Illinois Wesleyan Names Winger New Chaplain

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University has appointed the Rev. Elyse Nelson Winger as the new University chaplain. She will begin her duties Aug. 1.

“The IWU community will be well served by Chaplain Nelson Winger’s strong background and experience, as well as her proven commitment to diversity and social justice,” said Kathy Cavins-Tull, IWU vice president for student affairs and dean of students.

According to Cavins, the Rev. Nelson Winger’s service and work in Africa and the Middle East aligns strongly with Illinois Wesleyan’s mission toward inspiring global connectivity. The Rev. Nelson Winger has worked as an interim director of the Joint Relief Ministry’s English program for refugees and displaced persons from Sudan and the Horn of Africa. She has participated in interfaith and ecumenical ministerial associations for education, fellowship and community development, and led a task force to advocate for peace and justice initiatives in the Middle East. Locally, the Rev. Nelson Winger has been active in the Advocate BroMenn Delegate Church Association and as a member of the governing board of the Community Cancer Center.

Summer Reading Program to Highlight Diversity at IWU

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – “Still there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination.”

In this passage from the final installment of her 1999 Pulitzer Prize-winning collection of short stories Interpreter of Maladies, Jhumpa Lahiri suggests knowing where you’ve been is just as important as knowing where you’re going. With the selection of Maladies as the centerpiece of this year’s summer reading program, Illinois Wesleyan students and staff hope to instill in the campus community a similar dedication to embracing your roots.

“The reading program book selection speaks to our values as a university,” said Roshaunda Ross, director of multicultural student affairs. “Here at Illinois Wesleyan, we’re committed to striving for diversity.”

Based on the idea that reading and critical reflection are central to the mission of a liberal arts college, IWU’s annual summer reading program provides an opportunity for new students to participate in a shared intellectual conversation with the campus community by expressing ideas about a common text. With past titles including Colin Beavan’s No Impact Man, Mark Haddon’s Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, the reading program helps ease the transition from high school to college by preparing new students for the discussion-oriented courses characteristic of Illinois Wesleyan.

Mohan Secures ACS Grant for Summer Student Research

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Several Illinois Wesleyan University students will have the chance to conduct advanced summer research through a grant secured by IWU’s Professor of Chemistry Ram Mohan.

Mohan, who holds the Earl H. and Marian A. Beling Professorship in the Natural Sciences at Illinois Wesleyan, has been awarded a grant from the American Chemical Society’s (ACS) Petroleum Research Fund for his efforts to study applications of iron(III) compounds as catalysts in organic synthesis. The fund, which supports fundamental research directly related to petroleum or fossil fuels at nonprofit institutions, rewards innovative research and advanced scientific education with the hopes of aiding in significantly increasing the world’s energy options.

The ACS grant will support two student researchers working under Mohan for the summers of 2012, 2013 and 2014. The funds will also help with his group’s travel to national meetings. The students will be applying iron(III) p-toluenesulfonate hexahydrate as a catalyst in five classes of organic transformations.

Parent Orientation Offers Tips on College Transition

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – On Saturday, June 18, Illinois Wesleyan University will welcome to campus parents of incoming first-year students in the day-long Experience IWU: Parent Orientation.

According to the Office of Orientation Services, Parent Orientation will give parents and guardians “vital knowledge of the University’s academic and social aspects,” as well as answers to any questions or concerns they might have about financial aid, housing and more. Sessions like “Surviving Your Student’s First Year in College,” presented by Counseling and Consultation Services, and “Academic Life: How You and IWU Connect,” presented by the Academic Advising Center, are specifically geared towards helping parents and guardians become more supportive and effective during their child’s transition to college life.

Between registration in the Memorial Center’s Eckley Lounge and the closing reception in the commons area of the Center for Natural Sciences, parents will have the opportunity to interact with administrators, faculty and staff during a welcome ceremony led by President Richard F. Wilson, lunch in the Bertholf Commons and educational sessions reflecting a hands-on experience of what it’s like to attend classes at IWU. During the lunch hour, guests can also attend the Titan Fair to learn more about on-campus services like the Hart Career Center, Information Technology and Study Abroad.

Munro’s Book on ‘Frankenfood’ Fight Wins Prize

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – A book by Illinois Wesleyan University Professor of Political Science William Munro has been awarded the Lynton Keith Caldwell Prize by the American Political Science Association. The prize is given for the best book in environmental politics published in the past three years.

Munro co-authored the book, titled Fighting for the Future of Food: Activists versus Agribusiness in the Struggle over Biotechnology (University of Minnesota Press, 2010), with Rachel Schurman of the University of Minnesota. The work is a scholarly analysis exploring the worldwide debate over genetically modified seeds (GM).

Fraternity/Sorority Foundation Names Maeda ’01 First Chief Administrative Officer

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University and Sigma Kappa alumna Jenny Maeda has been named the first Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors (AFA) Foundation.

