Category Archives: Alumni

Liberal Arts Opportunities Inspire Change in Poet Alum

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – When Mark Yakich entered Illinois Wesleyan in 1988, he never imagined becoming an award-winning poet with four published books and another on the way. The political science major, who later earned multiple graduate degrees and is currently an associate professor of English at Loyola University, New Orleans, did not enjoy English studies and notes that he only read two novels — Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness of Being and J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye — before age 25.

Yakich is a multi-focused artist who, according to Susan Larson of The Times-Picayune, “makes the reader re-evaluate what a word can do, what a word can mean, even what history as we know it is all about.” Here, Yakich explains via e-mail Illinois Wesleyan’s integral role in his winding path to poetry and how he became an actor, of sorts.

When you were selecting your undergraduate university, what drew you to Illinois Wesleyan?

My mother drew me to IWU. Mom didn’t want me to go far away from home, so it was either the University of Illinois or Illinois Wesleyan. I believe she liked the brochure we got in the mail. We took a visit to IWU, a day trip, and I thought it was nice and not too big. I liked the idea of a small, liberal arts university and I didn’t want to be a number [like I could have been] at the University of Illinois even though I had a small plan to go there to major in architecture. I still love architecture and have kept many of the drawings I did of cotter pins, flywheels and one of a fireplace inlaid with black marble and bordered by stained glass in a tool chest in my closet for many years.

Council for IWU Women Inspiring Students, Graduates

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Inspiring students to discover self-confidence is one of the keystones of a liberal arts education. Illinois Wesleyan University is meeting that need in students with groups such as the Council for IWU Women, which was created to instill confidence in female students with the help of a plentiful resource – successful alumnae.

Marsha Guenzler-Stevens, a 1978 Illinois Wesleyan graduate and founding member of the council, recalled her own experiences at Illinois Wesleyan as a female in the male-dominated major of biology in the 1970s. “A sense of self was a gift I received from Illinois Wesleyan,” she said, noting former Professor of Biology Dorthea Franzen as one of her strongest mentors. “I was embedded with a great sense of courage and a magnificent mentorship from Dorthea. She opened doors for me she didn’t even know she opened.”

At Illinois Wesleyan, a task force was created to explore whether female students’ attitudes reflected the national studies. The task force reported its findings to the Alumni Council Executive Board in 2005. “The Board heard data which implied Illinois Wesleyan women come to the University with talent and unending potential, but have less confidence than their male counterparts,” said Guenzler-Stevens.

“It’s a balancing act for women in leadership,” said Pat Wilson, another founding member of the Council for IWU Women and the wife of University President Richard F. Wilson. “If women have a ‘take no prisoners’ attitude and exhibit traits typically thought of as tough, it can be received as abrasive. It can be confusing to women, which is why it is so important for women to have other female role models.”

Alumna Honored with State Press Association Award

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University alumna Lana (Weiss) Brown will be honored by the Illinois Woman’s Press Association (IWPA) with the 2009 Communicator of Achievement Award. She will be presented with the award on Saturday, May 16 at the Union League Club of Chicago by fellow alumna and incoming IWPA President Marianne Wolf-Astrauskas.

“This award recognizes not just one year, but an entire body of work for the career of a communicator,” said Wolf-Astrauskas, a 1976 alumna who won the award in 2008. “Being able to present this award to Lana is doubly exciting because not only is she an incredible communicator, but she is a fellow IWU alum.”

In August, Brown will represent Illinois as its nominee for the National Communicator of Achievement Award from the National Federation of Press Women at the conference in San Antonio, Texas. Brown currently serves as the IWPA first vice president and program chair.

A graduate of the class of 1970, Brown is the owner of Lana Brown Communications, a speaking and writing consulting firm, which has assisted such companies as AT&T, Kraft, the National Education Association and the Museum of Broadcast Communications.

Recent Graduate Joins Council at Mayo Clinic

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Alissa Sherman, a 2008 nursing graduate, was invited to join a council at the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., which will be working toward encouraging nurses to use practices that have been proven effective, known as “evidence-based practice.”

“Evidence-based practice is a way of thinking,” said Marianne E. Olson, a registered nurse with a doctorate in nursing research, who is a member of the Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Division at Mayo Clinic. “It is a commitment by all members of health care to incorporate the latest medical practices.”

Mayo Clinic has 10,000 nurses in its facilities reaching across five states, yet when it came time to create a council that would be dedicated to ensuring an efficient manner of sharing best-practices ideas, Olson thought of Sherman, who had only joined the clinic a year ago. “We tell all of our new nurses that your number one role is to keep asking us the question why – why are you doing what you are doing?” said Olson. “Alissa embodies that. She is exactly the type of nurse we are seeking at Mayo.”

University Celebrates 25 Years of Evelyn Chapel, Jordan Organ

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Evelyn Chapel (1301 N. Park St., Bloomington) with a series of commemorative events on Saturday, March 28. The celebration, which requires reservations, is free and open to the public.

Alumni organ recitals will begin at 3 p.m. A reception will be held at 5:30 p.m., followed by dinner and a celebratory concert by Marilyn Keiser, 1963 Illinois Wesleyan alumna and retired Indiana University music professor, at 7:30 p.m. After Keiser’s performance, the central Illinois chapter of American Guild Organist will host a reception in the chapel.

