by Western scholars,” said Balina. “It is a new field to speak about Soviet and post-Soviet children’s works, and that is very exciting.”

Model Created to Help Envision Fourth Dimension

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The concept of the fourth dimension can be a difficult one to comprehend. Although experimental physicists are now looking for ways to prove the existence of 4-D, often instructors do not approach the subject in class because they are not sure how to teach it.

Narendra Jaggi, Illinois Wesleyan University professor and chair of the physics department, and his student Andy Nelson are looking for ways to help bring the fourth spatial dimension into the classroom.

Jaggi draws two squares on a dry erase board in a classroom at the University’s Center for Natural Science. “You can’t really build a cube on a blackboard because the board is two dimensional and the cube is three dimensional,” said Jaggi, connecting the corners of the squares with lines. “But, you can draw a representation of a cube, so you have the perception of three dimensions.” Drawing on that idea, Jaggi and Nelson, an Illinois Wesleyan senior physics and religion double major from Mahomet, Ill., began to conquer the questions: Could there be a fourth spatial dimension and how can you display that in a three-dimensional world?

Jaggi and Nelson took the idea of creating a cube, and built upon it. “We wanted to create a model to replicate the fourth dimension in a spatial way. The goal was to create a teaching tool to help visualize 4D,” said Nelson.

Marina Balina

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University President Richard F. Wilson announced that Professor of Russian Studies Marina Balina has been appointed to the Isaac Funk Professorship, a title that has not been given since 1921.

Named in honor of one of the University’s founders, the Isaac Funk Professorship was originally established in 1865—the first endowed professorship for the University. Instructors were named until funds were deemed no longer sufficient to maintain the professorship. In the fall of 2004, the Paul A. Funk Foundation made a major gift to re-establish the fund, with plans that the professorship would be awarded this spring.

“It is a priority of this University to build endowments to support faculty members and students, with generous support from donors such as the Paul A. Funk Foundation,” said Wilson. “Dr. Balina’s imaginative, innovative, and creative approach to teaching exemplifies an enduring commitment to education, which pays tribute to one of the founders of this University.” The Isaac Funk Professorship is one of 11 endowed professorships at Illinois Wesleyan.

“This is a wonderful honor,” said Balina, who will continue her pioneering work with Soviet and post-Soviet children’s literature. “This will give me the opportunity to stimulate research for my students by taking them to various conferences and workshops, strengthen my international contacts, and invite more renowned speakers to campus to offer our students diverse educational experiences.”

A native of Russia who earned her doctorate at Leningrad State University (now St. Petersburg), Balina joined IWU’s faculty in 1989 and is a member of the University’s Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures.

2007 Alumna Offered Fulbright Grant

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Rachel Slough, a 2007 graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University, has been offered a Fulbright grant to travel to Chile to teach English.

Operating in 150 countries worldwide, the Fulbright Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Envisioned by U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright in 1945, the program promotes a mutual understanding between people of the United States and other countries of the world. Since its inception, nearly 103,000 Americans have studied, taught or researched abroad with the program.

Slough received a grant through the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship Program to help improve English language abilities and knowledge of the United States abroad. “I’m very excited to work with students and have the chance to continue my research,” said Slough, who will leave in March 2008 and remain in Chile for 10 months.

An English and Hispanic studies double major from Charleston, Ill., Slough will be assigned as a language-learning assistant at one of eight host universities in Chile. Depending upon her destination, her duties could include teaching, tutoring and encouraging students to communicate in English. As part of her assistantship, Slough also will continue her research.

“I’ve been studying how detective novels evolve in Hispanic countries after the end of dictatorships,” said Slough, who wrote her Illinois Wesleyan senior honors research project on the subject. “Detective novels are typically a way for authors to voice their protests. The genre is particularly insightful because it employs popular culture and is read by a wide variety of citizens. Through the novels we can conceptualize the magnitude of change from dictatorship to democracy and the effects of this on daily life.”

Slough became interested in the subject while taking an IWU Spanish course that included a discussion of detective novels and films. While spending five months in 2006 studying and teaching English in Salamanca, Spain, she explored detective novels written after the reign of Francisco Franco. “I’m interested to see the similarities and differences between the novels in Chile and Spain,” she said of her plans to delve into novels of Chile written post-Augusto Pinochet.

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