Category Archives: Alumni

Alumna Receives Nursing Honor

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Rear Admiral (RADM) Denise Canton, a 1974 alumna of Illinois Wesleyan University, has been selected as the 2009 Distinguished Alumna for Nursing Excellence. This honor is awarded annually to one alumnus or alumna who has demonstrated outstanding excellence in the fields of nursing practice, education and research. Rear Admiral Canton will be honored at the annual School of Nursing Homecoming Brunch and Award Program on Oct. 10. Both events will take place in the Center for Natural Science Learning and Research (201 Beecher St., Bloomington).

The brunch will begin at 9:00 a.m. in the Commons Area, with the award program following at 10:00 a.m. in room C102. At the award program, RADM Canton will give a presentation entitled, “Bridging the Gap: The Role of the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service.”

The event is free and open to the public. People wishing to attend should register by calling the School of Nursing office at (309) 556-3051, or by logging onto titanpride.org.

After graduating from Illinois Wesleyan with a bachelor of science in nursing degree, RADM Canton earned a master’s of nursing and a doctorate in nursing science degree from The Catholic University of America. Additionally, she earned a juris doctor from Georgetown University Law Center where she was selected as a Public Interest Law Scholar.

Outstanding Alumni to be Recognized at Homecoming

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University annually honors three alumni as part of its Homecoming festivities. This year Lawrence Herbolsheimer, class of 1972 will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award; Chet and Helen Sheldon, class of 1943 and 1940 respectively, will receive the Loyalty Award; and Arman Dabiri, class of 1994, will receive the Robert M. Montgomery Outstanding Alumnus Award. The awards will be presented Saturday Oct. 10, at 11:30 a.m. at the Alumni Awards Lunch in the Shirk Center (302 Emerson St., Bloomington).

The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes Illinois Wesleyan graduates who have achieved professional distinction, demonstrated civic leadership or contributed to society in a remarkable way. Lawrence Herbolsheimer graduated with an economics degree from Illinois Wesleyan, where he was Vice President of Student Senate, Treasurer of IFC and a member of Phi Gamma Delta (a social fraternity) and Alpha Kappa Psi (a professional business fraternity). Herbolsheimer went on to earn his MBA from Harvard in 1980. From 1983 through 1985, Herbolsheimer served on the staff of President Ronald Reagan. From 1985 through 1991, he worked as the Deputy Assistant Administrator of NASA’s Office of Commercial Programs.

In 1991, Herbolsheimer made a move back into the business world, working as CEO of United Pacific Holdings, Ltd., a holding company for investments in manufacturing companies of China and other East Asian nations. Since then, he has aided in the creation of other businesses in which he continues to play a significant ownership role or participates on the Board of Directors. He was also a director of a management company of third-party direct investment funds with assets in excess of $350 million.

Currently, Herbolsheimer is the Co-Chairman of Comway Capital Group, a Shanghai holding company of 14 Chinese companies. He is also a Managing Director of The McLean Group of Virginia, a middle market investment-banking firm. Herbolsheimer lives in McLean, Virginia with his wife, Pia, and their two children.

Alumna Joins Teach for America Corps

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Post-graduation plans vary for every Illinois Wesleyan student; some will enter the workforce right away, while others will continue on to grad school, but for recent graduate Christy Ivie, these plans include a two-year commitment to the Teach for America Corps.

Ivie, originally from Galesburg, Ill., graduated from Illinois Wesleyan in 2009 with a bachelor of arts degree in sociology. She will spend the next two years teaching first grade in Greenwood, Miss. as a part of the Teach for America Corps.

“My sophomore year of college I took a sociology of education course with Dr. Evans-Winters, and it opened my eyes to the inequalities that exist in the United States education system,” said Ivie, who comes from a family of elementary school teachers, both her mother and her grandmother teach lower level grades. “I remember a quote that one of my professors, Dr. Teddy Amaloza, had on a mug in her office: Teach for justice, not for privilege. The more I thought about it, the more I became excited to spend some years in the classroom. When I began looking for options for after graduation, Teach for America just seemed like the right fit.”

