IWU Intern Receives COUNTRY Financial Scholarship

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – For Illinois Wesleyan University senior Danielle Lauritson of Bloomington experience as a student intern meant more than catching a preview of the working world—it also earned her a scholarship.

Lauritson’s public relations internship at COUNTRY Financial in Bloomington included such responsibilities as writing news releases, monitoring the intern pages of www.countryfinancial.com and assisting with projects like the COUNTRY Chef Challenge.

One of four recipients, Lauritson earned her scholarship through writing an essay in response to the prompt: “U.S. corporations continue to focus more attention on Generation Y both as consumers and potential employees. What challenges and opportunities do you see for COUNTRY Financial in trying to reach this group? How can COUNTRY uniquely target this group through marketing and/or recruiting efforts?”

Lauritson is a business administration major with a marketing concentration.

Student Earns Academic Scholarship Through Summer Internship

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Senior Accounting major,M. Darius Gant of Oswego, Ill. was named a recipient of the Frank R. Ross Scholastic Achievement Recognition Award and Scholarship, sponsored by the KPMG Chicago African American Network (CAAN). Gant served for KPMG, an international professional audit, tax and advisory services, as a summer accounting intern in Chicago. The award and scholarship is named in honor of Frank K. Ross, the first African American partner elected into the KPMG LLP (KPMG) partnership. It is based on personal commitment to promoting the development and success of African-Americans on campus and in the community, and helping the success of future generations of diverse professionals in the corporate arena.

At Illinois Wesleyan, Gant was a member of the basketball team for 4 years, served as president for Alpha Phi Alpha (APA) social fraternity, Inc. last year, and is now the current chair of educational activities for APA. He is also the founding and active president of the Bloomington chapter for the National Association of Black Accountants.

University Gains Access to New Supercomputer

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— Illinois Wesleyan University will be able to conduct scientific research on a new supercomputer.

Once built, the computer will be housed at National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) on the campus of The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (U of I), and will be available to all members of the Great Lakes Consortium (GLC). The Consortium, of which IWU is a member, is a collaboration of dozens of universities, colleges, research laboratories and institutes from around the country. The GLC is developing the world’s first sustained “petascale” computational system dedicated to open scientific research.

This unprecedented machine, based on a powerful new system design from IBM, will be called Blue Waters™. Supported by a $208 million grant from the National Science Foundation, it will come online in 2011 at the U of I.

“IWU appreciates how quickly emerging techniques become woven into the technological and educational fabric of our society,” said Rebecca Roesner, chair of the Chemistry Department at Illinois Wesleyan, who noted several faculty members are exploring how the activities of the Great Lakes Consortium might dovetail with their ongoing scholarly efforts.

Temple Grandin to Share Experience With Autism

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Professor and prolific author Temple Grandin, said to be one of the most accomplished and well-known adults with autism in the world, will be the keynote speaker for the President’s Convocation at Illinois Wesleyan on Wednesday, Sept. 10.

The program, free and open to the public, will begin at 11 a.m. in the Westbrook Auditorium of Presser Hall (1210 Park St., Bloomington). Titled “Decoding the World Through the Unique Perspective of Autism,” Grandin’s address will offer personal insights to further understanding of the autistic community. Grandin will also be available for a faculty-moderated public session at 4 p.m. in the Hansen Student Center (300 E. Beecher St., Bloomington). The session will focus on “Facilitating Employment for People with Autism Spectrum Disorder,” a central topic for the autism community both locally and nationally.

Illinois Wesleyan first-year students encountered issues related to autism through the 2008 Summer Reading Program selection The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Written by Mark Haddon, the novel’s protagonist is Christopher Boone, a young boy with Asperger’s Syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism. Each fall, Illinois Wesleyan’s Summer Reading Program gives incoming students, faculty and staff an opportunity to participate in a shared intellectual experience.

“People who encounter autism—whether in the pages of a novel, scientific study or real life—usually find those encounters intriguing and challenging, both intellectually and personally,” said Linda Kunce, Illinois Wesleyan professor of psychology and autism awareness advocate. “Further, given current U.S. Centers for Disease Control prevalence estimates of one in 150 for autism spectrum disorders, autism challenges society to continue to improve ways in which diverse people can work together successfully.”

