Category Archives: News

Campus Mourns Forrest J. Frank

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— Illinois Wesleyan University mourns the death of Dr. Forrest J. Frank, who died on Thursday, Feb. 9 in Bloomington.  Dr. Frank was a member of the IWU faculty for 34 years.

“I am sorry to report the passing of our colleague Forrest Frank, associate professor of chemistry until his retirement in 1999,” said President Richard F. Wilson. “Even then, after 34 years of teaching, Dr. Frank continued to teach part-time for another five years. Dr. Frank was well known for his popular “Chemistry and Crime” forensic science course and was one of four IWU professors who wrote two textbooks for a new undergraduate chemistry curriculum in 1999. Our sincere sympathies go to Dottie and his family.”

A Chicago native, Dr. Frank studied chemistry at Grinnell College in Iowa, where he met his wife, Dottie, in a freshman general chemistry course.

Following his undergraduate studies, Dr. Frank pursued a doctorate in chemistry from Purdue University in Indiana. Prior to joining the Illinois Wesleyan faculty in 1965, he was employed as a research chemist at Rayonier, Inc., of Whippany, N.J.

Dr. Frank, who found working with students to be one of the great benefits to teaching, once estimated that he taught between 4,000 and 5,000 IWU students. He began teaching an innovative course, “Crime and Chemistry,” in 1985. In developing the course, Dr. Frank worked with the Illinois State Police Laboratory in Morton and other professional colleagues. The course provided non-science majors with an introduction to basic chemistry principles and techniques by studying scientific aspects of evidence.

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Spring Internships Hit All-Time High

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— Illinois Wesleyan’s Hart Career Center reports that students securing spring internships reached a record high of 136, up 30 percent from the most recent 5-year average of 105.

“The very competitive job market makes internships more important than ever for our students and they’ve received great interest from employers looking for talent,” said Laurie Diekhoff, assistant director and internship coordinator at the Hart Career Center. “These internships are with more than 60 corporations and organizations, including major companies like PricewaterhouseCoopers, Country Financial, Deloitte, Archer Daniels Midland and State Farm, plus a wide array of smaller companies, health care groups, governmental bodies and not-for-profits.”

Of the 136 internships, half are paid and 55 percent receive academic credit. While the majority of interns are juniors and seniors, Diekhoff said that the interest among freshmen and sophomores has increased with 14 of the spring internships belonging to first and second year students.

Students Receive Study Abroad Scholarships

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Institute for International Education (IIE) recently announced the recipients of the Benjamin A. Gilman study abroad scholarships. Among the recipients are four students from Illinois Wesleyan University.

Sophomore nursing majors Amanda Magallon of Round Lake Beach, Ill. and Cassie Mellen of Murris, Ill. received scholarships for study in Spain on the IWU Spain Program. Junior psychology and business administration major Max Polisky of Deerfield, Ill. received a scholarship for study in Morocco at Al Akhwayan University on the IWU-AUI Exchange program. Junior biology major Emily Wechter of Park Ridge, Ill. received a scholarship for study in Thailand at Mahidol University with AsiaLearn.

According to Director of the International Office Stacey Shimizu, these are the most awardees Illinois Wesleyan has had in one semester. Noting that international experience is both rewarding and a substantial financial investment, The Gilman Scholarship program aims to support undergraduate students in their study abroad endeavors and encourages them to choose non-traditional study abroad destinations, especially those outside of Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Hansen Student Center to Receive Lighting Upgrades

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – On Sunday, Nov. 20, the Illinois Wesleyan Student Senate approved funding for upgrades to the Hansen Student Center. The majority of the funds will go toward new stage lighting equipment, including new, more sustainable, LED fixtures. With the new LED lighting, 85 percent more energy will be conserved, the plastic of the fixtures will not need to be replaced and fewer bulbs will need to be changed.

The new upgrades will improve lighting for events held at the student center, largely benefiting student organizations, such as Dance Cohesion and the Musical Theater Society, both of which rely heavily on lighting technology for their respective shows. Senior physics major and Hispanic studies minor Derrick Rohl notes the versatility of the new fixtures. “This technology allows us to produce somewhere in the neighborhood of 16 million colors with each fixture. This will give the crew and performers a new degree of creativity for working events at Hansen,” he said. Rohl has worked on the project alongside sophomore theater design/technology major Matt Hohmann.

According to Colin Stewart, director of student activities and leadership programs, Rohl and Hohmann have invested a great amount of time on the lighting project from the very beginning. Their tasks have involved a great deal of technical work, including finding available circuits and working with Physical Plant to determine the amount of power and electric currents necessary for the system, as well as making sure the project stays on budget. Stewart is excited to see students like Rohl and Hohmann, as well as members of the Student Senate who passed the funding, working for the benefit of their peers

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Unique Sculpture to Illuminate Campus

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Over a decade ago, in 1998, the Illinois Wesleyan School of Art was given an endowment gift of $2 million by B. Charles Ames ’50 to name the art building after his wife, Joyce Eichhorn Ames. Over the years, Mrs. Ames, class of 1949 and a former art student, wondered if anything could be done to distinguish the building, utilitarian in nature, as a recognizable school of art. The plans that followed can now be seen from the Robert S. Eckley Quadrangle – a glass rotunda entrance that houses a unique sculpture by artist Lyle London of Tempe, Ariz.