Alumnus Co-authors Brady Book

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – During the 1970s, the Bradys were a household name in America and are now said to be indelibly a part of American pop culture. While the iconic family is best known for The Brady Bunch, few associate them with The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, a Donny and Marie-like show that aired soon after the Bradys did their last taping and said goodbye to their split-level ranch.

“Up until now, The Brady Bunch Variety Hour was Hollywood’s best kept secret. People pretended like [it] never existed. But we brought this skeleton out of the closet and were shocked to find it was wearing sequins,” said Ted Nichelson, Illinois Wesleyan alumnus and co-author of the new book Love to Love You Bradys, The Bizarre Story of the Brady Bunch Variety Hour. The book was written with the help of former Brady star Susan Olsen, who played the youngest daughter Cindy on the show.

After working towards his doctorate degree at Ball State University, Nichelson met Olsen through mutual friends. The two stayed in touch and a friendship was formed. Both wanting to collaborate on a project, Nichelson approached Olsen with the idea of writing a book about The Brady Variety Hour. Despite the popularity of the Brady franchise, Nichelson realized that very little information was available about the show. He became curious and wanted to learn more. Olsen agreed the project was a great idea, and it evolved from there.

Alumnus Leads Construction of “Extreme Makeover” Home

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – With a deafening cry, hundreds of volunteers charged to destroy a worn down home in Philo, Ill., Thursday morning. Helping lead the charge was Illinois Wesleyan University alumnus Ed Brady. His act was one with charitable intentions. The owners of the demolished house have been chosen to receive a new home by the ABC television show Extreme Makeover Home Edition, and Brady’s construction company, Brady Homes, has been selected as the local building sponsor to donate his company’s labor and resources.

The television show chooses deserving families to receive a new home. Under the leadership of a local construction crew, the old home is razed and a new one built in about a week. For the home in Philo, shifts of construction workers and volunteers will be running from 6 a.m. to midnight in order to construct the house in seven days, a task that usually takes four months. Filming of the episode has been ongoing for the past week, and will continue until the completed home is revealed to the family next week. The episode is scheduled to air this fall.

Chosen for the show was the family of Nathan Montgomery, a former engineer who gave up a lucrative career to start the pantry Salt & Light that provides food, clothing and ministry to around 250 families in and near Philo, located southeast of Champaign. “This entire project is about the family, about communities coming together to provide food and shelter,” said Brady from the demolition site. “The Brady family is honored and happy to give back to this family who has given so much of themselves for others.”

Recent Graduate Helps Low-Income Residents Access Fresh Food

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University alumnus Danny Burke has been pioneering making fresh food available to low-income residents.

Burke, who graduated in the spring of 2009, developed a plan for benefits from SNAP, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps), to be used at the farmer’s market in downtown Bloomington. Now the Downtown Bloomington Farmer’s Market is one of just nine farmer’s markets in the state of Illinois approved to accept Link cards, which are the cards used to redeem SNAP benefits in Illinois.

“Healthy food is so connected to community development,” said Burke, who earned a double major in environmental studies and Spanish. “If you secure food and nutrition, you help develop a healthier society.”

As a member of the Illinois Wesleyan’s track team, Burke ran through many neighborhoods in Bloomington, and began to suspect several of them were what anthropologists call a “food desert” – pockets in developed countries where no fresh food is available. “Some areas do not have access to grocery stores, only corner stores and gas stations that carry mainly processed food,” he said. Burke decided to focus his senior seminar paper on providing options to alleviate possible food deserts in Bloomington.

Through his advisor Environmental Studies Director and Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and International Studies Abigail Jahiel, Burke discovered the idea of allowing low-income residents to use SNAP benefits at area farmer’s markets. With the help of Jahiel and Deborah Halperin from the University’s Action Research Center, Burke connected with several local organizations, including the West Bloomington Revitalization Partnership, the Heartland Local Food Network, Harvest of Hope, and Downtown Bloomington Association, which operates the farmers’ market. “Danny saw a need and studied and worked to answer that need,” said Marsha Veninga, co-chair of Heartland Local Food Network, who took on Burke as an intern. “He has gone way above and beyond any class project.”

Students Tap Alumni for Internship Opportunities

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – While many people are struggling to find summer jobs in the economic downswing, many Illinois Wesleyan University students have obtained summer internships that give them valuable experience in the fields that could be their careers. A few of these students found such opportunities through one of IWU’s most valuable resources: its alumni.

