Mohan Named to Editorial Board of Green Chemistry Journal

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University’s Earl H. and Marian A. Beling Professor of Chemistry Ram Mohan has been appointed as an associate editor of the Green and Sustainable Chemistry (GSC).

The GSC covers subjects relating to reducing the environmental impact of chemicals and fuels by developing alternative and sustainable technologies that are non-toxic to living things and the environment. The editorial board, which will now include Mohan, draws from professors across the globe, from countries such as China, Spain, India, Morocco, Italy, Poland, Hungary and the United States.

Mohan’s research at Illinois Wesleyan focuses on developing environmentally friendly organic synthesis using bismuth compounds. Bismuth and its compounds are remarkably non-toxic and attractive from a green chemistry perspective. As an associate editor, Mohan will recommend papers for publication in the journal and review submitted manuscripts.

Thompson ’12 Interns with NYC Media

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – While many students choose to remain on campus during their tenure at Illinois Wesleyan, some students opt to spend a semester outside of the traditional classroom. Kamaya Thompson, a junior theater arts and English double major, chose to do just that. This past semester Thompson traveled New York City and participated in the New York Media Experience Program. She is the second IWU student to take part in the program.

Thompson knew right away that she wanted an out-of state internship in media, but was uncertain how to proceed. She turned to the staff at the IWU Hart Career Center for help. There, Thompson read through one program description after another until she came upon the New York Media Experience Program through Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The program allows undergraduate students to gain work experience with a major media organization in New York City while completing online courses. “This program just leaped off the page screaming pick me,” said Thompson, “so I did.”

The New York Media Experience Program staff assisted Thompson in finding temporary residence in New York City and selecting her online courses, however, Thompson was responsible for securing her internship position. Now residing in the media capital of the world, Thompson had a variety of organizations to choose from, such as television shows and public relations firms. Interested mainly in broadcasting and television, she found her ideal internship at NYC Media, a television network produced through the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment. “The sole purpose [of NYC Media] is to keep viewers updated with events going on in the city,” said Thompson, “we also produced shows like Eat Out Time Out and Free in NYC which let viewers know about restaurants in the city and free activities.”

Cinquegrani ’06 Becomes Wedding Planner Entrepreneur

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Stargrazer lilies, dendrobium orchids, duck-leg confit canapés, smoked salmon blini, cobalt, cerulean, cornflower or just plain blue – decisions, decisions, decisions. Many of us would be in a tailspin trying to choose the prettiest exotic flowers, the perfect color scheme or most delectable menu for an occasion. As the owner of a wedding planning business, alumna Joan (Teitelman) Cinquegrani ’06 diligently and excitedly plays the role of the decision maker. She is the calming and decisive voice for the stressed-out, busy or simply confused bride and groom.

Cinquegrani is the owner of Five Grain Events, a firm helping brides and grooms with the wedding planning process. Five Grain Events – derived from her married name Cinquegrani, which means five (cinque) grains (grani) in Italian – has taken on more than 30 couples as clients this year alone. In addition to managing an online wedding blog and two assistant consultants, Cinquegerani personally meets with each couple.

A vocal performance graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University, Cinquegrani never anticipated being a business owner. “I had no idea that I even wanted my own business,” she said, “honestly, I never thought of myself as an entrepreneurial person.” A former development department associate at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Cinquegrani has been involved with event planning for a number of years. Even while attending IWU, she was attracted to event planning, coordinating Jazz Night, a fundraiser for the music fraternity Delta Omicron. “It was the fraternity’s first major fundraiser and my first start-to-finish event, from conception to execution,” said Cinquegrani while reminiscing about the performances in the Presser Hall courtyard, which included a silent auction.

Lyons ’08 Behind the Scenes at Tony Award-Winning Theater

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Chicago may be miles away from the Great White Way, but Illinois Wesleyan University alumna Marti Lyons learned on Tuesday that Tony can still come calling to the Windy City.

The 2008 alumna and theater major is the literary manager and dramaturg for the Lookingglass Theatre in Chicago, which was bestowed a Tony Award® for Regional Theatre. The Tony was announced Tuesday morning, along with the Tony nominations for Broadway shows.

“Everyone here is ecstatic. There’s no other way to put it,” said Lyons, who has worked for the theater since August of 2010. “There is such a value on collaborative work here, and respect for each other’s work, that it really feels as though we can all celebrate.”

This isn’t the first Tony-award winning regional theater for which Lyons has worked. In the past, she has worked with the Steppenwolf Theatre and the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, where she was an assistant director for a production of As You Like It last year. She remains active in directing, taking the helm of the Chicago premiere of José Rivera’s Brainpeople last November for the Urban Theater Company in Chicago.

Stewart Named New Director of Student Activities

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Colin Stewart has been named the new director of student activities and leadership programs at Illinois Wesleyan University.

Stewart is currently the assistant director of student life at Franklin College Switzerland in Lugano, Switzerland. He will begin his duties at Illinois Wesleyan on July 11, which will include overseeing student activities in the 33,000-square-foot Hansen Student Center, as well as the new Titan Leadership Program.

