Category Archives: Alumni

Homecoming Highlights Include 40th Anniversary of Observatory

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – At this year’s Illinois Wesleyan University Homecoming alumni will gather to mark the 40th anniversary of students peering toward the heavens from the Mark Evans Observatory. Tours of the observatory will be from 9-11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9, with a reception at 4:30 p.m. in the Commons of the Center for Natural Science Learning and Research (CNS) (201 E. Beecher St., Bloomington).

When it was completed in 1970, the Mark Evans Observatory – like space exploration itself – offered hope in a turbulent time. Even the building of the observatory brought excitement to campus. In March of 1969, Col. Frank Borman, commander of the Apollo 8 space mission, arrived on campus for Founders’ Day to lay the cornerstone of the observatory and receive an honorary degree.

“He piloted his own jet into Bloomington,” then-University President Robert S. Eckley recalled in his memoir, Pictures at an Exhibition: Illinois Wesleyan University: 1968-1986. “He generated more interest and excitement than any other visitor to the campus during my years at Wesleyan.” Though he was not the main speaker for Founders’ Day, Eckley noted that Borman, “captivated the audience and the campus,” by offering a message of hope during a time when racial tension and war gripped the nation. “For a man who just returned from circling the moon, nothing was impossible,” wrote Eckley.

Alumni to Appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – A group of Illinois Wesleyan alumni will have the unique opportunity to appear on the farewell season of The Oprah Winfrey Show, performing with members of their choir on an episode airing Tuesday, Sept. 14.

The four alumni: Mark Tomasino ’06, Joan (Teitelman) Cinquegrani ’06, Hilary Barry ’06, and Angela Latkowski ’07 are part of Wicker Park Choral Singers (WPCS), which will perform behind the Grammy award-winning duo, The Judds.

Tomasino founded WPCS in 2008, but never dreamed it would land them a spot on America’s longest-running daytime television talk show. The group got their chance when a member of WPCS jokingly offered the choir’s services to a friend who is an assistant executive producer of The Oprah Winfrey Show. “He called us literally the next day and said, ‘You’re never going to believe this, but we need singers for the show,’ ” said Tomasino.

Alumnus Rings Opening Bell at Stock Exchange

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University alum Sung Jin Hong proudly stepped onto the podium at the New York Stock Exchange Friday, September 10 at 9:30 a.m. to ring the opening bell, signifying the start of another day of trading on Wall Street.

The ’97 graduate is the founder and current composer and conductor of New York’s One World Symphony. Hong was invited to ring the bell in honor of the symphony’s service to and presence in the community.

One World Symphony (OWS), created by Hong in 2000, is a not-for-profit organization composed of 70 musicians, 81 vocalists and 13 staff members. The symphony performs concerts throughout the NYC area, selling tickets for a fraction of the cost of many New York concert halls.

Kopan Named Outstanding Nursing Alumna

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University alumna Karen Kopan will be honored with the School of Nursing Distinguished Alumni Award during Homecoming activities in October. Kopan will receive the award during the School of Nursing festivities which will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 9 with a coffee hour in the in the Commons of the Center for Natural Science (201 E. Beecher St., Bloomington). Kopan’s presentation, titled “Trailblazers: Nurse Practitioners in Acute Care Settings,” will begin at 10 a.m. The event continues the celebration of the 50th anniversary of awarding four-year bachelor’s of science in nursing degrees at Illinois Wesleyan.

Kopan, a 1986 alumna, has worked for the past 13 years with the Critical Care Consult Team at NorthShore University HealthSystem’s Evanston Hospital in Evanston, Ill. As a nurse practitioner hired into the intensive care unit in 1997, Kopan blazed the trail for future advanced practice nurses in acute care settings. She streamlined the entry process for nurse practitioner students entering the organization for a clinical rotation, and received a certificate of achievement from the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners for her work creating a corporate-wide resource packet for all new hire inpatient and outpatient nurse practitioners.

Outstanding Alumni to be Honored at Homecoming

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Three Illinois Wesleyan University alumni will be honored this year at the annual Alumni Homecoming Lunch on Saturday, Oct. 9, at noon in the Shirk Center (302 E. Emerson St., Bloomington), as part of the 2010 Homecoming and All That Jazz activities.

Ron Ford, a 1978 Illinois Wesleyan graduate, will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award. Ford is a highly respected reconstructive hand surgeon with the Hand & Plastic Surgery Center.

Rod Adams, a 1995 Illinois Wesleyan graduate, will receive the Robert M. Montgomery Outstanding Young Alumnus Award. A national experienced recruiting leader for PriceWaterhouse-Cooper, Adams was formerly their National Director of Diversity Recruiting.