According to Assistant Director and Internship Coordinator for the Hart Career Center Laurie Diekhoff, the job market this summer has been exceptionally tough. “Organizations have been trimming and working with minimal staff,” she said. “Students are competing with laid off workers for the jobs that do exist.”

However, from marketing for a photography business to building sets for an independent film company, three IWU students have obtained summer internships despite the competition by working with alumni. “Internships are especially important because they show that a student is following up on their career interests, learning about the field and developing concrete skills,” said Diekhoff.

Additionally, these particular internships are giving alumni an opportunity to give back to the school by supporting the students and passing on their wisdom. Following are some experiences three Illinois Wesleyan students have had working with alumni this summer.

Play Director Gets Help From Fellow Alumni

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan School of Theatre Arts graduate Marti Lyons will direct a challenging play this summer, but she won’t be alone. Plenty of IWU alumni and faculty have filled the ranks of the production’s cast and crew.

Tooth and Nail Ensemble will present Maria Irene Fornes’ The Conduct of Life, its debut production, beginning July 11 at Chicago’s Viaduct Theater in cooperation with Two Lights Theatre Company.

“It is incredible to work with everyone again,” Lyons said. “We are so far ahead in the process because we have a shared vocabulary from which to work.”

She and fellow Class of ’08 alumnus Tim Martin were inspired to form Tooth and Nail Ensemble after returning to Illinois Wesleyan last fall to view a production by Associate Theatre Arts Professor Sandra Lindberg. “We started talking about how we were not satisfied with the work we were doing [in Chicago],” Lyons said. “We talked about how we had a real ensemble feel in our Wesleyan training and how much we would want to work with Sandra and a lot of other Wesleyan graduates again.”

The former classmates had studied The Conduct of Life in Lindberg’s Introduction to Dramatic Literature class. “Tim and I were both very moved by the play when we read it in school, so when I mentioned it he got very excited, and then when Sandra agreed to be in it, we knew we had a show,” Lyons said.

The pair recruited Martin Langrall ’08 as their production manager and formed their own ensemble.

Alumnus Discovers Early Black Playwright

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Research by Eric Gardner ’89 has uncovered what may be the first book of plays published by an African-American writer.

Gardner will share his discovery in an article titled “Forgotten Manuscripts: William Jay Greenly’s Antebellum Temperance Drama,” which will appear in the next issue of African American Review. He is professor, Braun Fellow and chair of English at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan.

In addition to being a possible first, Gardner said Greenly’s work, The Three Drunkards, helps in understanding the wide scope of such literature.

“Several critics and students assume that early black literature consists solely of stories of the South that were published in New York, Boston or Philadelphia,” Gardner said.

Greenly, who was living as a free man in Indiana when he published the book of plays in 1858, breaks that mold.

“That presence in an unexpected place suggests that early black print culture was much more diverse in terms of location than we’ve been led to think,” said Gardner.

The play’s temperance theme also shows the diversity of early black literature. “[The play] is further evidence that the North’s free African Americans were involved in a rich range of antebellum moral reform activities,” he said.

Gardner’s early work and teaching emphasizes a broad look at cross-racial American literature and culture, but in recent years he has become more interested in early black literature and recovery efforts.

Recent Grad Receives Coveted Government Fellowship

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Recent graduate Christine Gibbs of Glen Ellyn, Ill., has been admitted into the prestigious James H. Dunn Memorial Fellowship Program in Illinois government. Gibbs, a political science and international studies double major, will be a full-time employee of the Illinois state government for the next year.

“The Dunn Fellowship aims to train college graduates to become better leaders in state government some day,” said Gibbs. As the “federal liaison,” Gibbs will be helping to represent the interests of the state of Illinois at the federal level. Her position is the only one of approximately 19 Dunn Fellowships awarded each year to take place in Washington, D.C.

Past recipients of the Dunn Fellowship hail from some of the top universities in the country, said Illinois Wesleyan University Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science James Simeone. “The Dunn Fellowship, particularly the Washington, D.C. position, is a very competitive and very coveted prize for students of political science,” he said.

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