According to Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Kathy Cavins-Tull, Stewart “brings an energy and excitement for students and student programming that will well serve our campus community and enhance the established Hansen Student Center program.”

Narita to Intern at United Nations

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University senior Mana Narita from Tokyo, Japan, recently accepted a summer internship at the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations. Narita will live and work in New York from May until July, before she returns to Japan to finish her studies at Keio University in Tokyo.

The Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations (UN) has represented the Government of Japan since the country’s entry into the UN in 1956. According to the website, the Mission conducts diplomacy to achieve its foreign policy goals and remains committed to the UN’s efforts to ensure peace and stability throughout the world.

Narita, a political science major, will intern for the political and administrative section at the Permanent Mission. Some of her responsibilities will include attending meetings and negotiations with diplomats, taking notes and writing summaries.

“I have always dreamed of working for the United Nations,” Narita said. “This will be a great opportunity for me to find a specialty in the field of international politics since my interest is very broad right now.”

Narita hopes to utilize her knowledge from her politics classes at IWU in her internship. After graduation, she would like to study international politics at the graduate level and eventually pursue a career with the United Nations.

Balina Co-edits Book Providing New Insights into Russian Literature

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The 20th century provided an unprecedented backdrop for social, political and economic upheaval in Russia. The literature born from this sweeping change is the subject of a new book co-edited by Illinois Wesleyan University’s Isaac Funk Professor of Russian Studies Marina Balina.

The book, The Cambridge Companion to Twentieth-Century Russian Literature (Cambridge University Press, 2011), is part of the Cambridge Companions to Literature collection, and brings together an impressive assembly of scholars from such universities as Yale, Columbia, Oxford, Harvard and Princeton. “These are some of the most prolific Russian scholars of our time,” said Balina, who also contributed an introduction and a chapter on Soviet prose after Stalin. “We all came together with one idea – let us create a tool that will help us teach, and help students to learn.” The contributors present the most up-to-date scholarship on the historical and cultural context of the 20th century literary development, and place Russian authors within the changing framework.

“With the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the publication of previously unknown sources in Russia – among them works by dissident and émigré writers – readers and scholars were able to see a unified body of Russian literature in its fullness,” said Balina, who co-edited the book with University of Sheffield’s Professor of Russian Studies Evgeny Dobrenko.

Ford ’68 Receives Faculty Award for International Achievement

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan alumna Barbra J. Ford ’68, director of the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), received the Sheth Distinguished Faculty Award for International Achievement at UIUC’s annual International Achievement Awards Banquet. The award recognizes the work of a current UIUC faculty member who shows exemplary work in teaching, research and public service in the international arena.

Ford was honored for her distinguished academic career in developing educational programs for librarians around the world and promoting a global vision of librarianship through her work as president of the Association of College and Research Libraries from 1990 to 1991, president of the American Library Association from 1997 to 1998 and as an elected member of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions Governing Board from 2005 to 2009.

Kinzinger: We Can Face Nation’s Financial Mess

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Community leaders gathered to hear about issues affecting the nation at a luncheon with U.S. Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-11th District) on Thursday on the campus of Illinois Wesleyan University.

The luncheon in the Hansen Student Center was sponsored by the Illinois Wesleyan Associates. “The Associates are comprised of local leaders who are at the forefront of business,” said Illinois Wesleyan Director of Government and Community Relations Carl Tiechman. “Speaking with Congressman Kinzinger offered them more information about what is happening in Washington, D.C.” The Associates, founded in 1953, consists of business and professional leaders interested in the advancement and support of private higher education through scholarships and internships.

Kinzinger, who is a member of the U.S. Energy & Commerce Committee, spoke on the current financial crisis, and the effects on the federal budget. “We’re in a financial mess,” he said. The Congressman warned the audience that cuts “are going to hurt” as the federal budget restricts spending, but he believes the direction is a positive one for the nation. “The dialogue in Washington has changed,” he said. “We are no longer talking about how much to spend, but how much to cut.” Addressing members of the Associates, as well as local and state political leaders who also attended the event, Kinzinger emphasized the “importance of creating an environment for jobs to flourish,” he said.

Students Finish First Year With New Sense of Self

The first year of college is a time of change, punctuated by triumphs and tribulations, surprises and self-discoveries.

First-year students gather in the fall, (back row, left to right) Arnold Asjes, Melissa Ramirez and Janette Abassi; (front row, left to right) Morgan Latiolais, Matt LaLonde.

The long journey students take over their first year of college is also a time for questions, said IWU Director of Counseling Services Annorah Moorman. “First-year students ask themselves what they want their path to be. It is a time to develop a new sense of identity,” she said. “It can be challenging, and it should be challenging, as all opportunities for personal growth are.”

To talk about overcoming the challenges of their first year at college, five Illinois Wesleyan first-year students agreed to gather several times during the 2010-2011 academic year. Getting together on the Quad, in the DugOut, in classrooms and theatres, the students spoke of their experiences with homesickness, classes, stress and the responsibilities that come with leaving home.

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