Maeda, who graduated in 2001 with a bachelor of arts degree in math, was an active member of Sigma Kappa during her time at IWU. After graduation, she worked at the sorority’s National Headquarters in the operations and finance departments and went on to join Pursuant Charitable Partners as Account Manager and Program Director. In selecting her to fill the CAO position, members of the AFA Foundation were impressed with Maeda’s strong financial and administrative background as well as her passion for Greek life.

Titans Band Together to Help Japan

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The 8.9-magnitude earthquake that rocked Japan on March 11, combined with the subsequent tsunami and nuclear reactor crisis it triggered, left in its wake thousands dead and nearly half a million homeless, according to CBSnews.com.

In the shadow of such devastating tragedy, the Illinois Wesleyan University community stepped up to the plate to provide hope and aid from the other side of the world. From on-site volunteer work to on-campus fundraising events, IWU alumni, faculty and students have spent the last few months doing all they can to bring relief to those affected by this year’s disasters.

“I am so close to everything that has happened, while lucky enough to be out of harm’s way,” said IWU alumna Margaret Kocher, ’09, who is currently teaching English in northern Japan through the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme. “I got involved because I felt that I needed to help somehow.”

Attributing her leadership skills to her experience at IWU, Kocher said there was “no question” about whether she would contribute to relief efforts in the aftermath of the disasters. “The events in March, as horrible as they were, had many positive outcomes,” said Kocher. “I think the relations between the people of Japan and many foreigners working here have strengthened. Everyone is helping rebuild Japan, and it is beautiful.”

Ford ’68 Appointed to National Commission for UNESCO

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has appointed Barbara J. Ford, director of the Mortenson Center for International Library Programs and a professor at the library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, to the United States National Commission for UNESCO.

Ford, class of 1968, will serve a three-year term and represent the American Library Association (ALA), of which she is past-president.

“I am honored to serve my country in this capacity,” said Ford. “UNESCO objectives include attaining quality education for all and lifelong learning; fostering cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and a culture of peace; and building inclusive knowledge societies through information and communication. Libraries can play very important roles in these issues and connect other individuals and organizations working in these areas and I am pleased to be able to assist with this on the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO.”

The National Commission consists of 100 members who assist with global initiatives focused on communication, education, social science, natural science and culture. The Commission serves as a Federal advisory committee to the U.S. Government through the Department of the State. It works with UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization, founded in 1945 to eradicate poverty, sustain development and promote an intercultural dialogue of peace.

Kindred ’63 Reflects on Journalism’s Golden Era and Changing Future

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Pulitzer Prize nominee Dave Kindred, ’63, returned to his alma mater last month to share five decades of journalism experience with Illinois Wesleyan students in the May Term course Editorial Writing and Reviewing.

An English major during his years at IWU, Kindred still recalls his days of sports editing for The Argus and working his way through school at the local newspaper, The Pantagraph. He has since become a legend in the sports journalism world, writing for respected newspapers The Louisville Courier-Journal and The Washington Post. Although Kindred received the 1991 Red Smith Award for lifetime achievement in sports journalism and was elected to the 2006 National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame, he regards his 1998 Illinois Wesleyan’s Distinguished Alumnus Award as one of the highlights of his life.

Kindred lived through the journalism revolution, witnessing the highs and lows throughout the years. “At The Washington Post, I wrote four or five times per week from everywhere in the world on every major sporting event, every time trying to make the column the best one I ever wrote,” said Kindred, a hopeless romantic for print journalism. “That era, the late ’70s to the late ’80s, was the newspaper world’s golden era, every newspaper flush with money and ambition. It was a great, great ride, perhaps never to happen again.”

The author of eight books, Kindred describes how the paper has changed with the digital age in his latest, “Morning Miracle: A Great Newspaper Fights for Its Life,” which provides an inside look at The Washington Post at the height of its glory.

Cannon Selected to Attend Fulbright Summer Institute

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University student Kathryn Cannon has received a spot at the prestigious Fulbright Summer Institute in the United Kingdom. The sophomore from Rolling Meadows, Ill., will study at Cardiff University, Bangor University and Aberystwyth University in Wales as part of one of the most selective, summer scholarship programs operating worldwide.

Created by treaty in 1948, the U.S.-U.K. Fulbright Commission is the only bi-lateral, transatlantic scholarship program, offering awards and summer program for study or research in any field. The Commission is part of the Fulbright Program conceived by Senator J. William Fulbright in the aftermath of World War II to promote leadership, learning and empathy between nations through educational exchange. Award recipients support the “special relationship” between the U.S. and U.K.

Cannon will experience the U.K. on a six-week summer program, including spending two weeks studying at each of three universities in Wales. Along with seven other participants from across the United States, she will be exploring the theme of “Contemporary Wales: Economy, Culture, Politics and Change.”

While participating in the Fulbright Wales Summer Institute, Cannon said she hopes to not only explore key issues of modern-day Wales, but also of the U.K. as a whole. “I want to gain a better understanding of the Welsh culture, and how it manages to maintain its distinctive identity within a globalizing world,” said Cannon, who was selected for the institute after a rigorous application and interview process. “I am honored that I was accepted into this program and thankful for the amazing opportunities this summer institute offers.”

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