The more than 2,400-square-foot glass rotunda will serve as the new entryway to the school of art building. With a substantial amount of work finished on the outside of the rotunda itself, the sculpture can now be placed within, as art students and faculty, as well as London, began working together this week to suspend it from the center of the glass tower.

Funded by trustee emeritus Flora Harris Armstrong, class of 1943, as a gift to the University, the work is an abstraction, taking the form of three interwoven, tapering helices. It is constructed from stainless steel and dichroic glass.

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Illinois Wesleyan to Construct $16 Million Classroom Building

New Classroom Bldg.

Artist’s rendering of the new classroom building

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— The Illinois Wesleyan Board of Trustees approved construction of a new main classroom building that will be completed by the fall semester of 2013.  The nearly $16 million building is a key priority of the University’s $125 million Transforming Lives fund raising campaign.

“We are indebted to the many alumni and friends here in McLean County and across the nation who have made this important project possible,” said President Dick Wilson. “This is our second major building project this year; we’re currently finishing construction on a new $2 million entry and interior renovation of areas within the Joyce Eichhorn Ames School of Art. Both projects are being funded exclusively through private gifts to the University”.

The 48,700 square foot classroom facility is envisioned as signature building that will anchor the north end of the Eckley Quadrangle, where Sheean Library has stood since 1967. In addition to state-of-the-art classrooms, study areas and research spaces, the building will be home to the departments of Business Administration and Economics.  With the Sheean Library teardown completed over the summer, the start of construction on the new building will begin in about a month.

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Illinois Wesleyan Among Nation’s Best Values

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— Illinois Wesleyan University was named the 57th best value among private liberal arts colleges in the latest Kiplinger’s Personal Finance Best Values in Private Colleges listing released Tuesday.  Kiplinger’s names the top-100 private liberal arts colleges based on a combination of factors intended to measure academic quality and affordability.

“We have typically done well in Kiplinger’s value rankings because of our strong academic program and commitment to student financial aid,” said President Richard F. Wilson. “We are pleased to be included among the best liberal arts colleges nationally and to be the second highest ranked liberal arts college in Illinois.”

In addition to being ranked No. 57 nationally, Illinois Wesleyan is considered the No. 2 best value among the five Illinois liberal arts colleges that were part of the top-100 national list.

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Psychology Department Celebrating 50 Years

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The study of psychology has always had a place at Illinois Wesleyan.

On a shelf in the office of Interim Dean of Students Roger Schnaitter sat a small, black book bound by a spine cracked with age. Yellowing pages revealed the 1871 textbook, titled Psychology, or The Science of Mind, was written by the Rev. Oliver Munsell, second president of Illinois Wesleyan.  “The teaching of psychology goes a long way into our history,” said Schnaitter. Like the science itself, psychology at IWU evolved over the last 162 years, only finding a permanent home on campus 50 years ago.

This year at Homecoming, the Psychology Department will honor those 50 years, and also pay tribute to a lost member of the faculty. On Saturday, Oct. 22, the Psychology Department will hold a 50th anniversary reception at 4:30 p.m. in the lobby of the Center for Natural Science Learning and Research (201 E. Beecher St., Bloomington). The event will also include a tribute to Professor of Psychology Jim Dougan, who died unexpectedly last year.

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Carney-Hall to Lead Student Affairs

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— Karla Carney-Hall, vice president for student affairs at Hendrix College, has been named vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Illinois Wesleyan University.   She succeeds Kathryn Cavins-Tull who left Wesleyan in July to become vice chancellor for student affairs at Texas Christian University.

President Richard F. Wilson announced that the new student affairs leader would join the University on January 3, 2012. The appointment of Carney-Hall comes following a national search that began over the summer.

“Dr. Carney- Hall is uniquely qualified to become our next vice president for student affairs and dean of students,” said Wilson.  “She impressed the campus community with her broad range of experience at two excellent residential liberal arts colleges and with her passion for creating environments that foster student success.”

At Hendrix College, Carney-Hall provided leadership for all areas of student life, residential life, advising, health and wellness, career services and intercollegiate athletics.  She was a member of the president’s cabinet and was actively engaged in the College’s strategic planning.  Among her many accomplishments were overseeing the planning and building of two new student apartment style residences and a $26.5 million student life and technology center.

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25 New Scholarships Announced

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— Illinois Wesleyan announced the establishment of 25 new named scholarships at its 15th annual Benefactor Dinner on Sept. 21. This event allows students to meet for the first time with donors who provided them with scholarship support.

“We are indeed fortunate to have alumni and friends of the University who have a deep and abiding interest in Illinois Wesleyan and the extraordinary young people whose lives are forever transformed on this campus,” said President Richard F. Wilson. “Today these young people need our support more than at almost any time in our history, which is why a key priority of the Transforming Lives fundraising campaign is student scholarship support.”

Among the new named scholarships announced, 10 were funded by members of Illinois Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees. All of the new scholarships and the 162 active ones named in recent years provide financial support to about 200 Wesleyan students.  Named scholarships are typically designated for students with high financial need and who may have a background or circumstances that connects them with a particular benefactor.

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