This Thanksgiving, holiday meals will be provided to roughly 2,500 McLean County families in need thanks in part to the hard work and generous spirit of Illinois Wesleyan University’s Profession of Social Work class during the “Big Give” food drive.
Read more on Students Put Principles into Practice at Midwest Food Bank from Illinois Wesleyan
DWS, one of the world’s leading asset managers, announced that Matt Hilding ’00 has joined the firm as U.S. Head of Wealth. In this role Hilding is responsible for setting and executing the wholesale distribution strategy across the U.S. for the firm.
Read more on DWS Appoints Matt Hilding as U.S. Head of Wealth from Citybizlist
Burke Nihill ’00 exceeds his wildest dreams by working his way up to become CEO and president of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans.
Read more on ‘Beyond his wildest dreams’ — Nihill takes over as Titans president from the Daily Herald
Medical historian, bestselling author, and television host Lindsey Fitzharris ’04 re-examines some of history’s most mysterious deaths in The Curious Life and Death Of…, a new Smithsonian Channel series.
Read more on Fitzharris ’04 Hosts New Series Investigating Famous, Mysterious Deaths from Illinois Wesleyan
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, student-faculty research collaboration has continued in a variety of disciplines at Illinois Wesleyan, as recognized and celebrated by the Undergraduate Research Advisory Committee.
Read more on Student-Faculty Research Continues Through Pandemic from Illinois Wesleyan
Gale Strenger Wayne ’78 carries on her family’s long tradition of civic duty through her role as vice chair of the Lake County Community Foundation. The foundation’s mission is to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable residents of Lake County.
Read more on Gale Force from JWC Media
IWU Trustee Jill (Misener) York ’85 was named to the board of directors of Old Second Bancorp, the holding company for the Old Second National Bank. York previously served as president and head of equipment finance and leasing solutions for Fifth Third Bank.
Read more on Former Head of Equipment Finance for Fifth Third Joins Old Second Bancorp’s Board from Monitordaily
The West Bloomington Revitalization Project dedicated a new local mural featuring an image of George Floyd painted by Bruce Clark ’97 and a poem written by Yovana Milosevic ’21 and the kids at the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington-Normal.
Read more on George Floyd mural unveiled in Bloomington from The Pantagraph
Susann Marcum ’89 has been named by the Illinois Association of School Nurses as the 2020 School Nurse of the Year for her two decades of service in school across McLean County Unit District 5.
Read more on Marcum ’89 Named School Nurse of the Year in Illinois from Illinois Wesleyan
“Moulin Rouge!”, executive-produced by Bill Damaschke ’85 has been nominated for 14 Tony Awards including Best Musical. This marks Damaschke’s second time producing a Tony-nominated musical.
Read more on Damaschke ’85 Produces Tony-Nominated Musical “Moulin Rouge!” from Illinois Wesleyan
Senior nursing major Meghan Lehmann ’21 has been recognized as Illinois Wesleyan University’s 2020 Lincoln Academy Student Laureate. Lehmann has been a certified nursing assistant since 2016, and currently works as a Patient Care Technician at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center in Bloomington.
Read more on Lehmann ’21 Honored As Lincoln Academy Student Laureate from Illinois Wesleyan
An interdisciplinary research team made up of IWU faculty, an IWU alumna, and a local veterinarian published a study in the Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology about shotgun-harvested deer that contained metal fragments, including lead. Members of the research team included Professor of Biology Given Harper, Professor of Chemisty Manori Perera, Professor of Environmental Studies Aaron Wilson, and alumna Genevieve Alexander ’14.
Read more on Researchers Find Lead Contamination in Shotgun-Harvested Deer from Illinois Wesleyan
Illinois Wesleyan won the friendly Bloomington/Normal campus voter registration competition, surpassing Illinois State University and Heartland Community College. IWU had 695 students – 42% of the student body – registered to vote by Oct. 18.