Named after Evelyn Sheean, benefactor and friend of the University, the Evelyn Chapel was built in 1984 and houses several campus religious activities, as well as the office of University Chaplain Hope Luckie. In 1985, the chapel received an Interior Architecture Award from the Chicago Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Oscar Ceremony “Surreal” for Richard Jenkins ’69

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – When 1969 Illinois Wesleyan University alumnus Richard Jenkins discovered that he was a best actor nominee for is role in The Visitor, he said he was “surprised, thrilled and a little humbled.” When he attended the 81st Academy Awards as an honored guest on Feb. 22, he said he was amazed.

“It’s a little surreal, the whole thing,” Jenkins said of the Oscar production.

In The Visitor, Jenkins plays the leading role of college professor Walter Vale, who finds that he is sharing his New York apartment with two illegal immigrants. According to 2003 best actor winner Adrien Brody, who introduced Jenkins and was one of five former category winners to present the award for best actor, Jenkins’ performance in the film is a display of “effortless and compelling simplicity.” Brody went on to commend Jenkins for his involvement in over 80 projects since the 1970s.

“I don’t quite remember what he said,” Jenkins admitted. “It’s hard to focus at that moment, but it was very nice. I loved that whole idea of actors talking about actors—I think that’s really a nice way to do it.”

Jenkins’ role in The Visitor has received five nominations from ceremonies like the Screen Actors Guild Awards and four wins in ceremonies such as the Moscow International Film Festival. Though he does not claim a “favorite” project, Jenkins was pleased to be recognized for his performance in The Visitor, which he considers an outstanding professional accomplishment.

“It’s the kind of project I waited for most of my professional life, so this was really special,” he said. “It was a movie I loved, so I didn’t mind talking about it.”

Distinguished Alumna Named Dean of Nursing at Tennessee University

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Wendy M. Nehring, a Distinguished Alumna for Nursing Excellence and former instructor of nursing at Illinois Wesleyan University, has been named dean of nursing at East Tennessee State University (ETSU).

Nehring, who graduated from Illinois Wesleyan in 1979, most recently served as associate dean for graduate education and director of graduate programs at Rutgers University, N.J. She has also held appointments at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, Rush University, and the University of Illinois.

“The university is very fortunate to have recruited Dr. Nehring, who is well respected across the nation for her contributions in nursing education and research,” said Wilsie S. Bishop, ETSU vice president for health affairs and university chief operating officer.

With more than 170 publications to her credit, Nehring has dedicated significant time to studying Down Syndrome, the experiences of children with HIV/AIDS, neural tube defects, mental retardation and the use of simulations in nursing education.

Two Alumni Turn Science Degrees into Law Careers

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – At first glance, the poster-sized picture in Dan Hefner’s office in the law firm of Leydig, Voit & Mayer in downtown Chicago appears to be abstract art – a thin circle lined with a rainbow of colors and surrounded by hues of purple and blue. The picture, in fact, is anything but abstract. It is concrete proof of Hefner’s passion for science that has carried into his work today.

“It’s a photograph of a fertilized sea urchin egg that I took through a microscope my last day in the lab where I conducted undergraduate research,” said Hefner, a 1990 Illinois Wesleyan graduate who majored in biology. “Do you see the small lines in the cell? In about 10 minutes, it will begin to divide. This is truly its last minutes as a fertilized egg before it begins to become something completely different.”

Hefner understands the need to evolve. He came to Illinois Wesleyan with plans to attend medical school and major in chemistry or biology. By his junior year, however, Hefner noted changes in the medical field with the growth of managed care. “It seemed as though doctors were doing more paperwork and spending less time with patients,” he said. “I didn’t know where this trend would lead, and I didn’t want to get into a profession undergoing such unpredictable transformation. Besides, I didn’t think I would really be happy seeing patients.” Hefner made the transition from Illinois Wesleyan science major to lawyer.

It was much the same for Christopher Raistrick, a 1993 chemistry graduate from Illinois Wesleyan. “My goal was to go into astrochemistry,” said Raistrick from his LaSalle Street office at Adler, Murphy and McQuillen, only blocks away from Hefner’s law office. “I was always interested in space and science. Science articles are always the first ones I read online during my lunch breaks,” he said, nodding toward the computer on his desk.

Raistrick loved his chemistry classes at Illinois Wesleyan, with a special interest in Professor of Chemistry Forrest Frank’s research, in which Raistrick participated his senior year. “The fingerprint technology was really intriguing,” he said. Yet nearing the end of his Illinois Wesleyan days, Raistrick began to question his path. “I still loved forensic chemistry, but I just could not see myself working in a lab eight hours a day.”

Alum Lends Lincoln Likenesses to Library

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – On Friday, Feb. 6, a display in The Ames Library (1 Ames Plaza, Bloomington) became the temporary home of two Abraham Lincoln photographic reproductions on loan from Illinois Wesleyan alumnus George Allison, Class of 1951.

The prints will join other Lincoln memorabilia, including faculty meeting minutes that announce the University’s closure for the 16th president’s funeral in Springfield, Ill., in the display commemorating Lincoln’s 200th birthday.

The images, which depict a beardless Lincoln posing pre-election at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, were taken by Alexander Hesler on June 3, 1860. “They confirm the power of the man himself,” said Allison. “When you look at his picture, you can see the integrity and the determination of the man even then. You can imagine the effect he must have had on his contemporaries and realize why the images are called the ‘pictures that elected a president.’”

Over 100 years after Hesler made the original glass wet-plate collodion negative, which was damaged beyond repair in 1933 during transit to the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C., Allison acquired prints of the photograph from his friend, the late King Hostick, a historical document dealer and Lincoln specialist.

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.

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