In Unwritten Rules of Social Relationships: Decoding Social Mysteries Through the Unique Perspectives of Autism, winner of the prestigious Foreword Book of the Year Award in 2006, Grandin addresses the social challenges faced by those with autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. Born in 1947, according to bibliographical information she did not speak until she was three and a half years old. That year, doctors labeled Grandin autistic and encouraged her parents to place her in an institution.

The perception, in the past, had been that once an individual was diagnosed as autistic, there was no hope for that person to have a successful life. However, Grandin is said to have redefined that perception. She published her groundbreaking first book, Emergence: Labeled Autistic in 1986, describing her personal struggle with autism as “groping her way from the far side of darkness.” Since then, Grandin has been featured on major television programs, such as ABC’s Primetime Live, the Today Show, Larry King Live, 48 Hours and 20/20, as well as in national publications, such as Time magazine, People magazine, Forbes, U.S. News and World Report, and the New York Times. She has also traveled on speaking tours around the world.

Grandin is the author of over 300 articles published in scientific journals and livestock periodicals on animal handling, welfare and facility design. Half of the operating livestock handling facilities in North America are of her design.

Afolabi Wins Phi Eta Sigma Undergraduate Award

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The national office of the Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society has selected Illinois Wesleyan University junior Babawande Afolabi as a recipient of its $1,000 undergraduate award for the 2008-2009 school year. Afolabi, a business and economics double major with a political science minor, was inducted into the Illinois Wesleyan chapter of Phi Eta Sigma during the spring of 2007 and acted as an officer in the society during the 2007-2008 academic year.

Phi Eta Sigma is a national honor society that accepts first-year students who display high scholastic success. This year, its Scholarship Committee reviewed what they estimated to be the highest amount of applicants in the scholarship program’s history, which has grown significantly over more than 30 years. In 1970, nine annual awards were granted at a value of $300 each. In 2008, the society will award a total of $250,000 to 70 undergraduate and graduate members.

For Afolabi, the award feeds a college career that has spanned activities involving both on-campus and global initiatives. Since arriving in the United States from Nigeria in 2006 to pursue an Illinois Wesleyan education, Afolabi has been active in the IWU Student Senate and was in attendance at the May 2008 International Association for Political Science Students Academic Conference & General Assembly in Greece.

The Ames Library Receives Beautification Award

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – On behalf of The Ames Library, Illinois Wesleyan University President Richard F. Wilson accepted a 2008 Beautification Award from the Citizens Beautification Committee and the City of Bloomington at the Bloomington City Council meeting held on Monday, August 25. Annually, the Citizens Beautification Committee reviews nominations for residential and non-residential properties that present a positive appearance to the City of Bloomington.

This year, 14 residential and 9 non-residential properties received Beautification Awards, including Illinois Wesleyan’s 26-million-dollar library. “The Ames Library is a significant facility for the University, and its presence greatly enhances Bloomington’s prosperity,” said Stan Cain, Citizens Beautification Committee chairperson. “The exterior landscaping and building design of the library compliment the campus and community setting. Along with the Sesquicentennial Gateway, both are welcoming additions along East Empire Street.”

New Students Told to Let Themselves Be Led Astray

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Illinois Wesleyan University first-year and transfer students packed, standing-room only, into Westbrook Auditorium to be welcomed to the University on Tuesday during the annual “Turning Titan: New Student Orientation.”

The 595-student class of 2012 is one of the largest in University history, said President Richard F. Wilson. “This is a very talented group, and you come to us from all over the nation and the world,” he said. “You and your fellow students hail from 22 states – from Massachusetts and California to Texas and Michigan – and from 13 different countries around the world, including Romania, India, China and Nigeria to name a few.”

Keynote speaker Brian Hatcher, the McFee Professor of Religion, challenged students to make their college journey one that will do more than help them gather facts and figures they might need for their careers. “It’s not just about gaining knowledge. You’ve got to be led astray from yourself,” said Hatcher, whose speech was titled “You’re Here to Change.” Listen to Hatcher’s remarks.

