Category Archives: Features

A Touch of Class Brings Melody to Evelyn Chapel Saturday

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – A beautiful melody soars through the air of a room in Presser Hall on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University. The rise and fall of notes emanate not from handheld instruments, but a group of dynamic women surrounding a grand piano. As their voices swell into a powerful end, smiles spread across the faces of the women who realize they have yet again captured a moment with song.

These women are the 11 Illinois Wesleyan students who make up the a cappella group A Touch of Class. The group will have its final public performance of the semester at A Touch of Class Spring Concert at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 25, at Evelyn Chapel (1301 N. Park Street, Bloomington). The event is free and open to the public. Hear an audio clip.

“It’s when we hit those notes, that I really realize what this group is,” said Susan Rapp, a junior music and interdisciplinary education major from Schaumberg, Ill. “This is a celebration of music, and not just for music majors, but for everyone. This is my chance to share my love of music with everyone.”

A Touch of Class began several years ago at Illinois Wesleyan, but has come into its own in the last two or three years, said faculty advisor Associate Professor of Voice Carren Moham. “In the beginning, it was a group of friends who liked to sing, but rarely challenged each other,” said Moham. “There is a musicianship that has evolved from this group, which has elevated not only their music, but their recognition in the community.”

John Wesley Powell Student Research Conference Marks 20 Years

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – As students begin their presentations at the annual John Wesley Powell Research Conference on April 18, they will be following a 20-year tradition at Illinois Wesleyan University. Throughout the past two decades the conference has evolved – expanding in numbers, encompassing more departments and integrating technology. The event, however, remains an example of one of the hallmarks of the University, a chance to celebrate the work of undergraduate research.

“Four-year, liberal arts institutions have the ability to develop students with research they would not experience until the graduate level at a large university,” said Roger Schnaitter, associate provost for academic planning and standards at Illinois Wesleyan, who coordinated the conference during the 1990s.

Fine Arts Faculty: Capturing the Creative Muse

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Art can come in countless forms – a melodic symphony that leaves an audience in hushed awe; an image that invokes the power, pain or beauty of a moment in time; the graceful sweep of a dancer moving across a stage to the ebb and flow of the music.

Here at Illinois Wesleyan University, our fine arts professors are more than instructors. They are active participants in their art. Three of our professors were posed the question, “How do you create art?” The answers from Associate Professor of Dance and Movement Jean Kerr, Professor of Composition and Theory David Vayo and Professor of Art and Design Sherri McElroy were dynamic and perhaps strikingly similar, reflective of a line from poet John Keats, “That which is creative must create itself.”

“There is a moment in the creative process when you have to give up all control,” said Professor Kerr. “You have to trust that what flows out of you is coming from somewhere that is smarter than you.” Kerr has been creating dance and fight choreography for the stage for more than 20 years. “I do believe in a rhythm in the universe, in life, in physics. I do believe that this thing we call our existence is a miraculous dance, and if I am quiet and open, I can tap into that.”

Students Take Spanish-Speaking Skills Into the Community

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – It seems a simple idea – assist a family in need. Yet that idea becomes more complex when language is a barrier.

Illinois Wesleyan University students have been working to break down that barrier by heading into the community and using their growing knowledge of the Spanish language to help not-for-profit organizations. The students are part of Spanish for Social Justice, which examines social justice issues, from housing and health care to education and employment.

“Students have a lot of opportunities to practice Spanish, but in their fieldwork they are learning so much more than just language,” said Chair and Professor of Hispanic Studies at Illinois Wesleyan Carolyn Nadeau. “Students have let faculty know they want a chance to work in the community, and this class gives them an opportunity to do that while experiencing an Hispanic culture.”

A discussion of projects with community partners will take place at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 8 at Beckman Auditorium in The Ames Library (1 Ames East, Bloomington). The presentations will be followed by the distribution of the first community-wide assessment of Hispanic families by one of the partner not-for-profit organizations, the Hispanic Families Work Group. Copies are free and available to the public, which is invited to the event.

“This is a great way to show the power of what students can do when we all combine our strengths with community partners,” said Deborah Halperin, vice chair of the Hispanic Families Work Group and coordinator of the Action Research Center (ARC) on campus. Halperin used her ARC connections to help Nadeau create projects with area not-for-profit organizations. “Projects such as the students working with Habitat for Humanity are a great example of bringing together students, community organizations and the University in a very meaningful way,” said Halperin.

Student Video Promotes Computer Security Awareness

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Junior Emily Akins, sophomore Jeremy Henle and senior Lucas Loury are the winners of The Ames Library/Internet Technology (IT) computer security awareness video contest.

Akins, an orchestral instruments major and English-writing minor, Henle, a biology major, and Loury, a history major and Greek and Roman studies minor, created their 30-second video based on the song “Internet Relationships” by MC Lars.

They plan to enter the video in a national contest sponsored by Educause, a not-for-profit association whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology.

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.

Students Take Philanthropic Spring Break

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – At 3:30 a.m. on March 14, 30 students and three members of the faculty and staff will embark on a week-long trip to provide disaster relief to a local community. These students are part of Illinois Wesleyan University’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB), an organization created through the Student Volunteer Center to give students the opportunity for a non-traditional spring break vacation.