Read more on Illinois Wesleyan Wins “BloNo Campus Voter Registration Challenge” from Illinois Wesleyan
Gianina Baker ’04 was named the Central Illinois Business Magazine’s “Forty Under 40” woman of the year. Baker is the associate director at the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) and vice president of the Unit 4 school board.
Read more on Baker ’04 Named Central Illinois Woman of the Year from Illinois Wesleyan
Carol Brandt ’78 has been recognized by Forbes as a Top Women Wealth Advisor 2020. Advisors are selected based on industry experience, assets, revenue and compliance.
Read more on Carol Brandt, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management from Chicago Business
Illinois Wesleyan has been awarded hosting responsibility for the 2025 NCAA Division III Softball Championships and NCAA Division III Women’s Volleyball Championships.
Read more on Illinois Wesleyan to Host 2025 NCAA Division III Softball and Women’s Volleyball Championships from Illinois Wesleyan Athletics
Not even a global pandemic could deter IWU’s innovative and self-motivated Eckley Scholars from completing their independent, undergraduate research projects during the summer of 2020. The five Eckley Scholars were Megan Baker ’21, Bobby Koirala ’22, Yovana Milosevic ’21, Hannah Ogunnubi ’22, and Erin Yuan ’21.
Read more on Eckley Scholars Pursue Research Across Disciplines from Illinois Wesleyan
Minzhao (Henryken) Liu ’21 and Nico Lopez ’21 recently presented their research on optical aberrations at the international society for optics and photonics (SPIE) virtual conference on Emerging Topics in Artificial Intelligence, leaving a strong impression on experts in the field of optics.
Read more on AI Conference Chair Lauds Student Researchers from Illinois Wesleyan
Property and casualty insurer, The Hartford., appointed Bob Gulino ’97 as head of the Central Division for the company’s middle and large commercial insurance business.
Read more on The Hartford Names Bob Gulino Head Of Central Division Field Sales And Underwriting For Middle And Large Commercial from Global Banking & Finance Review
Jimmy Morton ’22 took home medalist honors as the men’s golf team swept the top two team spots — and the top six spots individually — at the ONU Fall Intercollegiate.
Read more on Morton Earns Medalist Honors as Men’s Golf Sweeps ONU Fall Intercollegiate from Illinois Wesleyan Athletics.
Emma Thorman ’24 cruised to her first collegiate individual title as the women’s golf team closed out its fall season with a win at the ONU Fall Intercollegiate on Saturday, Oct. 10.
Read more on Thorman Takes Home Medalist Honors as Women’s Golf Wins ONU Fall Intercollegiate from Illinois Wesleyan Athletics
Did you miss any of the events from Virtual Homecoming week?
Visit the Alumni Association YouTube Channel to watch the archived events, including Back to College Classes, the Titan Pep Band, Class of 1970 celebration, a tour of Tate Archives & Special Collections at The Ames Library, and much more. You can also see highlights from social media here.
Ramona Cheek ’81 received the IWU 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award for Excellence in Nursing. As Chief Nursing Officer for Mercy Health Fairfield Hospital in Ohio, Cheek currently oversees all nursing departments within the hospital.
Read more on Cheek ’81 Honored with Distinguished Nursing Alumni Award from Illinois Wesleyan
Dr. Raymond “Pete” Davis ’80, Sara T. Ghadiri ’11 and Gilbert “Gil” Dorsey ’62 were recipients of the 2020 Illinois Wesleyan University Alumni Awards. They were honored during a video presentation as part of Illinois Wesleyan’s Virtual Homecoming.
Read more on Alumni Award Winners Honored During Homecoming from Illinois Wesleyan
Director of the Illinois Small Business Development Center of McLean County at Illinois Wesleyan, Karen Bussone, wrote about decluttering small business workflow in her guest column on The Pantagraph.
Read more on SBDC: Declutter your small business workflow from The Pantagraph