Encouraging students to step outside their comfort zone, Hatcher pressed them to follow the advice of American Transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson. “He said we must always do the thing we fear the most,” said Hatcher, “and that means looking hard at yourself in an honest fashion – being honest about areas of belief or conviction or anxiety to which you hold so tightly you cannot imagine putting it to the test.” Far from asking students to abandon all beliefs, Hatcher challenged them to explore new ideas, whether it was through taking a class outside their major, or taking a study abroad to Cameroon. “Unless you test those beliefs and values, they do not really hold any meaning for you. It takes courage to put those truisms to the test. That is how your life becomes your life, and not merely one that you accepted on loan from somebody else,” he said.

Professor’s Book Takes Different Look at Horrors of Holocaust

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— Historians have explored the horrors of the Holocaust during World War II for decades, whether through the eyes of the Nazi officials, or through the memoirs of victims. Few, however, have looked at the dynamic interaction between the camps or ghettos created by the Germans, and the cities that surrounded them.

Gordon Horwitz, associate professor of history at Illinois Wesleyan University, examines the chilling evolution of the Holocaust as it came to Lodz, Poland, in his new book, Ghettostadt: Lodz and the Making of a Nazi City (Harvard University Press, 2008). “What interested me most was to explore the relationship between the ghetto and the city,” said Horwitz, who has been researching the book for more than a decade.

One of the first occupied cities to be annexed to the Third Reich, Lodz possessed the second-largest Jewish population in Poland with more than 200,000 Jews, constituting a third of the city’s residents. Horwitz said the Nazis set about remaking the city into a pristine and modern example of German ingenuity, and devoid of Jews. “Today we would call the process ‘ethnic cleansing,’” said Horwitz of the Nazi goal to populate many cities in Eastern Europe with “pure” ethnic Germans. “This was a city that was undergoing radical demographic shift under the Nazis, who were colonizing Poland, and Lodz was to be a showcase of this colonization effort,” Horwitz said. “This is a rather large microcosm of what the Germans were doing in Eastern Europe during the occupation.”

Illinois Wesleyan Welcomes Class of 2012 to Campus

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Beginning Tuesday, Aug. 19, Illinois Wesleyan University’s class of 2012 will officially “turn Titan.” The University’s annual “Turning Titan: New Student Orientation” is designed to acclimate incoming first-year students to academic, residential and social aspects of college life. Titan Orientation will culminate on Sunday, Aug. 24, and classes will begin the following Monday.

The Titan Orientation schedule combines support services with entertainment, offering events such as “Traditions Night,” where students can socialize while learning about the University’s history, and “Real World 101,” an onstage send-up of common student anxieties.

Other key events will include: New Student Convocation, an address to be delivered by Chair and McFee Professor of Religion and Humanities Brian Hatcher; “One Stop Shop: a Campus and Community Resource Fair,” which introduces students to local businesses and other services; and the Summer Reading Program, which invites students, faculty and staff to critically discuss a common literary work.

International, Multicultural Students Engage in Community-Building

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Though the Class of 2012 is officially welcomed to campus on Tuesday, Aug. 19, some Illinois Wesleyan University first-years have already begun the process of immersing themselves in the IWU and Bloomington-Normal communities: 35 incoming international students from 12 countries met in the “global lounge” Friday, Aug. 15. The following day, 36 ALANA (African-American, Latino American, Asian American, and Native American) students arrived on campus. The International Student Orientation and the ALANA Student Orientation are voluntary programs designed to enhance the six-day “Turning Titan: New Student Orientation” program for all incoming students.

The International Student Orientation is meant to help incoming first-years adjust to the practicalities of living in the United States. Participants were offered language tutors, information technology sessions and faculty panels explaining Illinois Wesleyan academic expectations. Students also spent time socializing through activities such as shopping and bowling. “The most important part of what this orientation does is to give these students a chance to create their own community before joining 500 or more students,” said Stacey Shimizu, director of the international office.

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