Jerry Philpott, a 1959 Illinois Wesleyan graduate, will receive the Loyalty Award. In 2002, he started a scholarship for students with financial need named in honor of his father. A resident of Mesa, Ariz., Philpott is a Hole Sponsor at the IWU Alumni Golf Outing every year and acts as the “connector” for alumni and current FIJI’s. Philpott has assisted with class reunions since his 20th reunion.

Homecoming and All That Jazz

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — It will be a weekend of music, memories, fireworks, football and tributes as alumni and friends gather for Illinois Wesleyan University’s Homecoming Oct. 8-10, with a theme of Homecoming and All That Jazz.

Highlights of Homecoming weekend activities include two 40th anniversary celebrations. The IWU Jazz Program will celebrate four decades with the Jazz Band Reunion concert on Friday, Oct. 8, comprised of four bands of alumni spanning the four decades. The concert will take place at 9 p.m. in Hansen Student Center (300 E. Beecher St., Bloomington), and will be led by Professor Tom Streeter, who founded the Jazz Program at IWU in 1970, and plans to retire at the end of the academic year. Dancing is encouraged.

The Mark Evans Observatory will also celebrate 40 years on campus with tours of the observatory from 9-11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9, with a reception from 4:30-6 p.m. in the Commons of the Center for Natural Science Learning and Research (CNS) (201 E. Beecher St., Bloomington), honoring University Professors Ray Wilson and Lew Detweiler.

Also celebrating an anniversary will be the Hispanic Studies Program, founded in the 1999-2000 school year. There will be a reception for alumni, current and former faculty, and friends from 4:30-6 p.m. Saturday at the Joslin Atrium in the Memorial Center (104 E. University St., Bloomington).

Alumna Receives Colby Award

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— Nancy Brown Bicket, Class of 1967 was one of three alumnae that received the Colby Award from Sigma Kappa Sorority during their 84th National Convention held July 7 in Orlando, Fla.

According to the organization’s announcement, Bicket of Bloomington, who spent her career with State Farm Insurance providing leadership in the development of several ground-breaking technologies, was recognized for her achievements in the field of information systems and technology.

The Colby Award is named in honor of Colby College where Sigma Kappa was founded in 1874. The award, the highest honor given by the national sorority, is presented at each national convention to nationally-known alumnae in recognition of their career achievements.

Alumna Participates in FACE AIDS Cross-Country Bike Ride

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University alumna Kirsten Pufahl has brought new meaning to taking the road less traveled by. After graduation in May 2010, Pufahl packed her duffle bag and headed out west to the sunny shores of Palo Alto, Ca. There, on June 14, she began a 67-day, 4,000-mile biking journey across the United States as part of the FACE AIDS Ride Against AIDS 2010 campaign.

This is the third year of the FACE AIDS campaign, a not-for-profit student organization whose mission is to mobilize and inspire students to fight AIDS in Africa. The organization, which works in collaboration with Partner’s in Health, has raised over $1,700,000 since it’s inception to support the fight against AIDS in Zambia and Rwanda.

Pufahl, who graduated from IWU with a degree in anthropology, hit the trails with six other riders from Stanford University and the University of Wyoming. The team has made stops along the way for speaking engagements to spread awareness about the impacts of AIDS and the FACE AIDS mission. Each rider will attempt to raise $5,000 by the time they complete their journey on Aug. 19 in Boston, Ma.

Alumna Named Alpha Kappa Alpha Director

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University alumna Gisele Casanova was recently appointed the 28th Central Regional Director for Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) Sorority. The 1982 graduate is one of nine regional directors for the sorority and will represent Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, St. Louis, Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Minnesota and North and South Dakota.

AKA, an international service organization founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1908, is the oldest Greek-lettered organization established by African-American college-educated women.

Alumna Receives Fulbright Award

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board announced recently that Lauren Ostrowski has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship. The 2005 Illinois Wesleyan University graduate will teach English part-time at a secondary school and continue her graduate studies at a local university in Madrid.

Ostrowski, who graduated with a degree in English-writing and Hispanic Studies, is one of more than 1,500 United States citizens who will travel abroad for the 2010-2011 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. She will remain in Spain for nine and a half months, or one full academic school year.

The Fulbright Program, which operates in more than 155 countries, is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the United States government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.

Ostrowski cites her previous experiences abroad in Madrid and Mexico and her current work as an Academic Project Manager at IES Abroad (a not-for-profit organization that provides study abroad opportunities for United States university students), as the main factors in her decision to apply for the scholarship.

IWU News Blog

Headlines From Illinois Wesleyan University