This year, through both ASB and the IWU/ISU chapter of Habitat for Humanity, over 90 students, accompanied by select members of faculty and staff, will volunteer their time and efforts. The members of ASB will travel to Galveston, and Crossville, Tenn., and the members of Habitat for Humanity will travel to Henderson, Texas.

In Galveston, ASB students will assist with the process of disaster relief, as the town is still recovering from Hurricane Ike. However, the 15 volunteers assigned to Crossville will focus on environmental cleanup, as well as restoring a local nature trail.

IWU Habitat for Humanity volunteers in Henderson will be pair with other Habitat for Humanity volunteers from all over the country as part of the alternative break program, Collegiate Challenge. This program supports making connections with their peers, while providing safe housing for those in need. The students spend eight to nine hours a day building houses and then will have the evenings off to relax and explore the surrounding areas of Henderson.

“The opportunity provides students the chance to take their classroom experiences and apply them to the real world in an enriching and meaningful way. The ultimate goal is that upon returning from ASB programs students will continue a life dedicated, at least in a small way, to service. It is amazing the positive impact that one week of service can have on an individual’s life,” said Kevin Clark, director of the Student Volunteer Center.

German Chocolate Pizza and Other Market Research

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Students from a marketing class at Illinois Wesleyan University looked down upon their research subjects during a recent market survey – but that’s only because they were much shorter.

Nearly 30 Illinois Wesleyan students from Karen Bussone’s course on “Principles of Marketing” visited third graders at Grove Elementary School in Normal, hoping to gain insights on a topic generally loved by children – pizza.

“The goal of incorporating The Pizza Hut Challenge project into the classroom curriculum is to provide students an opportunity to conduct primary research with a given subject in a real world situation. “ said Bussone, a visiting assistant professor of business administration. Bussone asked Illinois Wesleyan students to create marketing concepts that target grade-school children and are geared to make a local pizza company more profitable. To assist them in their research, the students of Julie Swango’s third-grade class offered to take part in group surveys.

The children answered questions ranging from “Who is your favorite cartoon character?” to “If you could put anything on pizza, what would it be?”

“German chocolate on pizza? Yum!” said Kyle Borkowski after one third-grader’s response. Borkowski’s group posed more questions for the children, writing each answer. A junior business major from Crete, Ill., Borkowski said the interaction with the children offers a unique perspective. “We’re not just assuming what the kids like, or saying what we liked when we were kids.”

What is Lincoln’s Legacy?

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, a man who can arguably be called one of the most important men in the history of the nation. Historians have debated his wisdom, his politics and his intentions for more than a century. But what, in essence, is the legacy Lincoln left behind? Those close to Illinois Wesleyan University offer their insights.

“Without Lincoln, the Civil War would have ended the American experiment on a rather sad note,” said Robert S. Eckley, president of Illinois Wesleyan from 1968 to 1986. Eckley, who served as president of the Abraham Lincoln Association and was honored with their Logan Hay Medal in 2007, is completing a book on Bloomington attorney and Lincoln friend Leonard Swett. “Lincoln was a master politician and strategist. He held us together as a nation and started an emancipation that has not been carried through to finality even to this day, but we are getting closer,” he said.

Lincoln’s efforts as the Great Emancipator have a direct affect on current lives and politics, said Professor Robert Bray, Illinois Wesleyan’s R. Forrest Colwell Professor of English. “I can give you Lincoln’s legacy in one word — Obama,” said Bray, who co-wrote the play Lincoln’s in Town!, based upon Lincoln’s famous “lost speech” given in Bloomington. “Lincoln and his Congress started the road to civil rights, which culminated in the election last November of Barack Obama.”

Professor Recalls John Updike’s Visit to Campus

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The passing of Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist John Updike on Tuesday evoked memories of his visit to the Illinois Wesleyan University campus, and the thoughts of Updike scholar James Plath, a professor of English at Illinois Wesleyan.

“What John Updike has done for American literature is astounding,” said Plath, who has studied Updike for more than 20 years, including working closely with the novelist while editing the book Conversations with John Updike in 1994. “His work connects us with our American literary past, and he is forever a part of that now.” Updike died Tuesday at the age of 76 after a battle with lung cancer.

Plath discovered the works of Updike in an English class at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee. “I didn’t choose to be an Updike scholar, he chose me,” he said. “His work spoke to me in ways other writers hadn’t.” Plath decided to write his dissertation on Updike, and began a correspondence with the celebrated author. “He didn’t do my work for me, but he was always gracious,” said Plath, who wrote his dissertation on “The Painterly Aspects of John Updike’s Fiction.”

Updike was featured speaker at the 1993 Hemingway Days’ Writers’ Workshop & Conference in Key West, which Plath directed from 1986-96. “That was the first time I met Updike face-to-face,” said Plath, who spoke with the novelist as he sat for a portrait painted by Hemingway’s grandson, artist Edward Hemingway. “We visited Edward Hemingway’s first art exhibition in Key West. Updike, who was a skilled critic of the arts, pointed to one painting and said, ‘This is the best piece in the collection.’” Plath later bought the work and donated it to The Ames Library, where it hangs today.

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